The Strategic Umma: Welcome & Opening Remarks | Annual Conference 2026

The Ummatics Institute opens its fourth annual conference in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina, in collaboration with the International University of Sarajevo. The 2026 conference, The Strategic Umma: Managing Difference, Thinking Beyond Secularism, and Building Future Impact, brings scholars, thinkers, and practitioners together to examine some of the central intellectual and strategic questions facing the Muslim Umma. The opening remarks situate Sarajevo not merely as the setting of the conference but as a city whose history of Islamic learning, coexistence, siege, and genocide gives particular urgency to questions of ummatic solidarity and civilizational renewal. The speakers reflect on managing internal difference, recovering Islamic intellectual and moral resources beyond secular frameworks, the crisis of meaning in contemporary modernity, the relationship between spirituality and civilizational flourishing, and the need for intellectually confident Islamic thought capable of contributing to the future. Chapters: 0:00 Qur'an Recital 5:00 Introductory Remarks by Dr. Usaama al-Azami 9:20 Welcome to IUS by Dr. Tarik Namas 21:15 Welcome to Sarajevo by Grand Mufti Emeritus Dr. Mustafa Cerić 34:35 Presentation by Dr. Admir Mulaosmanović 46:45 Presentation by Dr. Ovamir Anjum 53:50 Presentation by Dr. Uthman Badar Speakers: • Dr. Tarik Namas is Associate Professor of Electrical and Electronics Engineering and Vice Rector for Academic Activities and Students’ Affairs at the International University of Sarajevo. • Dr. Mustafa Cerić is Grand Mufti Emeritus of Bosnia-Herzegovina and a prominent Muslim scholar and interfaith leader. • Dr. Admir Mulaosmanović is a Bosnian historian whose work examines political identity, memory, conflict, and the modern history of Bosnia and the Balkans. • Dr. Ovamir Anjum is Founder and Chief Research Officer of the Ummatics Institute and Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Toledo. • Dr. Uthman Badar is Research Operations Manager and Lead Editor at the Ummatics Institute and a scholar of secularism, liberalism, political theory, and Islamic thought. #ummatics #UmmaticsConference2026 👉 If you found this video insightful, consider subscribing to the Ummatics Institute channel and activating notifications so you never miss our latest updates. Visit https://ummatics.org/ for full access to all research publications and events. Follow us on UpScrolled, X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn @Ummatics