The East and the West in the Linguistic Development of Tajib Okić

Abstract

This paper presents a biography, educational journey, pedagogical activities, journalistic and translational work, and the progress of the prominent academician, researcher, educator, polyglot, muhaddis, and mufassir, Muhamed Tajib Okić. He was educated in Sarajevo at the Okružna Medresa, the Sharia Judicial School, and the universities in Zagreb and Belgrade, as well as at Sorbonne University in Paris and Zaytuna University in Tunisia. His pedagogical endeavours are imprinted in the First All-Boys Gymnasium in Sarajevo, the Sharia Gymnasium in Sarajevo, the Grand Madrasa in Skopje, and the theological universities in Ankara, Konya, and Erzurum. Tajib Okić's translations and scholarly work are distinctive and extensive. His bibliography encompasses works published before his departure to Turkey and those published during his stay in Turkey, as well as numerous unpublished and unfinished works. The fact that Tajib Okić was a polyglot, holding diplomas in Latin, Russian, Arabic, Turkish, and Persian languages, is a particular hallmark of his life and work. In addition to his mother tongue, the Bosnian language, he excellently spoke and wrote in Arabic, French, and Turkish.