One of the prominent universities of United States as well as world, University of Texas held a two-day international conference on Ottoman Tolerance on 24-25 March. Center for Middle Eastern Studies of University of Texas, Raindrop Foundation, and the Institute of Interfaith Dialog were the organizers of the conference.Conference started with a reception held on Friday 23 March for the conference speakers and distinguished guests. Speakers from England, Turkey, Egypt, Macedonia, and various cities of United States delivered detailed information about the diversity and the tolerance existed in the Ottoman Empire. (March 23-24,2007,AUSTIN)

Director of Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Dr. Kamran Scot Aghaie stated that the history holds examples for the peace and for sure the Ottoman Empire is one of these examples.

On Saturday March 24^th conference started with a presentation by Nisya Ishman Allovi, Director of Jewish Museum of Turkey. Allovi presented the historical details of Jewish existence in the Ottoman Empire starting with the immigration of Jews from Spain to Istanbul in 1492. Other papers presented by the scholars were: Dr. Bernadette Andrea, The Ottoman Spirit and the Multicultural Debate; Dr. Yetkin Yildirim, The Analysis of the Millet System in Light of Contact Theory; Dr. Rhoads Murphey, Living Together: Cultural Diversity in the Ottoman Empire; Dr. Linda Darling, Christian-Muslim Interaction on the Ottoman Frontier: Ghaza and Accommodation in Early Ottoman History; Dr. Mehmet Ipsirli, Remarks on Ottoman Peace and Presence in the Balkans; Dr. Kemal Karpat, From Ottoman Cultural and Religious Diversity to Turkish National Identity and Uniformity; Dr. Azmi Ozcan, Facing the Threat of Separatism in a Multi-Cultural Empire in the Age of Nationalism: An Ottoman Solution; Dr. Mehmet Akif Aydin, Pax Ottomana;

In the following day, Sunday March 25^th, Dr. Ihsan Yilmaz delivered a paper titled Diversity, Legal Pluralism and Peaceful Co-existence in the Ottoman Centuries. Other papers presented in the conference were: Dr. Macit Kenanoglu, Is Millet Systme a Reality or a Myth? AN Alternative Approach to the Administration of the non-Muslim Subjects in the Ottoman Empire; Dr. Safsafi Ahmed Al-Katury, The Ottoman Administration and NonMuslims; Dr. Abdel Rahman Ahmad Salem, The Roots of Religious Tolerance in the Ottoman Empire; Dr. Tom Gage, Ottoman Palimpsests: The Past Reviewed in Architecture and Literature; Dr. Iskender Pala, Ottoman Tolerance Reflected in Classic Turkish Poetry; Dr. Salim Ayduz, What Contribution did Turks do to the Science and Technology of the Modern Western Civilization?

Organizers of the conference stated that the papers of conference will be published by the university as a book.

Conference has shown one more time that the Ottoman example can contribute to the solutions of tension and problems in the Middle East and Balkans where people of the regions lived in peace for centuries.