Ataullah Bogdan Kopański (born in 1948) is a Polish historian of Central and Eastern Europe, especially of

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

s in this region, today based in Malaysia.

Personal life

He was born in the family of ethnic Silesian background. He converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

when on a student exchange in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

in 1974. He added to his birth name the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

first name

Ataullah Ataullah ( or ) or the alternative Atallah is an Arabic given name meaning "gift of God", composed of '' Ata'' (''gift'') + ''Allah'' (''God''). It is also a surname to Middle Eastern Christians. The Iranian variant of the same name is ''Ataollah' ...

, which is the literal translation of his

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

name

Bogdan Bogdan (Cyrillic: Богдан) is a Slavic masculine name that appears in the South Slavic languages and in Polish, Romanian and Moldovan. It is derived from the Slavic words ''Bog'' (Cyrillic: Бог), meaning 'god', and ''dan'' (Cyrillic: ...

, which stands for 'God's gift.'Bogdan Ataullah Kopański. My Journey to Islam. http://www.islamicity.com/Mosque/Myjourney/list.htm Ataullah Bogdan Kopański married Mariam bint Abd ur-Rahman, whom he met in Syria, and has four children with her, Khalid, Tareq, Summaya and Saleheddin.

Political activities

In 1962, when only 14, he was fascinated by the success of the

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

national and

anti-colonial Decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. The meanings and applications of the term are disputed. Some scholars of decolon ...

forces that defeated the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

colonial armies in the

Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

, gaining independence for their country. When attending a military college in

Kętrzyn Kętrzyn (, until 1946 ''Rastembork''; ) is a town in northeastern Poland with 27,478 inhabitants (2019). It is the capital of Kętrzyn County in the Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship. The town is known for the surrounding Masurian Lakeland and num ...

(Ger. Rastenburg) in 1966-1969, he actively opposed the Polish

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

during the

1968 Polish political crisis A series of major student, intellectual and other protests against the ruling Polish United Workers' Party of the Polish People's Republic took place in Poland in March 1968. The crisis led to the suppression of student strikes by security forces ...

, and as a result was expelled from the Officer School, and became a

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

for the first time. He continued his studies at the

University of Silesia The University of Silesia in Katowice () is an autonomous state-run university in Katowice, Silesia Province, Poland. The university offers higher education and research facilities. It offers undergraduate, masters, and PhD degree programs, ...

in Katowice, and after graduation was employed there as a lecturer, adjunct and researcher. In 1980-81, when Poland was swept by a wave of anti-communist strikes, and around ten million joined the

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

Solidarity trade union, Kopański co-founded a branch of this broad

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

social movement A social movement is either a loosely or carefully organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a Social issue, social or Political movement, political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to re ...

at the University of Silesia. On the introduction of

martial law in Poland Martial law in Poland () existed between 13 December 1981 and 22 July 1983. The Polish United Workers' Party, government of the Polish People's Republic drastically restricted everyday life by introducing martial law and a military junta in an a ...

on December 13, 1981, the leadership and activists of Solidarity were summarily rounded up by the

military junta A military junta () is a system of government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''Junta (governing body), junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the Junta (Peninsular War), national and local junta organized by t ...

presided by General

Wojciech Jaruzelski Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski ( ; ; 6 July 1923 – 25 May 2014) was a Polish military general, politician and ''de facto'' leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 until 1989. He was the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party ...

. Kopański was one of the

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

, he became a political prisoner for the second time in his life. Between 1981 and 1982 he was detained in

Strzelce Opolskie Strzelce Opolskie () is a town in southern Poland with 17,900 inhabitants (2019), situated in the Opole Voivodeship. It is the capital of Strzelce County. Etymology The name of the town is of Polish origin and comes from the old Polish word ''s ...

, Uherce Mineralne, and

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów is the capital of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship and the county seat, seat of Rzeszów C ...

. Upon his release together with his family, he left for the United States in 1983. Following the end of communism in Poland (1989), Kopański joined the

Silesian Autonomy Movement The Silesian Autonomy Movement (, , ), abbreviated as RAŚ, is a movement that seeks the restoration of Silesian Voivodeship (1920–1939), interwar Silesian autonomy - including a separate Silesian Treasury, a Silesian Parliament, as well as a S ...

and the Związek Ludności Narodowości Śląskiej (Union of the People of the Silesian Nationality) ( pl).

Education and academic career

In 1975 Kopański graduated with an MA in History from the

, where he was also granted a PhD in

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

five years later. His work at the university was cut short by his detention in late 1981. After the release he continued his academic career at universities and Islamic research institutes in the United States, Syria, India, Pakistan,

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

and South Africa, before becoming Head of the Department of the

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

n Studies, Da'Wah Academy,

International Islamic University, Islamabad The International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI) is an Islamic public university located in Islamabad, Pakistan.

, Pakistan. In 1995 he became a professor of history in the Department of History and

Civilization A civilization (also spelled civilisation in British English) is any complex society characterized by the development of state (polity), the state, social stratification, urban area, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyon ...

, Kuliyyah (Faculty) of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and

Human Science Human science (or human sciences in the plural) studies the philosophical, biological, social, justice, and cultural aspects of human life. Human science aims to expand the understanding of the human world through a broad interdisciplinary approa ...

s at the

International Islamic University Malaysia The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) is a public university in Malaysia. Headquartered in Gombak, Selangor, IIUM has six other campuses all over Malaysia: two medical-centric campuses and a Centre for Foundation Studies in Gam ...

Gombak The Gombak District is an administrative district located in the eastern-central part of the state of Selangor, Malaysia. The district was created on February 1, 1974, the same day when Kuala Lumpur was declared a Federal Territory. History Go ...

, Selangor, Malaysia, located in the north-east of Greater

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

Research

Hajji Hajji (; sometimes spelled Hajjeh, Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. Etymology ''Hajji'' is derived from the Arabic ' (), which i ...

Kopański's research initially focused on the relations between Poland–Lithuania, the Osmanli Sultanate, and the

Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate, self-defined as the Throne of Crimea and Desht-i Kipchak, and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary, was a Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the longest-lived of th ...

, before moving to the history of Muslims and Islam in Eurasia. Nowadays, he is completing three monographs on the colonial war crimes against Muslims, the Mediterranean Islamic-Christian Frontiers during the Saeculum Obscurum ("Dark Age" of early medieval Europe) and the early ages of the Islamic civilization in the Malay Archipelago. His other project is to construct a multimedia ''imago mundi'' for his students and colleagues, which he is compiling from photographs, films and audio material gathered during his extensive annual research trips across the Mediterranean, the Western, Central and Southeast Asia].cf Ethnic Cleansing and Soviet Crimes Against Humanity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tW3oylnBd8; and http://www.iium.edu.my/staff-details?id=1906

Books

* * * * * ''Islamic manuscripts in Polish, Czech and Slovakian public libraries, archives and private collections''. 2008. Kuala Lumpur: Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) and World Congress of Muslim Librarians & Information Scientists (wCOMLIS). http://dspace.unimap.edu.my/dspace/handle/123456789/8038. * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kopanski, Attaulah Bogdan 1948 births Living people 21st-century Malaysian historians Polish Muslims People from Katowice People from Silesia Solidarity (Polish trade union) activists Polish anti-communists Silesian emigrants to the United States University of Silesia in Katowice alumni Academic staff of the International Islamic University, Islamabad Academic staff of the International Islamic University Malaysia Polish expatriates in Pakistan Polish expatriates in Turkey Polish expatriates in Malaysia Expatriates in Syria Converts to Islam Polish dissidents 20th-century Polish historians Polish male non-fiction writers Historians of Islam