Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina
| Islamska zajednica u Bosni i Hercegovini | |
 | |
| Formation | 1882 |
|---|---|
| Type | Religious organization |
| Headquarters | Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Region served | Bosnia and Herzegovina Sandžak Serbia Croatia Slovenia Hungary Bosniak diaspora |
Official language | Bosnian |
| Husein Kavazović | |
| Edhem Bičakčić | |
Main organ | Parliament (Sabor) |
| Website | islamskazajednica |
The Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnian: Islamska zajednica Bosne i Hercegovine, IZ BiH) is a religious organisation of Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[1] It is also recognised as the highest representative body of Muslims in the region, especially in Serbia (Sandžak), Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Hungary and Bosniak diaspora.[2]
It was established in Sarajevo in 1882 by Austria-Hungary, to have a controlled Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Ottoman Empire lost control over Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878.
History
[edit]The Islamic Community was established in 1882 during the Austrian-Hungarian rule over Bosnia and Herzegovina. After the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the seat of the Islamic Community was moved from Sarajevo to Belgrade, but was moved back to Sarajevo in 1936. During the breakup of Yugoslavia, the organized community on Yugoslav level broke up, while the majority of local and regional Muslim communities accepted the historic authority of the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina .[3]
The Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina was initially weak, but with the help from Alija Izetbegović, Bosnia and Herzegovina's first president of the Presidency, as well as key military leaders, it became a pillar of the Bosniak national identity. Under the tenure of the Grand Mufti Mustafa Cerić, who held this office from April 1993 until November 2012, the Islamic Community promoted Bosniak culture, politics and identity, with its influence extending beyond the faithful and attracting many who were not practicing Muslims during the socialist period, as well as Bosniaks and other Slavic Muslims living in the region of Sandžak and elsewhere.[3]
Jurisdiction
[edit]The Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its head, the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina, are the highest religious authorities for approximately 2.5 million Bosnian Muslims in the world. The Islamic Community has jurisdiction over the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Croatia through the muftiluk of Zagreb, Slovenia and Bosniak religious communities around the world. However, there is a dispute in Serbia over what Islamic Community has jurisdiction over the country, Bosnian or Serbian. Sandžak Mufti Muamer Zukorlić, who was supported by former Grand Mufti Mustafa Cerić, wanted that they remain under the jurisdiction of the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the Serbian Grand Mufti Adem Zilkić wanted to expand the jurisdiction of the Islamic Community of Serbia to the entire country. He was supported by the deceased Serbian Grand Mufti Hamdija Jusufspahić, and later by his son Muhamed.[4]
The Islamic Community of Montenegro, although not formally under jurisdiction of the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina, recognizes the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina as the highest religious and moral authority of Muslims in the region.[citation needed]
The highest body of Muslims in Hungary, the Hungarian Islamic Council, have expressed willingness to become part of the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina and for the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina to act as the supreme religious authority for Hungarian Muslims.[5]
Sufi orders in areas under jurisdiction of the Islamic Community are operating within the Tariqa Center and are autonomous but subordinated to the Islamic Community and the Grand Mufti.[6][7] [8]
Media
[edit]Beside BIR TV, the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina is, via Media centar d.o.o. Sarajevo, also owner of the Preporod weekly newspaper, Islamic radio station - Radio BIR, MINA News agency and Preporod.info website.[9]
List of Grand Muftis
[edit]| No. | Portrait | Name | Leadership | Place of birth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Effendi Mustafa Hilmi Hadžiomerović (1816–1895) |
15 December 1882 – 20 November 1893 (10 years, 340 days) |
Kulen Vakuf, Bosnia Eyalet |
| 2 |
|
Effendi Mehmed Teufik Azabagić (1838–1918) |
20 November 1893 – 1909 |
Tuzla, Bosnia Eyalet |
| 3 |
|
Effendi Sulejman Šarac (1850–1927) |
1910 – August 1912 |
Stolac, Bosnia Eyalet |
| 4 | 
|
Effendi Džemaludin Čaušević (1870–1938) |
26 March 1914 – 12 June 1930 (16 years, 78 days) |
Arapuša, Bosnia vilayet |
| Grand Muftis of Yugoslavia (1930–1993) | ||||
| 5 | 
|
Effendi Mustafa Cerić (born 1952) |
April 1993 – 19 November 2012 |
Veliko Čajno, Visoko, PR Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 6 | .jpg)
|
Effendi Husein Kavazović (born 1964) |
19 November 2012 – present (11 years, 359 days) |
Jelovče Selo, Gradačac, PR Bosnia and Herzegovina |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ "About". Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- ^ "The Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina". islamskazajednica.ba. islamskazajednica.ba. Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- ^ a b ICG & 26 February 2013.
- ^ "Dinastija Jusufspahića". 30 June 2012.
- ^ "Radio Sarajevo". Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
- ^ "Tarikatski centar". Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
- ^ "Radio BIR - Tarikatski centar dobio svoje prostorije u Gazi Husrev-begovom vakufu".
- ^ "40. Godina rada Tarikatskog centra u BiH".
- ^ "www.mediacentar.net". www.mediacentar.net (in Bosnian). www.mediacentar.net. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
Sources
[edit]- International Crisis Group (26 February 2013). "Bosnia's Dangerous Tango: Islam and Nationalism" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
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