ZENICA RESOLUTION AND FIGHT FOR THE SALVATION OF ROMANIES

“I would like to use this moment and thank citizens of Zenica who, on this day eighty years ago, stood in the defense of the members of my. We, Romanies, did not wage wars or started them, but we were victims of total destruction intended by leaders of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) during the Second World War. Few Romanies remained in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Zenica was the only town the citizens of which stood in the defense of Romanies. It was a great thing, although it was only a signature, since I myself lost many of my relatives in the Jasenovac concentration camp and I know what I am talking about”.

These are the words spoken by Osman Šuvalić, a member of Romani population and a city councilor at the session of Town Council of the Town of Zenica on 26 May 2020. With this gesture, he wanted to express his gratitude to citizens of Zenica for their help and support in the hardest time and once again draw attention to a document signed in Zenica madrasa, better-known as Zenica Resolution, which saved lives of many Romanies from Zenica and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Zenica Resolution was first discussed by Muhamed Hadžijahić, decades after the Second World War, which is indicative by itself. Later on, this topic was partly dealt with by Fuad Džidić and Esad Hećimović in the book Robija šutnje (Prison of Silence) and further light was shed by Salih Jaliman in a paper which highlighted the phenomenon of the so-called “civic anti-Fascism”. Actually, Jaliman claimed that after the Second World War historiography was burdened with ideological deposits and the ambition of creating a socialist system, which directed it toward a distinctive “privatization of anti-fascism” and ignoring many examples of “multilayered efforts to preserve the human in many social structures, which were called the 'civil option' until the end of the 20th century, again for ideological reasons”.

Certainly, resolutions are not a local phenomenon but have a broader significance, since many cities and towns, in various times and for different reasons expressed their view with which they opposed the policy of the Independent State of Croatia toward Serbs, Jews and Romanies. One of the less known and unjustly neglected is the Zenica Resolution, which was signed by 27 renowned Zenica citizens from religious, intellectual, business and social life of the town in Sultan-Ahmed Madrasa on 26 May 1942. I believe that the Zenica Resolution can be singled out due to several essential elements. First of all, all the resolutions which were written and signed in the summer of 1941 had the ambition to condemn the crime after the fact, while this resolution was sighed before the deed, and the crime over innocent population was prevented or significantly reduced. Besides, Zenica Resolution was backed by the entire Islamic Community, in their full capacity. According to the instruction by deputy raisu-l-ulama Salih S. Bašić, the whole Islamic community participated in its implementation. Zenica Resolution was discussed in Glasnik, the official newsletter of the Islamic community, which confirmed its significance. All imams had the task to monitor the behavior of ustasha authorities toward Romanies, and inform higher organs of the Islamic community of possible crimes. Since it was not in their interest to enter into an open conflict with the Islamic community and Bosniaks, ustasha authorities accepted requests of the Islamic community and abandoned persecution. Certainly, it does not mean that there were no individual crimes over Romanies, particularly over the so-called 'čergaši' (nomads). However, crimes of genocidal scope were not recorded, unlike those in Serbia and Croatia.

The resolution was issued after the news that ustasha authorities arrested Romanies in Travnik based on the order by higher organs of ustasha government. To save Romanies, intellectual and business elite of Zenica took organized action, clearly expressing their willingness to protect their neighbors. In Zenica madrasa, the cultural and educational center of Zenica, a meeting was organized of 27 respectable Zenica citizens from various spheres of life, who took a clear moral and political attitude. Their attitude showed courage and moral principles as the highest human virtues. A particular weight to this is added by the fact that it was not a casual gesture of courageous individuals but rather the attitude of the elite of a town and a nation.

Names of signatories how that it was the true elite of Zenica. The first signatory of the Resolution was Šaćir Konjhodžić, a Sharia judge and president of the District Court in Zenica. He is the father of prof. Faruk Konjhodžić, PhD and the grandfather of Rijad Konjhodžić, PhD. There was also Abdulah Serdarević, president of the Waqf- educational Committee and the principal of Sultan-Ahmed madrasa. The project leader was Fadil Imamović, a judge and a muderris (teacher) in the madrasa. It was him who drafted the Resolution, organized the meeting and was received by raisu-l-ulama to discuss the issue. Signatories also included qadis and muderrises: Hasib Mujić, Muhamed Kundalić, Muhamed Čoloman, director of Zenica prison Ragib Hadžiabdić, dr. Hasan Muminagić and other significant names of Zenica life. What is evident from these names is the fact that almost all the signatories of the Resolution were in a way related to the Islamic community and the Madrasa. Some were Sharia judges, others were muderrises or their children, imams or were in another way involved in the work of the Islamic community. Another characteristic is the fact that they were personalities of different political orientations, mostly favoring the partisan movement. According to official indicators, the partisan movement completely disappeared in Zenica from 21 May 1942 to the end of 1944, after a chetnik coup in the Zenica Partisan Detachment. During this inglorious period, the political and military administration of Zenica was divided between chetniks and ustashas. Bosniaks found themselves in a historical divide between the devil (ustashas) and the deep blue sea (chetniks), and the orientation for the people's liberation movement was understandable. A significant role in this movement was played by: Fadil Imamović, Husejin Kulenović, Šaćir Konjhodžić and others. As an addition to the political diversity of the signatories of the Resolution, we could mention members of “El-Hidajaˮ, which had its own political views, somewhat different from the official Islamic community. The third characteristic is the fact that many signatories of the Resolution were persecuted by ustasha authorities, as well as by communist authorities after the war. Husejin Kulenović was killed in Jasenovac, while Šaćir Konjhodžić barely survived on the road to Jasenovac. Fadil Imamović was also persecuted by ustasha authorities, while Hasib Mujić, dr. Hasan Muminagić, Muhamed Čoloman and others were imprisoned after the war. The fact remains that, by signing the Resolutin, the civil elite of Zenica testified of their adherence to universal principles of Islamic ethics and humanitarianism and thus set moral landmarks and signposts to future generations.