MODERNIST DISCUSSIONS OF ISLAM IN BOSNIA

Modernist discussions of Islam are a separate field which has involved many Ottoman thinkers, even those who did not have modernist starting points as their own. Mehmed Akif Ersoy (1873–1936), Šeyhulislam Musa Kazim (1858–1920), Iskilipli Mehmed Atif (1876–1926), Mustafa Sabri (1869–1954), Ahmed Naim Baban (1872–1934), Izmirli Ismail Hakki (1868–1946), Mehmed Ali Ayni (1868–1945) and many others, all of them were involved in the issues of modernism in Islam or modernism and Islam, each in his own way. These discussions have had a great influence on alims and learned people in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Recent modernist discussions of Islam, in the form in which they were found, can be traced as early as in newspapers that were published in Sarajevo, e.g. in Sarajevski cvjetnik, which was edited by Muhamed Šakir Kurtćehajić (1844–1872), the first Muslim journalist of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Still, the Austro-Hungarian occupation of 1878 is considered as the true beginning of modernist discussions of Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Against modernist discussions of Islam, conservative discussions of Islam emerged and this dichotomy which began in the last decades of the 19th century continued far into the 20th century.

Initially, modernist vs conservativist discussions of Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovina pertained to the topic of emigration from Austro-Hungary to Turkey (or to the remaining part of the Ottoman State). In 1885, Bosnali Hilmi-baba Taslidžali published a discussion in Arabic entitled Risala fi-l-hidžra, where he advocated emigration from Austro-Hungary as a strict religious duty. It was followed by a modernist response by Mehme Teufik Azapagić (1838–1818) who, from the position of mufti of Tuzla in 1886, claimed that hijrah (emigration) from Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite Austro-Hungarian occupation, was not Muslims' religious duty. Azapagić believed that hijrah economically weakened Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He expressed this opinion, actually an appeal, quite clearly in Risala o hidžri (A Brochure about Hijrah), which he published in Arabic.

Modernist versus conservativist discussions of Islam in the late 19th century also revolved around non/admissibility of serving in Austro-Hungarian army, around non/admissibility of wearing uniforms by Muslim employees in public services, etc. In their fatwas, Islamic community was often in favor of accepting the new and the modern whenever it was not explicitly opposed to the religion. We can also observe it in the opinions by Mehmed Džemaludin Čaušević (1870–1938) on the issue of wearing a hat as part of clothes instead of a national or religious token. Čaušević's view that it was permitted for Muslims to wear a hat were challenged by arguments provided by Sejfullah Proho (1859–1932), an alim from Konjic.

Modernization projects justified by Islam were championed by Mehmed-beg Kapetanović Ljubušak (1839–1902). In his book Budućnost ili napredak muhamedovaca u Bosni i Hercegovini (The Future or Progress of Mohammedans in Bosnia and Herzegovina) (Sarajevo, 1893), a brochure which was published on the occasion of marking the fifteenth anniversary of the arrival of Austro-Hungary in BiH, Ljubušak pointed out several times that the modernity which accompanied Austro-Hungary was not against Islam or Mohammedans in BiH. Ljubušak particularly highlighted religious freedoms, which were enjoyed by everybody in BiH, as well as economic progress. Besides, he was grateful to Austro-Hungary since it did not carry out genocide or extermination over Muslims. Ljubušak launched journal Bošnjak (Sarajevo, 1891), where he supported projects of modernization in education, culture, politics and economy. It can be observed that he wanted to put modernization in the service of more efficient and more modern interpretation of Islam. He advocated translating the Qur'an into the “Slavic” language. Besides, he was the first in Bosnia who successfully published books with Islamic contents in Latin alphabet.

Modernist discussions of Islam were also increasingly present in the journal Behar, which began to be published in 1900 thanks to Safvet-beg Bašagić (1870–1934) and the circle of his modernist and reformatory associates, Edhem Mulabdić (1862–1954), Osman Nuri Hadžić (1869–1937) and others. From 1900 to 1920, journal Behar interpreted Islam in line with the modernist European tradition of explaining faith and religion through culture, literature, arts and philosophy. The modernist agenda of Behar also included a critical attitude toward ulama and conservative circles. On the pages of this journal, Islam was no longer interpreted as a caliphate or a legal system of the state.

Period between the two wars

Works by Mehmed Džemaludin Čaušević, who was a symphatizer of the Young Turk Movement in his youth and later served as the raisu-l-ulama (between 1914 and 1930) marked the first four decades of the 20th century in BiH. In discussions about uncovering Muslim women's faces he supported the modernist side, as he believed that feredža (head-cape with a veil) and zar (veil) are not the manner of women's dress prescribed by religion. He believed that women and men should be equal in employment and social engagement, education and social participation. In modernist discussions about whether Muslims needed to publish their religious books in contemporary printing presses, Čaušević not only agreed with it but he and his associates opened a printing shop and launched a large number of journals, newspapers, calendars, and he also published several dozens of books and brochures. In intense discussions between modernists and conservativists about whether it is allowed to translate the Qur'an into Bosnian, Čaušević showed, with his activity, that it was not only allowed but that it was a necessity of the time. In cooperation with hafiz Muhamed Pandža, Čaušević published his Kurʼān Časni, prevod i tumač (Holy Qur'an, translation and explanation) (Sarajevo, 1937), thus encouraging translating the Qur'an as a religious, cultural and civilizational need. In 1937, in intense discussions with the conservative journal El-Hidaje, Čaušević claimed that translation of the Qur'an achieved recognition of the global value of Islam. Besides, Čaušević claimed that the Qur'an could and should be translated in different ways, depending on the translator's academic and ideological orientation. The conservative circle who supported Mujaga Merhemić (1877–1959) severely opposed Čaušević's reforming projects and modernist views. Discussion between the two sides about “covering the woman” reached the climax by the end of the third decade of the 20th century.

Although it can be claimed that Tuzla-based journal Hikjmet (1929–1936) and Sarajevo-based El-Hidaje (1936–1945) held strictly conservative view in discussions about women's clothes, prohibition of banking, reservation toward translating the Qur'an into Bosnian, introducing classes by subjects in madrasas and other issues, protagonists of these journals still defended their views by modern means, in print, articles, at forums etc. In BiH, modernism proved to be a far more capable direction of intellectual and cultural activity than conservativism.

In discussions about whether the Qur'an should be interpreted in modern language idioms, voice of modernist Šukrija Alagić (1881–1936) was heard. As a former student of Oriental languages and Arabic studies at the University of Vienna, he translated several volumes of Al-Manār, a modernist commentary of the Qur'an by Muhamad Abduh into Bosnian (1849–1905). It paved the way to modern interpretations of the Qur'an in BiH.

Modernist discussions of Islam in BiH in the first half of the 20th century also involved Muhamed Seid Serdarević (1882–1918), Adem Bise (1877–1954), Mehmedalija Metiljević (died in 1934) and many others. Serdarević advocated introduction of contemporary pedagogical studies and courses into madrasas, while Adem Bise, in his book Da li može Musliman živjeti evropskim kulturnim životom i ostati dobar Musliman, Kurʼān u teoriji i praksi (Can a Muslim live the European cultural life and remain a good Muslim, the Qur'an in theory and practice) (Tuzla, 1937), a powerfully intoned modernist discussion of Islam, showed that the Qur'an should give rise to opinions, interpretations and discourse which are not driven by ulama. Adem Bise supported translating the Qur'an into Bosnian, and he proved to be a loyal follower of Čaušević in his reliance on science in translating and interpreting the Qur'an. Finally, Mehmedalija Metiljević (died in 1935), in his book Islam u svjetlu istine Islam in the Light of Truth) (Tuzla, 1934) vehemently attacked traditional ulama as he believed that they secured the status of clergy in Islam for themselves through their conservativism. Metiljević believed that ulama was “the main stopper” of the contemporary progress of Muslims.

Discussions in socialist Yugoslavia

From the arrival of Austro-Hungary in 1878 until the end of the Second World War, modernist discussions of Islam focused on issues of modern education, use of the Latin and Cyrillic alphabet in religious books, status of waqf property, education of female children, profiling of curricula in madrasas, improving religious instruction, prescribing men's and women's clothes, translating the Qur'an into Bosnian, and rationale for the existence of the caliph. Upon the end of the Second World War all these issues were put on the back burner. In socialist Yugoslavia, Islamic community, same as other religious communities, recovered and sought its place in the secular society.

A book by Ibrahim Hodžić (1916–1991), suggestively entitled O intelektualnom i primitivnom shvatanju vjere i vjerskih propisa (About intellectual and primitive understanding of religion and religious regulations), published in 1971, was the first theoretical book which was published in Bosnian by an alim and intellectual from Bosnia and Herzegovina after 1945. Essentially, this book of Hodžić is a comprehensive discussion of then opposing positions of modernism and conservativism in BiH and in the Islamic world.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Husein Đozo (1912–1982), a reformer and modernist, alumnus of the reformed Al-Azhar University in Cairo, appeared on the Islamic stage. From the positions he held in the structure of the Islamic Community, Husein Đozo launched journal Preporod (1970), oriented toward reforms, and directed publications Glasnik VIS-a and Takvim toward modernism and reforms. In his book Islam u vremenu (Islam in Time) (Sarajevo, 1976), Đozo showed that, in the contemporary and modern age, one should ensure that permanent and constant conceptions of the Qur'an are made active by means of dynamic interpretation of the sources of Islam. It is achieved by idžtihad, or a fresh and creative reflection on the Qur'an and sources of Islam. Đozo is also known for his extremely efficient practical solutions in many fields, such as collecting Zakat (charity) and sadekatu-l-fitr (charity during the Ramadan) for the needs of financing educational institutions in the Islamic community.

During Husein Đozo'a career and after it, a number of alims, professors and Islamic and Muslim intellectuals appeared: Nerkez Smailagić (1927–1985), Ahmed Smajlović (1938–1988), Alija Izetbegović (1925–2003), Fikret Karčić (1955–2022) and many others. All of them reflected on Islam in the context of contemporary age. Besides, the works and opinions of alims, writers and intellectuals described in this text have made the encounter with European modernism in BiH and in the Balkans far easier. In this way, cultural struggles between Islam and modernism in BiH and in the Balkans have been avoided or alleviated.

References:

• Karčić, Fikret (1990), Društveno pravni aspekt islamskog reformizma, Sarajevo: Islamski teološki fakultet.

• Karčić, Fikret (2004), Bošnjaci i izazovi modernosti, Sarajevo: El-Kalem.

• Karić, Enes (2004), Prilozi za povijest islamskog mišljenja u Bosni i Hercegovini XX stoljeća, I dio, Sarajevo: El-Kalem

• Şeyhūn, Ahmet, Islamist Thinkers in the Late Ottoman Empire and Early Turkish Republic, Brill, Leiden, Boston, 2015.