Abdullah Numan (
Serbian Cyrillic: Абдулах Нуман; born 1950) (also spelled Abdullah Nu'man, ar, عبدالله نعمان) is a
Serbian
Serbian may refer to:
* someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe
* someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people
* Serbian language
* Serbian names
See also
*
*
* Old Serbian (disambiguat ...
-
Australian academic and
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic cleric currently serving as
Mufti of
Serbia.
Biography
Born in
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
,
SR Serbia in 1950 as Ivan Trifunović into a
Serbian Orthodox family. Trifunović first encountered an
Arab Muslim exchange student in Belgrade's
Republic Square in 1969 who lent him money. This experience and love of the
counter-culture inspired Trifunović and four friends to explore the orient, boarding a train first to
Istanbul, reaching
Nepal before they had depleted their funds. His friends returned home, whilst Trifunović having been deported from Nepal, embarked on a six-month journey throughout
India. During his travels Trifunović underwent an Islamic conversion in
Rajasthan, where he was conferred the Muslim name Abdullah Numan.
Upon his returned from India, Numan encountered opposition to his conversion to Islam from family members, though his aunt and actress,
Ružica Sokić did support his right to practice his faith and encouraged her nephews spiritual development. Numan began attending
Bajraki Mosque soon befriending the Mufti of Serbia, Hamdija Jusufspahić, who appointed him as his personal secretary, thus becoming his primary mentor.
Once competing compulsory military service in 1975, Numan married Razija, an Australian from
Melbourne whom he had met in Belgrade. The couple relocate to Melbourne where Numan completed four university diplomas in:
Islamic studies,
Philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
,
Sociology and
Business Management. He completed his postgraduate studies at the
University of Melbourne in 1982 with the topic ''"Understanding God and His Names and Properties in Islamic Theology from
Hassan al-Basri to Ghazali"'', later completing his doctoral dissertation on ''"The Concept of the Individual and Community in Islam"''.
Numan worked as a university lecturer in Australia before returning to Serbia. In June 2016 the Supreme Assembly of the Islamic Community of Serbia convened in
Novi Pazar. Following a schism in the community the entire Riyaset of Serbia, headed by Reis-ul-ulema (
Grand Mufti) Adem Zilkić, was dismissed.
Sead Nasufović
Sead Nasufović (; born 22 June 1979) is an Bosniak Islamic cleric and since July 2016 the new Grand Mufti (''Reis ul-Ulema'') of Serbia.
Biography
He was born on 22 June 1979 in Bijelo Polje, today a part of Montenegro, to Bosniak parents. H ...
was appointed the new Reis-ul-ulema, whilst Numan was appointed to serve a five-year term as the Mufti of Serbia replacing
Muhamed Jusufspahić
Muhamed Hamdi Jusufspahić (; born 28 November 1968) is a Serbian Islamic cleric and diplomat serving as the Ambassador of Serbia to Saudi Arabia since 2018. Previously he was the Mufti of Serbia, Mufti of Belgrade and the Deputy Grand Mufti ('' ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Numan, Abdullah
1950 births
Living people
Muftis
People from Belgrade
Australian people of Serbian descent