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Adil Zulfikarpašić (23 December 1921 – 21 July 2008) was a
Bosniak The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...
intellectual and politician who served as vice president of the
Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Република Босна и Херцеговина, separator=" / ") was a state in Southeastern Europe, existing from 1992 to 1995. It is the direct lega ...
, during the
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...
of the 1990s, under the first president of the
Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...
of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Alija Izetbegović Alija Izetbegović (; 8 August 1925 – 19 October 2003) was a Bosnian politician, Islamic philosophy, Islamic philosopher and author, who in 1992 became the first Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, president of the Presidency ...
. After the war he retired from politics and opened the Bosniak Institute, a museum in
Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...
focused on the Bosniak culture. Although in the early period of his life he was close to the Croatian national idea, Zulfikarpašić over time advocated the position that Bosnian Muslims should build their own national identity and advocated the adoption of the Bosniak name. At first there was resistance to this idea, including within the leading political party of Bosnian Muslims - the
Party of Democratic Action The Party of Democratic Action (; abbr. SDA) is a Bosniak nationalist, conservative political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. History The Party of Democratic Action (SDA) was founded on 26 May 1990 in Sarajevo, as a "party of Muslim cultural ...
- the idea still prevailed in 1993, when the new name was adopted at the Bosniak Congress attended by the Bosnian Muslim political and cultural representatives.


Early life


Family

Zulfikarpašić was born on 23 December 1921 in
Foča Foča ( sr-Cyrl, Фоча, ) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in the south-east on the banks of Drina river. As of 2013, the town has a population of 12,234 inhabitants, while the municipality has 1 ...
, a town along the
Drina The Drina ( sr-Cyrl, Дрина, ) is a long river in the Balkans, which forms a large portion of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Al ...
river in the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...
(now
Bosnia and Herzegovina 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 ...
). He was a member of the Čengić family through both parents. His father Husein-beg Čengić-Zulfikarpašić was a landowner and an intellectual, son of Ali-beg Čengić and a grandson of Zulfikar Pasha Čengić, after whom his paternal family was surnamed Zulfikarpašić. Zulfikaršašić wrote that he used the dual surname throughout his elementary school, but that his family dropped the "Čengić" from their surname while he was still in his youth. Husein served as the mayor of
Foča Foča ( sr-Cyrl, Фоча, ) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in the south-east on the banks of Drina river. As of 2013, the town has a population of 12,234 inhabitants, while the municipality has 1 ...
for 25 years after the Austrian-Hungarian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878. Adil's mother Zahida married Husein when she was 18 years old, while he was in his late 80s. Husein never had several wives at the same time, and his previous three wives died. Zahida was his fourth wife and originated from the Ratalj branch of the Čengić family. The two of them had another son Sabrija and six daughters. The oldest half-brother of Adil was Alija who was 55 years older than him. Husein died in 1936 aged 102 or 104 years when Adil was 15 years old, while Zahida died in 1956. Adil's half-brothers were Alija and Hilmo, both of whom moved to the Ottoman Empire after Austria-Hungary occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina and changed their surname to Aq Qoyunlu; Ibrahim, Hasan, Hivzo, Hamdija, while Sabrija was his full brother. His half-sisters were Arfa, Fatima and Haša, and full sisters Zumruta, Hasiba, Hajrija, Hamijera, Fahra and Šefika.


Education and World War II

In his youth, Zulfikarpašić felt close to the Croatian national idea, rather than Serbian. He was also active in the
Croatian Peasant Party The Croatian Peasant Party (, HSS) is an agrarianism, agrarian List of political parties in Croatia, political party in Croatia founded on 22 December 1904 by Antun Radić, Antun and Stjepan Radić as Croatian Peoples' Peasant Party (HPSS). The ...
. While attending gymnasium in
Foča Foča ( sr-Cyrl, Фоча, ) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in the south-east on the banks of Drina river. As of 2013, the town has a population of 12,234 inhabitants, while the municipality has 1 ...
he became a
leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...
and joined a certain group of the
League of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia The League of Socialist Youth of Yugoslavia (SSOJ) was the youth movement, member organisation of the Socialist Alliance of Working People of Yugoslavia (SSRNJ). Membership stood at more than 3.6 million individuals in 1983. It was originally est ...
(SKOJ). Eventually, he was expelled for disseminating communist literature, and had to continue his education in
Rogatica Rogatica ( sr-cyrl, Рогатица, ) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the municipality has a population of 10,723 inhabitants, while the town of Rogatica itself has a population of 6,855 inh ...
. Just before graduation, he was expelled again with other ten colleagues without the right to take the graduation exam. However, a local politician helped to abolish these punishments, so Zulfikarpašić was able to continue his education at the Commercial Academy in
Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...
. He was again expelled, and continued to educate in
Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...
and
Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...
, where he took private classes since his further education at commercial academies was forbidden. In 1938 he joined the
Communist Party of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, was the founding and ruling party of SFR Yugoslavia. It was formed in 1919 as the main communist opposition party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats a ...
(KPJ), when he was 17 years old. In 1940 he enrolled at the High Commercial School in Belgrade because Belgrade had more active leftist politics than Zagreb. In 1941, he joined
Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...
and was a member of partisans' brigade "Zvijezda" of
Vareš Vareš ( cyrl, Вареш) is a town and municipality located in Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is famous for the local mi ...
. In 1942, during World War II, he was caught by the
Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar ...
(the Croatian pro-
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
forces) in Sarajevo and was
torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...
d by them and sentenced to death. With the help of Yugoslav Partisans he escaped and in 1945 with the war ending in victory over the
Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...
, the Communists came into power and Zulfikarpašić was appointed Deputy Minister of Trade.


Exile

After becoming disillusioned with
Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...
's government shortly after the end of the war, Zulfikarpašić fled into exile in
Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
, Switzerland. While on his way to Switzerland, Zulfikarpašić stayed in
Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...
, Austria. There he met Tatjana Nikšić, daughter of the NDH diplomat Ante Nikšić. The relationship between the two caused a stir among the Croat emigres, especially the Franciscans. However, her father who was in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
at the time, approved the relationship writing that Zulfikarpašić's head was "in the right place", though he preferred if Zulfikarpašić would convert to Catholicism. Zulfikarpašić, a self-identified
Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...
, found allies in the exiled leaders of the
Croatian Peasant Party The Croatian Peasant Party (, HSS) is an agrarianism, agrarian List of political parties in Croatia, political party in Croatia founded on 22 December 1904 by Antun Radić, Antun and Stjepan Radić as Croatian Peoples' Peasant Party (HPSS). The ...
(HSS),
Juraj Krnjević Juraj Krnjević (19 February 1895 – 9 January 1988) was a Croatian politician who was among the leaders of the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS).Biondich, Mark (2007). Vladko Macek and the Political Right in Croatia, 1928–1941. ''Contemporary Eu ...
especially, who was sympathetic towards Bosnian Muslims. Zulfikarpašić also befriended August Juretić, a Croat Catholic priest close to HSS, whom he succeeded jointly with Pavao Jesih as a co-editor of ''Hrvatski dom'', the official magazine of HSS after Juretić died in 1954. However, he became more convinced that Bosnian Muslims need to develop their own political direction. Writing in January 1956 to Indiana sociologist
Dinko Tomašić Dinko Antun Tomašić (1902–1975) was a Croatian sociologist and academic. He was born in Smokvica on the island of Korčula in Croatia. He studied law at the University of Zagreb and the University of Paris and taught in Zagreb. After his ...
, Zulfikarpašić blamed the
Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar ...
for the interruption of the development of Bosnian Muslims towards Croatdom, stating that Tomašić's statement that "the rise of national consciousness among Muslims Bosnia and Herzegovina developed ..exclusively in the direction of Croatdom" was correct, but added that "on the account of Ustaše transgressions during the war, there were instances of distancing from Croatdom even among those layers that had already started identifying themselves and becoming conscious in that direction" and that "the process of national awakening in the direction of Croatdom experienced heavy blows in the course of the war and was slowed." In 1963, Zulfikarpašić founded the Liberal-Democratic Alliance of Bosniaks-Muslims. The Alliance brought together Muslims who studied outside of Yugoslavia during World War II, together with former imams of the German 13th Waffen-SS Division Handschar and former Young Muslims. It promoted the national name "Bosniak" with the aim of severing ties with Croatian and Serbian national identities.


Fall of Yugoslavia

At the beginning of the
Party of Democratic Action The Party of Democratic Action (; abbr. SDA) is a Bosniak nationalist, conservative political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. History The Party of Democratic Action (SDA) was founded on 26 May 1990 in Sarajevo, as a "party of Muslim cultural ...
(est. 1990), the party also included a very influential secular nationalist grouping, led by Zulfikarpašić and
Muhamed Filipović Muhamed Filipović (3 August 1929 – 25 February 2020) was a Bosnian academic, writer, essayist, theorist and philosopher. As a young man he took part in the communist takeover of power and Yugoslav Partisans in 1945. He worked as a professor a ...
. On 26 December 1991, Serbia, Montenegro, and the Serb rebel-held territory in Croatia ( Serb Krajina) agreed that they would form a new "third Yugoslavia". Efforts were also made in 1991 to include
Bosnia and Herzegovina 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 ...
within the federation, with negotiations between Milošević, Bosnia's Serbian Democratic Party, and the Bosniak proponent of union – Bosnia's Vice-President Adil Zulfikarpašić taking place on this matter.Steven L. Burg, Paul S. Shoup. ''The War in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Ethnic Conflict and International Intervention''. Armonk, New York, USA: M.E. Sharpe, 2000. p. 72. Zulfikarpašić believed that Bosnia could benefit from attempting to forge a union with Serbia, Montenegro, and Krajina; and promoted a compromise between the Serbs and Bosniaks, in which Serb Krajina and Bosniak Sanjak from Serbia would be annexed into a Greater Bosnia that within a union with Serbia and Montenegro, would secure both the unity of Serbs and Bosniaks. Zulfikarpašić's proposition opposed any cantonization of Bosnia. The Bosnian Serbs did not include Zulfikarpašić's proposition alongside their propositions. However Milosević continued negotiations with Zulfikarpašić to include Bosnia within a new Yugoslavia. Efforts to include the whole of Bosnia within a new Yugoslavia effectively terminated by late 1991 as Izetbegović planned to hold a referendum on independence while the Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats formed autonomous territories. Zulfikarpašić returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the lead up to the
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...
, as Bosnia and Herzegovina held an independence referendum for independence, he stood alongside the future Bosnian president,
Alija Izetbegović Alija Izetbegović (; 8 August 1925 – 19 October 2003) was a Bosnian politician, Islamic philosophy, Islamic philosopher and author, who in 1992 became the first Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, president of the Presidency ...
. He was a member of Izetbegović’s
Party of Democratic Action The Party of Democratic Action (; abbr. SDA) is a Bosniak nationalist, conservative political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. History The Party of Democratic Action (SDA) was founded on 26 May 1990 in Sarajevo, as a "party of Muslim cultural ...
, but soon formed another party because of differing political views, the Muslim Bosniak Organisation with Muhamed Filipović.


Post-war

In 2001, Zulfikarpašić established the Bosniak Institute in
Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...
. In 2002, he was elected an honorary member of the
Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina (; ) is the national academy of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Academy, based in the capital city of Sarajevo, is the leading non-university public research institution in the country. The ...
.http://www.anubih.ba/index.php?option=content&lang=eng&Theme=honorary&Level=2&ItemID=6


Books

*Gace, N., Đilas, M. (1998), ''The Bosniak: Adil Zulfikarpasic'', London, Hurst & Company *Filandra, Š., Karic, E. (2004), ''The Bosniac Idea'', Zagreb, Globus *Imamović, M. (1996), ''Bošnjaci u emigraciji: monografija Bosanskih pogleda'', Sarajevo, Bošnjački institut Zurich, Odjel Sarajevo *Zulfikarpašić, A. (1991), ''Članci i intervjui povodom 70-godišnjice'', Sarajevo, Bošnjački institut *Zulfikarpašić, A., Gotovac, V., Tripalo M., Banac, I. (1995), ''Okovana Bosna'', Zurich, Bošnjački institut *Zulfikarpašić, A. (2005), ''Osvrti'', Sarajevo, Bošnjački institut – Fondacija Adila Zulfikarpašića *Zulfikarpasic, A., Bučar, F. (2001), ''Sudbonosni događaji: historijski presjek presudnih zbivanja i propusta'', Sarajevo, Bošnjački institut – Fondacija Adila Zulfikarpašića


Footnotes


References


Books

* * * * * * * *


Journals

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zulfikarpasic, Adil 1921 births 2008 deaths People from Foča Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Muslims League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovina politicians Party of Democratic Action politicians Bosniak history History of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Members of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina people of World War II Bosniak nationalists Yugoslav dissidents