Mustafa Hilmi ef. Hadžiomerović (born 1816 in

Kulen Vakuf Kulen Vakuf (Serbian Cyrillic: Кулен Вакуф) is a village in the municipality of Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Kulen Vakuf was the birthplace of Bosnian Ottoman nobleman Mehmed-beg Kulenović. Demographics According to the 2013 cen ...

, near

Bihać Bihać ( cyrl, Бихаћ) is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina ...

; died 10 February 1895) was the first Mufti of

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

appointed reis-ul-ulema in 1882 by the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n authorities.

Career

Hadžiomerović received his basic religious and general education in his birth town. He later studied at the high school in

Prijedor Prijedor ( sr-cyrl, Приједор, ) is a city and municipality located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 89,397 inhabitants within its administrative limits. Prijedor is situated in ...

and then went to the Gazi Husrev-beg Medresa in Sarajevo. There he studied before the famous schoolmaster Mehmed efendija Kučuk and attended lectures in

of Mufti Muhamed Šakir efendije Muidović and Muhamed Telalagić. In 1837 Hadžiomerović went to

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

to study at a Madrasah there for 15 years. He then returned to

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

to work in

Bosanski Novi Novi Grad (Serbian Cyrillic: ), formerly Bosanski Novi ( sr-cyrl, Босански Нови), is a town and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Administratively, it is located in the Republika Srpska entity. Situated in the far northwest o ...

and was then posted to the Kuršumli madrasah in

as a schoolteacher. A year later he was appointed Imam at the Arebi-Atik mosque. In 1856 Mustafa Hilmi Hadžiomerović was appointed

Mufti A Mufti (; ar, مفتي) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatwas'' played an important rol ...

but he continued his teaching duties, giving lectures until 1888. Following the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

occupation of

in 1878, Hadžiomerović made public appeals for peace and calm. On 17 October 1882 the

s appointed him ''Reis-l-ulema'' in order to gradually separate

from Turkish authority. He issued a number of

Fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist i ...

encouraging Bosnian Muslims to stay (over 100,000 emigrated to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

over the 1880s) and collaborate, and also to serve in the Bosnian Herzegovinian Infantry.Fikret Karčić, ''The Bosniaks and the Challenges of Modernity: Late Ottoman and Hapsburg Times'' (1995), page.120. Exhausted from many years of work, Mustafa Hilmi Hadžiomerović resigned the position of reis-ul-ulema in 1893 and died two years later on 10 February 1895.

References

Literature

* Noel Malcolm, ''Bosnia: A Short History'', 1994 * Fikret Karčić, ''The Bosniaks and the Challenges of Modernity: Late Ottoman and Hapsburg Times'' (1995) , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mustafa Hilmi Hadziomerovic 1816 births 1895 deaths Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Muslims Grand Muftis of Bosnia and Herzegovina