The ''Islamic Declaration'' ( bs, Islamska deklaracija) is an essay written by
Alija Izetbegović
Alija Izetbegović (; ; 8 August 1925 – 19 October 2003) was a Bosnian politician, lawyer, Islamic philosopher and author, who in 1992 became the first president of the Presidency of the newly independent Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovin ...
(1925–2003), republished in 1990 in
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...
,
SR Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Bosna i Hercegovina, Социјалистичка Pепублика Босна и Херцеговина), commonly referred to as Socia ...
,
SFR Yugoslavia. It presents his views on
Islam and
modernization. The treatise attempts to reconcile Western-style progress with Islamic tradition and issues a call for "Islamic renewal". The work was later used against Izetbegović and other pan-Islamists in a 1983 trial in Sarajevo, which resulted in him being sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment. He was released after two years.
The declaration remains a source of controversy. Primarily, the Serbs, but overall, the Serbian and Croatian leaderships during the
breakup of Yugoslavia, accused Izetbegović and his
Party of Democratic Action
The Party of Democratic Action ( bs, Stranka demokratske akcije; 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, ...
(SDA) of Islamic fundamentalism and seeking to establish an Islamic state.
Overview
The
essay
An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...
''Islamic Declaration'' is described by John V. A. Fine as a 'theoretical' work on the question on whether Islam and an Islamic state could exist in a modern world, and by Kjell Magnusson as "in terms of genre ... a religious and moral-political essay ... discusses the predicament of Islam and Muslims in the contemporary world". Banac describes it as trying to conciliate Western-style progress with Islamic tradition.
Standpoints
No modernization without roots in the Qur'an
The main idea is that the
Qur'an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
allows modernization, but that it sets limits. To this end Izetbegović cited
Atatürk's
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
as a negative example of loss of Islamic roots, ending in economic stagnation, and
Japan as a positive example, in which retaining most of its own culture proved compatible with modernization and economic growth.
Clerics and modernists
The theses considers the "Islamic renewal" to be blocked by two forces, the "clerics" and the "modernists". ''
Ulama
In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
'', the class of learned scholars represent a degenerate Islam, which has turned religion into form without content, while modernists intellectuals try to popularise Westernised culture which is foreign to Islam and the intimate feelings of the broad masses. The Muslims masses therefore, lack the leaders and ideas which would awaken them from their lethargy, and there is a tragic distinction between the intelligentsia and ordinary people. It sees the need as a new brand of Muslim intellectuals, reborn in their own tradition.
The Islamic order
Alija describes his envisioned Islamic order thus:
To the question, "What is a Muslim society?" our answer is a community made up of Muslims, and we consider that this answer says it all, or nearly so. The meaning of this definition is that there is no institutional, social or legal system that can exist separately from people who are its actors, of which we could say, "This is an Islamic system." No system is Islamic or Islamic ''per se''. It is only so based on the people who make it.
He views the Islamic movement as moral rather than political, and defines it is an ideological avant-garde:
Only individuals who have been tested and trained, gathered together in a sound, homogeneous organization, can win the struggle for the Islamic order and the complete reconstruction of Islamic society. This organization bears no resemblance to a political party from the arsenal of a Western democracy; it is a movement founded on Islamic ideology, with clear criteria of moral and ideological belonging.
Islamic government
Izetbegović wrote that an
Islamic government
''Islamic Government'' ( fa, حکومت اسلامی, ''Hokumat-i Eslami''), also known as ''The Jurist's Guardianship: Islamic Government'',
( fa, حکومت اسلامی ولایت فقیه, ''Velayat-e faqih: Hokumat-i Eslami '') Abrahamian, ...
is not possible except in the context of an Islamic society, which can exist only when the absolute majority of the population is constituted by sincere and practicing Muslims. On this basis, it is impossible to theorize an Islamic government in Bosnia where Muslims, even only by name, are a minority.
''The Islamic order can be realized only in the nations in which Muslims represent the majority of the population. Without this social premise, the Islamic order fall to be mere power (for the lack of the second element, the Islamic society) and can revert to tyranny.''
One of the passages cited by critics J. Millard Burr and
Robert O. Collins against Alija is the passage "Islamic movement must and start taking power as soon as it is morally and numerically strong enough to do so".
Clinton Bennett however states that they do not the quote the passage on the same page that says "Islamic rebirth is first a revolution in education and only then in politics" or the passage on page 49 "the Islamic order can only be established in countries where Muslims represent the majority of the population" since "history does not relate any true revolution which came from power...all begin in education and meant in essence a moral summons" (page 53).
[
Bennett says that while Izetbgović did call for taking power, there is nothing resembling a call for taking extra-constitutional action. Izetbegović says on page 53 that one tyranny must not be replaced by another.][
Other quotes from the book include:]''Muslim nations will never accept anything that is explicitly against Islam, because Islam here is not merely a faith and the law, Islam has become love and compassion. One who rises against Islam will reap nothing but hate and resistance.''
''In perspective, there is but one way out in sight: creation and gathering of a new intelligence which thinks and feels along Islamic lines. This intelligence would then raise the flag of the Islamic order and together with the Muslim masses embark into action to implement this order.''
''The upbringing of the nation, and especially the mass media – the press, TV and film – should be in the hands of people whose Islamic moral and intellectual authority is undisputed.''
Other theses of Izetbegović, which are categorized by some as belonging to Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism has been defined as a puritanical, revivalist, and reform movement of Muslims who aim to return to the founding scriptures of Islam. Islamic fundamentalists are of the view that Muslim-majority countries should return ...
and others as simple affirmations of orthodox faith", include the belief that an Islamic state should ban alcohol, pornography and prostitution, the vision of Islam not only as a private belief but as public lifestyle with a social and political dimension, and the transcendence of national borders by the brotherhood of the whole Islamic world, the ''Ummah
' (; ar, أمة ) is an Arabic word meaning "community". It is distinguished from ' ( ), which means a nation with common ancestry or geography. Thus, it can be said to be a supra-national community with a common history.
It is a synonym for ' ...
''.
Islamic renewal
The work discusses the difficult situation of Muslims in the contemporary world, that of "moral decay and humiliating stagnation", which should be thwarted with the necessary returning to the Qur'an and Islam. Izetbegović argued that there was a necessity for both religious and political revolution. The declaration explicitly states, "religious renewal has a clear priority". The starting point of the religious transformation will be Islam itself.
He cautioned that Islam is one thing and the historical record of Muslims another. Great damage had been done to Muslim people. He stated the renaissance would follow "from the principles and nature of Islam and not the dismal facts characteristics of Muslim world today". As a first step, he called for a moral revolution to bridge the gap between higher principles of Islam and the "disappointing behaviour of contemporary Muslims". After that, a political reform will follow. The heart of the political revolution will be the democratic exercise of power by the post-reform Muslim-majority.
Izetbegović purportedly did not reject Western civilization
Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''.
image:Plato Pio-Cle ...
in itself, although he criticized what he regarded as the rapid coercive secularization
In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...
of Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
under Atatürk. Izetbegović raged against the "so-called progressives, Westernizers and modernizers" who want to implement the same policy in other countries. ''Since its foundations Islam engaged, without prejudices, in studying and gathering of knowledge inherited by previous civilizations. We don't understand why today's Islam should take a different approach toward the conquests of the Euro-American civilization, with which it has so many contacts.''
In his treatise, ''Islam between East and West'', he reportedly praised Renaissance art, Christian morality, and Anglo-Saxon philosophy and social-democratic traditions.
As to his pan-Islamism, he wrote:''Islam has become love and compassion... He who rises against Islam will reap nothing but hate and resistance... In one of the theses for an Islamic order today we have stated that it is a natural function of the Islamic order to gather all Muslims and Muslim communities throughout the world into one. Under present conditions, this desire means a struggle for creating a great Islamic federation from Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
to Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, from the tropical Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
to the Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
.''
Islam and modern day
Izetbegović's approach to Islamic law seems to be open since he thinks that Muslims do not have to be bound by past interpretations.
There are immutable Islamic principles which define the relationship between man and man, and between man and the community, but there are no fixed Islamic economic, social or political structure handed down once and for all. Islamic sources contain no description of such a system. The way in which Muslims will carry on an economy, organize society and rule in the future will therefore differ from the way in which they carried on an economy, organized society and ruled in the past. Every age and each generation has the task of finding new ways and means of implementing the basic messages of Islam, which are unchanging and eternal, in a world which is changing and eternal.
Non-Islamic institutions
The treatise considers that for the main principle of Islamic order, the unity of faith and politics, leads among others to the following "first and foremost conclusion":
"There is no peace or coexistence between the Islamic faith and non-Islamic social and political institutions. The failure of these institutions to function and the instability of these regimes in Muslim countries, manifest in frequent changes and coups d'état, is most often the consequence of their a priori
("from the earlier") and ("from the later") are Latin phrases used in philosophy to distinguish types of knowledge, justification, or argument by their reliance on empirical evidence or experience. knowledge is independent from current ...
opposition to Islam, as the fundamental and foremost feeling of the people in those countries. Claiming its right to order its own world alone, Islam clearly rules out the right and the possibility of the application of any foreign ideology in its own region. There is, therefore, no lay principle, and the state ought to be a reflection of and to support the moral concepts of the religion."
Noel Malcolm
Sir Noel Robert Malcolm, (born 26 December 1956) is an English political journalist, historian and academic. A King's Scholar at Eton College, Malcolm read history at Peterhouse, Cambridge, and received his doctorate in history from Trinity Col ...
states that it only referred to countries where the majority of population was practising Muslim, stating that the "entire discussion of the nature of an Islamic political system is inapplicable to Bosnia.[ ]Vjekoslav Perica
Vjekoslav Perica (born 11 July 1955) is a Croatian historian, journalist and writer who specializes in the modern history of religions in the former Yugoslavia.
In his youth, Perica was a talented basketball player who was a member of KK Jugop ...
meanwhile states that it called on Muslims to demand a state of their own, once they became the majority in a country, organized according to Islamic laws and norms.[
The Islamic order envisaged in it endeavours to prohibit "alcoholic intoxication of the people", public and secret prostitution, all forms of pornography, casinos, night and dancing clubs as well as other forms of entertainment incompatible with Islamic moral precepts.][
]
Minorities
The treatise states:
"Islamic order can be realized only in countries in which the Muslims represent the majority of the population. Without this majority, Islamic order is reduced to state power alone (because the other element - Islamic society - is missing) and can turn itself to violence. Non-Muslim minorities within the confines of an Islamic state, provided they are loyal, enjoy religious liberties and all protection. Muslim minorities within the confines of non-Islamic tate
Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
communities, provided their religious liberties, normal life, and development are guaranteed, are loyal to - and obliged to carry out all obligations to - that community, except those that harm Islam and Muslims."
Aleksander Pavkovic states that given the treatise's insistence on introduction of Islamic law, it is not clear whether it envisaged any political participation of non-Muslims in an Islamic state, its application of Islamic legal and moral precepts would obviously restrict non-Muslims' civil rights and liberties.[
]
The republican principle
Although details of Islamic political organisation are left quite vague, three republican principles of political order are deemed to be essential which are: (1) the electability of the head of the state, (2) the accountability of the head of the state to the people, (3) the obligation of solving communally general and social issues.
"Apart from affairs of property, Islam does not recognize any principle of inheritance, nor any power with absolute prerogative. To recognize the absolute power of Allah means an absolute denial of any other almighty authority (Qur'an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
7/3, 12/40). ''"Any submission of a creature which includes a lack of submission to the Creator is forbidden"'' (Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
, peace be upon him
Islam uses a number of conventionally complimentary phrases praising Allah (e.g., ), or wishing good things upon Muhammad or other prophets (e.g., ). These phrases are encompassed by a number of terms: Prayers upon Muhammad may be referred to s ...
). In the history of the first, and perhaps so far the only authentic Islamic order - the era of the first four caliphs, we can clearly see three essential aspects of the republican principle of power: (1) an elective head of state, (2) the responsibility of the head of state towards the people and (3) the obligation of both to work on public affairs and social matters. The latter is explicitly supported by the Qur'an (3/159, 42/38). The first four rulers in Islamic history were neither kings or emperors. They were chosen by the people. The inherited caliphate was an abandonment of the electoral principle, a clearly defined Islamic political institution."
Aftermath and legacy assessment
Trials
Hasan Čengić, Alija Izetbegović and Omer Behmen
Omer Behmen (10 June 1922 – 23 April 2009) was a Bosnian politician. He was one of the closest associates of Alija Izetbegović, the first president of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Behmen was also one of the founders of the Party of Democratic Actio ...
were arrested in April 1983 and tried before a Sarajevo court for a variety of charges called ''"offenses as principally hostile activity inspired by Muslim nationalism, association for purposes of hostile activity and hostile propaganda"'', along with ten other Bosniak activists. Izetbegović was sentenced to 14 years, then five, but was released from prison after serving two years. The charge was "attack against socialism ndwillingness to build an Islamic State in Bosnia". All were pardoned by 1988.
The verdict
In law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. In a bench trial, the judge's decision near the end of the trial is simply referred to as a finding. In England and Wales ...
was strongly criticized by Western human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Helsinki Watch
Helsinki Watch was a private American non-governmental organization established by Robert L. Bernstein in 1978, designed to monitor the former Soviet Union's compliance with the 1975 Helsinki Accords. Expanding in size and scope, Helsinki Watch b ...
, which claimed the case was based on "communist propaganda", and the accused were not charged with either using or advocating violence. The following May, the Bosnian Supreme Court conceded the point with an announcement that "some of the actions of the accused did not have the characteristics of criminal acts" and reduced Izetbegović's sentence to twelve years. In 1988, as communist rule faltered, he was pardoned and released after almost five years in prison. His health had suffered serious damage.[Nedžad Latić, Boja povijesti, ISBN COBISS.BH-ID]
Legacy
The eruption of the war strengthened Bosnian Muslim identity. In 1993 "Bosniak" was adopted as a name for the Bosnian Muslim nationality, at the ''1st Congress of Bosniak-Muslim Intellectuals'', to replace imposed "Muslims" label. The Dayton Agreement
The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement or the Dayton Accords ( Croatian: ''Daytonski sporazum'', Serbian and Bosnian: ''Dejtonski mirovni sporazum'' / Дејтонски миро ...
(November–December 1995) ended the war and brought about a new constitution for Bosnia and Herzegovina
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 H ...
, now two entities, with the majority Bosniak and Croat-inhabited Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the majority Serb-inhabited Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is locat ...
.
Assessment in scholarship
Bosnia and Herzegovina was never mentioned explicitly in the text.[, ] Izetbegović himself insisted many times that the statements about the creation of an Islamic state were hypothetical and were not to be the applied to the situation in Bosnia.
Political establishment of Croatia and Serbia, with explicit ideological backing from academia and considerable coverage by media, accused Izetbegović and his political party, the SDA, for seeking to establish an Islamic state or some kind of Muslim republic in Bosnia, often quoting his essay arguing how declaration is indicative of an intent, or as an open statement of Islamic fundamentalism, or as evidence of Islamism. Passages from the declaration were frequently quoted by many prominent political figures as well, such as Franjo Tuđman, Radovan Karadžić
Radovan Karadžić ( sr-cyr, Радован Караџић, ; born 19 June 1945) is a Bosnian Serb politician, psychiatrist and poet. He was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes by the International Criminal Tr ...
, Dobrica Ćosić
Dobrica Ćosić ( sr, Добрица Ћосић, ; 29 December 1921 – 18 May 2014) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician, writer, and political theorist.
Ćosić was twice awarded the prestigious NIN award for literature and Medal of Pushkin f ...
, Vojislav Šešelj
Vojislav Šešelj ( sr-Cyrl, Војислав Шешељ, ; born 11 October 1954) is a Serbian politician, founder and president of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS); he was convicted of war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal ...
, among others. In the eyes of the Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
, Izetbegović wanted to transform Bosnia and Herzegovina into an Islamic state
An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
.
The Declaration designated Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
as a model country to be emulated by Muslim revolutionaries worldwide. One of the passages that was in particular picked out by his opponents was, "There can be no peace or coexistence between the Islamic faith and non-Islamic social and political institutions...the state should be an expression of religion and should support its moral concepts."
References
Sources
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External links
The Islamic Declaration
- Alija Izetbegović, Sarajevo, 1990 (pdf)
Islam between East and West
- Alia Izetbegović, American Trust Publications, first published 1984, third edition 1993, reprinted 1994 (pdf)
- by R. K. Kent
{{Breakup of Yugoslavia
Alija Izetbegović
Contemporary Islamic philosophy
Bosniak history
20th century in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovina
History of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Political history of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnian nationalism
Political manifestos
Islamic theology books
1969 documents
1970 documents
20th-century philosophy
Islamist works