Husein Kavazović (born July 3, 1964) is a Bosnian

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 and since September 2012 the

Grand Mufti The Grand Mufti (also called Chief Mufti, State Mufti and Supreme Mufti) is the head of regional muftis, Islamic jurisconsults, of a state. The office originated in the early modern era in the Ottoman empire and has been later adopted in a num ...

(''Reis-ul-Ulema'') of

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 ...

, after having been Mufti of

Tuzla Tuzla (, ) is the third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inhabitants. Tuzla is the economic, cultural, ed ...

Biography

Son of Hasan and Saima Kavazović, Husein attended primary schools in Gradačac and then enrolled at the

Gazi Husrev-begova Medresa ''JU Gazi Husrev-begova medresa, Sarajevo'' (''Javna ustanova Gazi Husrev-begova medresa u Sarajevu''; ) is a high school and college, a madrasa in Arabic, founded on 8 January 1537 CE (26. rajab 943 AH) and built in Sarajevo as Gazi Husrev-beg's ...

in Sarajevo, where he graduated in 1983. He left

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

to study

Islamic law Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...

from 1985 to 1990 at the

Al-Azhar University , image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Al-Azhar University portal , motto = , established = *970/972 first foundat ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

, then came back to defend his master's thesis at the Faculty of Islamic Studies at the

University of Sarajevo The University of Sarajevo ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Univerzitet u Sarajevu'' / Sveučilište u Sarajevu / Универзитет у Сарајеву) is a public university located in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the larges ...

, in the field of

Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

law. He then worked as

imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

khatib In Islam, a khatib, khateeb or hatib ( ar, خطيب ''khaṭīb'') is a person who delivers the sermon (''khuṭbah'') (literally "narration"), during the Friday prayer and Eid prayers. The ''khateeb'' is usually the prayer leader ('' imam''), ...

and ''muallim'' (lecturer) at the Islamic congregations of

Srebrenik Srebrenik ( sr-cyrl, Сребреник) is a city located in Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, near Tuzla. As of 2013, it has a population of 39,678 inhabitants. The t ...

and

Gradačac Gradačac ( sr-cyrl, Градачац, ) is a city located in the Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the northeastern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, roughly south of ...

, before serving as

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 ...

from 1993 to 2012. In the early 1990s he was also elected member of the Council of the

Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, Islamska zajednica Bosne i Hercegovine, IZ BiH) is a religious organisation of Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is also recognised as the highest representative body of Muslims in the regi ...

. In 2012 the Islamic Community elected him to succeed to

Mustafa Cerić Mustafa Cerić (, born 5 February 1952) is a Bosnian imam who served as the Grand Mufti (''Reis-ul-Ulema'') of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is currently president of the World Bosniak Congress. He was also a candidate for a Bosniak member of the ...

as 14th Bosnian Grand Mufti since 1882; at the vote in the

Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque (, ) is a mosque in the city of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Built in the 16th century, it is the largest historical mosque in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of the most representative Ottoman structures in the Balkan ...

, the main mosque of Sarajevo, he received 240 of 382 preferences. In his election program, Kavazović had pushed inter alia for the co-operation with other religious communities and a wider "incorporation of women into the work of the Islamic religious community". Under an agreement, Kavazović was suggested to also serve as Grand Mufti of Hungary. He speaks Bosnian, Arabic and English.

Controversies

In his speech in Switzerland made in May 2016, Kavazović said that it shouldn't be allowed for "Vlachs to govern

Srebrenica Srebrenica ( sr-cyrl, Сребреница, ) is a town and municipality located in the easternmost part of Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a small mountain town, with its main industry being Salt mine, salt mining a ...

", using a derogatory term for Serbs. He also said "Either we water ourselves with blood or we go to the polls every four years and confirm our sovereignty. Choose Bosniaks, whether we shed blood every 20-30 years or go to the polls. Our house is our obligation, and to preserve Srebrenica, especially. You have to defend yourself against them and the cemeteries. Stay awake for your homeland." Kavazović has been attacked and threatened multiple times, together with other Bosnian Muslim officials, in the

Bosnian language Bosnian (; / , ) is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian pluricentric language mainly used by ethnic Bosniaks. Bosnian is one of three such varieties considered official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with Croatian and ...

edition of the

ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...

magazine, Al Rumiyah.

Notes

*Michael Martens: ''Gegen Rache und Küsse: Das neue Oberhaupt der bosnischen Muslime tritt sein Amt an'', in: ''

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...

'', 16 November 2012
Meldung über die Wahl von Kavazović bei "Nachrichten.at"
retrieved 15 December 2012
Meldung der Deutschen Welle über die Wahl von Kavazović
retrieved 15 December 2012
Biografija reisu-l-uleme mr. Husein ef. Kavazovića
(Rijaset Islamske zajednice u Bosni i Hercegovini)

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kavazovic, Husein 1964 births Living people People from Gradačac Gazi Husrev Bey's Madrasa alumni University of Sarajevo alumni Al-Azhar University alumni Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Sunni Muslims Hanafis Maturidis Grand Muftis of Bosnia and Herzegovina 20th-century imams 21st-century imams Bosnian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovina