Osman Rastoder (1882 – 26 January 1946) was a commander of the Muslim militia in upper Bihor during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. He was a collaborator with the Italians during their

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

occupation of Bihor. Rastoder belonged to the supporters of the annexation of Sandžak by the

Greater Albania Greater Albania is an irredentist and nationalist concept that seeks to unify the lands that many Albanians consider to form their national homeland. It is based on claims on the present-day or historical presence of Albanian populations in th ...

Early life

Rastoder was born in a wealthy family and could afford to be educated first in

madrassa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

s in

Novi Pazar Novi Pazar ( sr-cyr, Нови Пазар, lit. "New Bazaar"; ) is a city located in the Raška District of southwestern Serbia. As of the 2011 census, the urban area has 66,527 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 100,410 inhabit ...

and

Đakovica Gjakova, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the seventh largest city of Kosovo and seat of Gjakova Municipality and Gjakova District. The city has 40,827 inhabitants, while the municipality has 94,556 inhabitants. Geographicall ...

, and later in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

.They were part of the Kuči tribe and moved to Turkey in 1915 and remained there while Osman returned to Balkans in 1919, to Novi Pazar where he married himself second time. He had seven children in two marriages. In 1926 he returned to Petnjica with both of his wives where he was appointed as mullah in villages Petnjica and Savin Bor. Since 1929 he was appointed as imam in local mosque. Besides his native Albanian and Serbian language Rastoder spoke Turkish and Arabic.Милутин Живковић - НДХ У СРБИЈИ Усташки режим у Прибоју, Пријепољу, Новој Вароши и Сјеници(април–септембар 1941, Последице усташке управе НДХ и рецидиви њене политике према муслиманима, Publishers: ДРУШТВО ИСТОРИЧАРА СРБИЈЕ „СТОЈАН НОВАКОВИЋ“, ИНСТИТУТ ЗА СРПСКУ КУЛТУРУ ПРИШТИНА-ЛЕПОСАВИЋ, Belgrade 2017 p.294

World War II

In June 1941 Rastoder was appointed as commander of local Muslim detachment which evolved in September 1941 in a detachment of

Sandžak Muslim militia The Sandžak Muslim militia was established in Sandžak and eastern Herzegovina in Axis occupied Yugoslavia between April or June and August 1941 during World War II. It was under control of the Independent State of Croatia until September 1941, w ...

responsible for the territory of upper Bihor. At the beginning of 1941 the relations between towns Petnjica and Police worsened due to the killing of Rastoder's son, in

Berane Berane ( cyrl, Беране) is one of the largest towns of northeastern Montenegro and a former administrative centre of the Ivangrad District. The town is located on the Lim river. From 1949 to 1992, it was named Ivangrad ( cyrl, Иванг� ...

. During the Uprising in Montenegro a detachment of the militia from Bihor commanded by Rastoder attacked insurgents toward

. His forces burned Orthodox Christians in villages Goražde, Zagrađe, Tmušiće and Lješnica. In autumn 1941, Rastoder was appointed to command the

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

detachment in upper Bihor with its seat in

Petnjica Petnjica ( cnr, Петњица) is a town in northern Montenegro, and the center of Petnjica Municipality. Petnjica regained its municipality status on May 28, 2013, which it previously had from 1945 to 1957, when it was merged with the Berane Mu ...

. In February of 1942, Rastoder led an attack against Serb villages on right side of river Lim in srez of

Bijelo Polje Bijelo Polje ( cnr, Бијело Поље, ) is a town in northeastern Montenegro on the Lim River. It has an urban population of 15,400 (2011 census). It is the administrative, economic, cultural and educational centre of northern Montenegro. ...

. In this attack villages Ivanje, Raduliće, Potoci, Crnča and Dubovo were burnt. Together with militia commanders (including Sulejman Pačariz and Husein Rovčanin) he participated in a conference in village of Godijeva, and agreed to attack Serb villages near

Sjenica Sjenica ( sr-cyr, Сјеница, ) is a town and municipality located in the Zlatibor District of southwestern Serbia. The population of the town, according to 2011 census, is 14,060 inhabitants, while the municipality has 26,392. Sjenica is si ...

and other parts of Sandžak. On 31 March 1942, Chetnik leader

Pavle Đurišić Pavle Đurišić ( sr-cyr, Павле Ђуришић, ; 9 July 1909 – April 1945) was a Montenegrin Serb regular officer of the Royal Yugoslav Army who became a Chetnik commander ('' vojvoda'') and led a significant proportion of the Chetniks ...

met with Rastoder and offered him a peace agreement, which Rastoder refused. Rastoder favorized armed conflicts with Orthodox population of the region, above all with those from

and

. The detachment of militia commanded by Rastoder, supported by Albanian irregulars and German forces, attacked and killed 35 Partisans and 19 Italian irregulars of the

Garibaldi Battalion The Garibaldi Battalion (Garibaldi Brigade after April 1937) was a largely-Italian volunteer unit of the International Brigades that fought on the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War from October 1936 to 1938. It was named after Giuseppe Ga ...

on 22 January 1944 near the village of Vrbica (

). Rastoder was killed by police on 26 January 1946 on Ladevac mountain.

Legacy

In February 2013, members of the Bosniak community in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

established the ''Mulla Hrastoder'', an award named for Rastoder in his honor. Streets 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 ...

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 ...

Милутин Живковић - НДХ У СРБИЈИ Усташки режим у Прибоју, Пријепољу, Новој Вароши и Сјеници (април–септембар 1941, Последице усташке управе НДХ и рецидиви њене политике према муслиманима, Publishers: ДРУШТВО ИСТОРИЧАРА СРБИЈЕ „СТОЈАН НОВАКОВИЋ“, ИНСТИТУТ ЗА СРПСКУ КУЛТУРУ ПРИШТИНА-ЛЕПОСАВИЋ, Belgrade 2017 p.295, and in

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

were named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rastoder, Osman Albanian nationalists 1882 births 1946 deaths Montenegrin Muslims Sandžak Muslim militia Place of death missing Date of birth missing

Early life

World War II

Legacy

See also

References