Hfz. Ibrahim Maglajlić (25 April 1861 – 16 September 1936) was a Bosnian cleric and politician who served as the Grand Mufti of Yugoslavia from 1930 to 1936.

Biography

He was born in 1861 in

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 completed his primary school and madrasah under the professor Smail Skopljak. During the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

occupation of

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 joined the resistance forces. Because of that he was interned in the town of

Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...

. After returning from captivity, he went to study in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

and after that he returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1887, when he was appointed pricipal of the Maglajlić (Fevzija)

Madrasah Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary education or higher learning ...

in Banja Luka. In 1898, he was appointed for principal of the school of Ruždija. He remained in that position until 1914, when he was appointed to

mufti A mufti (; , ) 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 ''fatāwa'' have played an important role thro ...

Tuzla Tuzla (, , ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 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 inha ...

. In Tuzla, he waited for the end of the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the formation of the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in 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" () has been its colloq ...

. In 1919, together with the more famous

Bosniaks 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 ...

of that time, he founded a political party, the

Yugoslav Muslim Organization The Yugoslav Muslim Organization (, ''JMO'') was an Ethnic Muslim (today Bosniak) political party in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It was founded in Sarajevo on the 16 February 1919 and was led by ...

(JMO), and was its first president. In the elections for the Yugoslav Constituent Assembly in 1920, he was elected a member of parliament. After a split in the party, he founded a new political party, the Yugoslav Muslim People's Organization (JMNO), but did not win a single political mandate. In 1925, he was transferred to the position of mufti of Banja Luka, and in 1929, he retired. He was appointed as the Grand Mufti of the Islamic Community of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia on 12 June 1930. As

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

abolished the

Caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

and the office of Sheikh-ul-Islam Mesihat in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, there was no longer an institution that would grant the Grand Mufti menshura, so a special body (the Menshura Council) in Yugoslavia was established, consisting of members of both Ulema Majlis (Sarajevo and

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

), delegates of the Vakuf-Mearif Councils and members of the Supreme Sharia Courts. The ceremonial enthronement took place in the Bajrakli Mosque in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

on 31 October 1930, when the Riyasat and the seat of the Grad Mufti were transferred from Sarajevo to Belgrade. He was retired on 14 March 1936. When king

Alexander I of Yugoslavia Alexander I Karađorđević (, ; – 9 October 1934), also known as Alexander the Unifier ( / ), was King of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes from 16 August 1921 to 3 October 1929 and King of Yugoslavia from 3 October 1929 until his assassinati ...

was killed and regime changed, the Riyasat and the seat of the Grand Mufti were returned to Sarajevo. He died a few months later in Banja Luka, on September 16, 1936. In 2019, there was an initiative to rebuild the Maglajlić (Fejzije) Madrasah. In 2020, the first generation of students was enrolled, which was called the Golden Generation. The madrasa is located in Banja Luka, next to the Gazanferija Mosque. In front of the mosque is the grave of hfz. Ibrahim Maglajlić.

References

External links

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Ibrahim ef. Maglajlić: 194. godišnjica rođenja petog bh. reisu-l-uleme
– ''Dnevni avaz'' , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Maglajlić, Ibrahim 1861 births 1936 deaths Clergy from Banja Luka Bosnia and Herzegovina Sunni Muslims Bosnia and Herzegovina imams Grand Muftis of Bosnia and Herzegovina