Neki primjeri teme derviša u kulturi i umjetnosti socijalističke Jugoslavije / Some Examples of the Theme of Dervishes in the Culture and Art of Socialist Yugoslavia
Some Examples of the Theme of Dervishes in the Culture and Art of Socialist Yugoslavia

Summary/Abstract: The article presents selected examples of various works in which the theme of dervishes is present, from different areas of culture and art in socialist Yugoslavia during the 1960s and 1970s. The novel Death and The Dervish (Derviš i smrt) by Meša Selimović, from 1966,1 is one of the most significant works of Yugoslav literature. Here we examine critical receptions of Islamic and Sufi spirituality in this novel, theatrical performances, and film adaptations, the connection of filming the movie Death and The Dervish with the Rifai dervish lodge in Prizren, as well as the significance of the Mevlevi dervish order in the novel, to which Shaykh Ahmed Nurudin, the main character, belongs. In Selimović’s next novel The Fortress (Tvrđava), from 1970,2 as well as in Derviš Sušić’s novel Hodža Strah (The Imam of Fear) from 1973 and his earlier short story Plaćenik (The Mercenary) from 1966, an important role is played by the Hamzevi dervishes, who are portrayed as symbols and carriers of resistance and rebellion. Nedim Filipović’s book Princ Musa i šejh Bedreddin (Prince Musa and Shaykh Bedreddin) from 1971, considered his seminal work, is a historiographical study of the uprisings in the 15th century Ottoman Empire. Shaykh Bedreddin, the leader of the dervish rebellion of 1416, is also present in Derviš Sušić’s novel Hodža Strah, and Filipović’s historiographical research, published two years earlier, may have served as the basis for the literary interpretation of this theme in Sušić’s novel.

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