Kako su provedeni prvi vjerski i vakufsko-mearifski džematski izbori na području gračaničkog kotara, 1909. godine
How the first religious and waqf-ma’arif (vakufsko-mearifsko) jemat (džemat) elections were conducted in the Gračanica area in 1909

Summary/Abstract: The struggle of the Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina for religious and waqf-ma’arif autonomy ended successfully with the publication of the Statute for the autonomous administration of Islamic religious and waqf-ma’arif affairs in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Autonomous Statute), on the 1st of May 1909. One of the first provisions of this statute was that for the first time in their history, Bosnian Muslims were free to elect their representatives in their jemat and waqf-ma’arif bodies. Based on this provision the elections in the Gračanica district were successfully organized and conducted in the middle of July of the same year for the city of Gračanica and 18 seats (jemats). Only the Soko and Sladna elections were held in 1909 and 1910. The available archival materials failed to determine why the two jemats had no elections and whether they were held at all after 1910. According to the autonomous Statute the Soko and Sladna jemats were obliged to pay a mandatory tax (contribution) for maqtabs like all others jemats in which elections were held, although they did not conduct elections for their representatives in the religious and waqf-ma’arif bodies. Although the elections for the representatives in the Muslim religious and waqf-ma’arif bodies were successfully conducted in Gračanica, the collection of the maqtab taxes was not successful and considerable debt was accumulated which had to be forcefully collected. Problems related to the difficult collection of the Maqtab tax of the Gračanica Muslims was reported to the Provincial Government in Sarajevo by the district head, and the Government suggested that there should be no forceful collection of the tax by the Provincial government but that the debt should be forgiven. We have no information about the outcome of this situation and if this proposal was accepted.

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