O POKUŠAJIMA DONOŠENJA USTAVA ISLAMSKE VJERSKE ZAJEDNICE U NEZAVISNOJ DRŽAVI HRVATSKOJ
THE ATTEMPT TO WRITE A CONSTITUTION FOR THE COMMUNITY OF ISLAMIC FAITH IN THE INDEPENDENT STATE OF CROATIA

Summary/Abstract: The issue of the constitutional organization of the Islamic religious and charitable foundation in Bosnia and Hercegovina became critical to the Muslim community beginning in 1878. Islamic faith was the cornerstone of society, culture and national identity. The traditional distinction between religious and secular authority, represented by the reis ul ulema (head of the religious community) on the one hand and political parties on the other became muddled by the laicization of Islamic religious institutions following the promulgation of the constitution of the Community of Islamic Faith in 1936. The majority of ulemas resisted this reorganization, displeased by their loss of influence in religious and charitable work. In the months following the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia, the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Muslims who had the greatest influence on the government were those who were outspoken opponents of the Yugoslav Muslim Organization and its interference in the affairs of the Community of Islamic Faith. Even though they had no say in political affairs, the fact that individuals previously belonging to the Yugoslav Muslim Organization, led by Dzaferbeg Kulenović, were well-positioned in the administration of the Community of Islamic Faith, meant that they could raise issues which rendered a solution to the ongoing constitutional wrangling in Islamic religious and charitable organizations impossible.

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