Husein Kavazović

Husein Kavazović (born July 3, 1964) is a Bosnian Islamic cleric serving as Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina since September 2012. He was previously the Mufti of Tuzla.

Husein Kavazović
Kavazović in 2017
TitleGrand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Personal
Born (1964-07-03) 3 July 1964
Jelovče Selo, Gradačac, PR Bosnia and Herzegovina, FPR Yugoslavia
ReligionIslam
NationalityBosnian
DenominationSunni
SchoolHanafi
Alma materAl-Azhar University
University of Sarajevo
ProfessionGrand Mufti
Muslim leader
Period in officeSeptember 2012 – present
PredecessorMustafa Cerić
ProfessionGrand Mufti
Previous postMufti of Tuzla

Biography

Son of Hasan and Saima Kavazović,[1] Husein attended primary schools in Gradačac and then enrolled at the Gazi Husrev-begova Medresa in Sarajevo, where he graduated in 1983. He left Yugoslavia to study Islamic law from 1985 to 1990 at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, then came back to defend his master's thesis at the Faculty of Islamic Studies at the University of Sarajevo, in the field of Sharia law.[2][3]

He then worked as imam, khatib and muallim (lecturer) at the Islamic congregations of Srebrenik and Gradačac, before serving as mufti of Tuzla from 1993 to 2012. In the early 1990s he was also elected member of the Council of the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In 2012 the Islamic Community elected him to succeed to Mustafa Cerić as 14th Bosnian Grand Mufti since 1882; at the vote in the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque, the main mosque of Sarajevo, he received 240 of 382 preferences. In his election program, Kavazović had pushed inter alia for the co-operation with other religious communities and a wider "incorporation of women into the work of the Islamic religious community".

Under an agreement, Kavazović was suggested to also serve as Grand Mufti of Hungary.[4]

He speaks Bosnian, Arabic and English.[5][6][7][8]

Controversies

In his speech in Switzerland made in May 2016, Kavazović said "Either we water ourselves with blood or we go to the polls every four years and confirm our sovereignty. Choose Bosniaks, whether we shed blood every 20-30 years or go to the polls. Our house is our obligation, and to preserve Srebrenica, especially. You have to defend yourself against them and the cemeteries. Stay awake for your homeland."[9]

Kavazović has been attacked and threatened multiple times, together with other Bosnian Muslim officials, in the Bosnian language edition of the ISIS magazine, Al Rumiyah.[10]

Notes

References
  1. "Biografija reisu-l-uleme mr. Husein ef. Kavazovića (pristupljeno 5. septembra 2013. g.)". Archived from the original on 22 February 2014.
  2. "Novi reisu-l-ulema mr. Husein ef. Kavazović". balkanpost.net. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  3. "Ko je Husein ef. Kavazović: Od borca s puškom u ruci do reisa". AKOS.ba. Archived from the original on 26 April 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  4. "Gvardijan i reis: Biti čovjek u najtežim vremenima".
  5. "Biografija mr. Husein ef. Kavazović" (PDF). rijaset.ba. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  6. "Neuer religiöser Führer für Muslime in Bosnien". dw.com. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  7. "Gvardijan i reis: Biti čovjek u najtežim vremenima". balkans.aljazeera.net. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  8. "Uvjerljiva podrška Huseinu ef. Kavazoviću". dw.com. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  9. "Kavazović: Ne dozvolite da "vlah" vlada Srebrenicom ili da lijemo krv svakih 20 godina (VIDEO)". Nezavisne novine. 24 May 2016.
  10. "Bosnia Urged To Protect Clerics From ISIS Threats". 17 July 2017.
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