Mustafa Cerić

Mustafa Cerić (Bosnian pronunciation: [mustafaː tserit͡ɕ], born 5 February 1952) is a Bosnian imam who served as the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1993 to 2012, and is currently president of the World Bosniak Congress. In the 2014 general election, he ran for a seat in the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a Bosniak member, but was not elected.

Mustafa Cerić
Cerić in 2011
TitleFormer Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Personal
Born (1952-02-05) 5 February 1952
Veliko Čajno, Visoko, PR Bosnia and Herzegovina, FPR Yugoslavia
ReligionSunni Islam
Children3
Alma materAl-Azhar University
University of Chicago
OccupationWorld Bosniak Congress (2012–present)
Senior posting
Period in office1993 – September 2012
PredecessorJakub Selimoski (as Grand Mufti of Yugoslavia)
SuccessorHusein Kavazović

Cerić ensured that Islam is a strong element of Bosniak nationalism and has argued that Bosnia and Herzegovina should become a Bosniak nation state as Croats and Serbs already have their own nation states, Croatia and Serbia.[1]

Life

Cerić graduated from the Gazi Husrev-beg Madrasa in Sarajevo and received a scholarship to Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. He then returned to Yugoslavia, where he became an Imam. In 1981, he accepted the position of Imam at the Islamic Cultural Center of Greater Chicago (ICC) in Northbrook, Illinois and lived in the United States for several years.

During his time in the United States, he learned English and earned a Ph.D. degree in Islamic Studies at the University of Chicago. After his studies, he left the ICC and returned to Yugoslavia and became an Imam again in a learning center in Zagreb in 1987.

Cerić led the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1993. He officially became the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1999. He was replaced as reis-ul-ulema in 2012 by Husein Kavazović. In 2011, Cerić was one of the founders of the Bosniak Academy of Sciences and Arts. In December 2012, he was one of the founders of the World Bosniak Congress, and serves as its president.

Membership

Cerić is one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding. Cerić is also a member of the Committee of Conscience fighting against the Holocaust denial.[2]

Awards
Cerić meeting Pope John Paul II in Sarajevo, 12 April 1997

Cerić was the co-recipient of the 2003 UNESCO Felix Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize[3] and recipient of the International Council of Christians and Jews Annual Sternberg Award “for exceptional contribution to interfaith understanding."[4] He also received the 2007 Theodor-Heuss-Stiftung award for his contribution to spreading and strengthening democracy."[5]

In 2007, he was named the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Association of Muslim Social Scientists UK “in recognition of his distinguished contributions to better understanding between Faiths, outstanding scholarship, for promoting a climate of respect and peaceful co-existence, and a wider recognition of the place of faith in Europe and the West.”[6]

He was a 2008 recipient of Eugen Biser Foundation award for his efforts in promoting understanding and peace between Islamic and Christian thought.[7] In 2008, Cerić accepted the invitation of Tony Blair to be on the advisory council of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation.[8]

Publications

Personal life

Cerić is fluent in his native Bosnian, English and Arabic, and cites a "passive knowledge" of Turkish, German and French.[9][10][11]

References
  1. ICG & 26 February 2013.
  2. Committee on Conscience Archived 2009-04-01 at the Wayback Machine, projetaladin.org; accessed 10 March 2016.
  3. Monsignor Etchegaray and the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mustafa Ceric to receive UNESCO's 2003 Félix Houphouët-Boigny peace prize, UNESCO.org
  4. Dr Mustafa Ceric, Grand Mufti, Bosnia-Herzegovina addressed a large audience at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies on Wednesday, March 7 Archived 2008-07-23 at the Wayback Machine, Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies
  5. Theodor-Heuss-Stiftung, German wikipedia
  6. Association of Muslim Social Scientists UK Archived 2008-06-17 at the Wayback Machine, amssuk.com; accessed 10 March 2016.
  7. Mustafi ef. Ceriću nagrada Fondacije „Eugen Bizer“, Infobiro.ba; accessed 10 March 2016.
  8. Profile Archived 2008-06-06 at the Wayback Machine, TonyBlairFaithFoundation.org; accessed 10 March 2016.
  9. Faculty of Islamic Studies in Sarajevo
  10. preporod.ba
  11. nf.unmo.ba

Other sources
  • International Crisis Group (26 February 2013). "Bosnia's Dangerous Tango: Islam and Nationalism" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
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