Mehmed Handžić

Hajji Mehmed Handžić
Personal
Born	16 December 1906 Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary
Died	29 July 1944 Sarajevo, Independent State of Croatia
Religion	Islam
Region	Bosnia
Denomination	Sunni
Alma mater	Al-Azhar University
Organization
Founder of	El-Hidaje

Mehmed Handžić (16 December 1906 – 29 July 1944) was a prominent Bosnian Islamic scholar, theologian and a politician. Handžić was the leader of Islamic revivalist movement in Bosnia and founder of the religious association El-Hidaje. He was one of the authors of Resolution of Sarajevo Muslims' and chairman of the Committee of National Salvation.

Handžić was born in Sarajevo where he received primary and secondary education. He enrolled in Al-Azhar University in Egypt where he authored his first works. After graduating from Al-Azhar he returned to Bosnia where he became a professor and later a director of Gazi Husrev-beg madrasa. In 1936, he co-founded association El-Hidaje which gathered intellectuals of the revivalist current. He later became editor-in-chief of its newspaper and president of the association in 1939.

Handžić's political career began with his candidature in 1938 Yugoslav parliamentary election. A year later, he participated in the creation of Movement for the Autonomy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in which he became part of the leadership. When Axis forces invaded Yugoslavia, they established a puppet state called Independent State of Croatia to which Handžić pledged allegiance. He withdrew this support only few months later, when he initiated the adoption of a resolution condemning war crimes committed by Independent State of Croatia. Handžić later became chairman of Council of National Salvation which was created to organize defense and aid for Muslims of Bosnia.

He died on 29 July 1944 during a routine medical operation in Koševo Hospital.

Early life and education

Mehmed Handžić was born in 1906 in Sarajevo, to a prominent Bosniak family. He received his primary education in his family and in kuttab. He then finished Ruşdiye school and Sharia Grammar School in Sarajevo. Society of Gajret awarded him a scholarship towards medical studies for finishing Sharia Grammar School as the best student. However, in 1926, he opted to enroll in Al-Azhar University in Egypt where he was one of the best students. Handžić distinguished himself as an erudite in the field of research on Hadith and Islamic tradition. He authored Al Jewhar al asna fi tarajim 'ulama' wa shu'ra' al-Bosna in Arabic while on the university, this work was printed in several editions and it was translated to Bosnian by professor Mehmed Kico. While in Al-Azhar, Handžić was in contact with Muslim Brotherhood or Young Muslims which caused him to develop a more political view of Islam than most of Bosnian Ulama. He completed his degree in Sharia law in 1931, afterwards he completed Hajj and returned to Bosnia.

Academic career

Cover of Al Jewhar al asna fi tarajim 'ulama' wa shu'ra' al-Bosna, work in Arabic Handžić authored while studying in Cairo

After returning from Egypt to Bosnia, Handžić became a professor at Gazi Husrev-beg madrasa and in 1932, became its director. There he taught Arabic language and Sciences of Tafsir, Hadith and Fiqh subjects. He also worked with several Islamic newspapers and he engaged other fields of work in Islamic associations in Bosnia. In 1931 or 1932, he initiated a reopening of Khanqah in Bentbaša. He was elected to committee of Muslim charity organization Merhamet in 1933. A year later, he wrote a booklet Vasijjetnama (English: Will) and donated all of the income from that work to Merhamet. In 1937, Handžić became Head Librarian of Gazi Husrev-beg Library. While on this position he created new library catalogue and examined 3240 manuscripts. In 1939, he became a professor at Higher Islamic School for Theology and Sharia Law where he taught subjects Science of Fiqh and Tasfir.

Handžić was the leader of the Islamic revivalist movement in Bosnia which sought to return to the original Islam which they deemed to be hardly compatible with freely interpreted Quran or readily accepting European modernity. On 8 March 1936, Handžić together with his associates founded the association El-Hidaje (The Right Path) which gathered religious scholars, müderris, aʼimmah and other intellectuals of the revivalist current. The association also founded its newspaper also called El-Hidaje in December 1936 of which Handžić became editor-in-chief in August 1937. Handžić became President of El-Hidaje in 1939. Under his leadership, the El-Hidaje grew from an organization representing the 'ilmiyya (body of Ulama) to becoming the leading organization of the revivalist movement meant to encompass all Muslims of Bosnia.

Work

Most of Handžić's works are about Islamic tradition and ethics. In the late 1930s, Handžić wrote several short Quranic commentaries in Arabic. In 1941, he wrote a textbook titled An Introduction to the Science of Tafsīr. which covers all key parts of Quranic sciences. At religious high schools in Bosnia this work is still used as the main textbook for the tafsir subject.

Political career

Handžić's political career began when he was a candidate on the Muslim Organization electoral list which was part of an opposition coalition led by Croatian Peasant Party in 1938 parliamentary election. Handžić later participated in several meetings of major Bosnian cultural and religious organizations which led to the creation of Movement for the Autonomy of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 30 December 1939. He became part of its leadership as a representative of El-Hidaje.

In April 1941, when Axis powers invaded Yugoslavia, Independent State of Croatia (Ustaše-led Axis puppet state) was established to which Muslim political and religious elites gave their allegiance. This included Handžić who together with Kasim Dobrača, on the behalf of El-Hidaje, pledged allegiance to Poglavnik Ante Pavelić in May 1941. This support was withdrawn when on 28 August, during El-Hidaje assembly Mehmed Handžić initiated the adoption of a resolution condemning Ustaše war crimes and expulsion of Serbs, Jews, Romani and other people from Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 12 October, this resolution was declared with the support of 108 notable Sarajevo Muslims.

On 26 August 1942, a conference of around 300 Muslim notables presided by Reis-ul-Ulema Salih Safvet Bašić was held in the offices of the Muslim charity Merhamet in Sarajevo. The conference was held in response to the massacres of Bosniaks by Chetniks in Foča, it criticized the failure of the Independent State of Croatia to protect Muslim civilians and set goals of organizing aid Muslims in eastern Bosnia and creating an armed force to defend Muslims. To achieve this goals Council of National Salvation was founded during this conference with Handžić as its chairman.

In mid-April 1943, Handžić met with Nazi Germany embassy officials. During this meeting, he blamed Ustaše for the killings of Muslims and he claimed that the Independent State of Croatia, like Kingdom of Yugoslavia adopted "a policy of annihilation" towards Muslims. He welcomed the formation of Muslim SS Division but he said that it isn't enough and that at least de-facto independent Muslim state would need to be established as an ally of Nazi Germany. While other Muslim politicians made their appeals for an alliance openly, Handžić did this in secret. During the same month, Handžić welcomed the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Amin al-Husseini at a banquet in the Sarajevo city hall. The mufti came to Bosnia in order to organize recruitment to the Muslim SS Division. In autumn, Handžić approved of Muhamed Pandža's decision to create a Muslim guerilla force that would fight alongside Partisans.

Political views

Handžić strongly opposed secularisation which began to appear in Bosnia after World War I. He denounced mixed marriages (marriages between a Muslim and a non-Muslim) and urged Muslims to not attend non-Muslim weddings or funerals. He also emphasized the importance of Muslims wearing visible signs of their religion. Handžić also strongly opposed westernization and he was very critical of the West calling it "corrupt" and "materialistic", he also criticized it for hostility to Islam.

Handžić considered Islam to be a foundational element of Bosnian Muslims' cultural identity and he believed in compatibility of Islam with nationalism. The text titled Patriotism, nationality and nationalism from the Islamic point of view which was written by Handžić and published by El-Hidaje created a basic contour of Bosniak nationalism. He also introduced the concept of Bosniakhood which applied only to Bosnian Muslim community. Handžić also had pan-Islamic leanings.

Death

Mehmed Handžić died during a routine medical operation in Koševo Hospital on 29 July 1944, aged 37. It has been alleged that the death was a result of an assassination by the Partisans, historian Marko Attila Hoare describes the theory as "not impossible".

References

Books

• Bougarel, Xavier (2008). "Farewell to the Ottoman Legacy? Islamic Reformism and Revivalism in Inter-war Bosnia-Herzegovina". In Clayer, Nathalie; Germain, Eric (eds.). Islam in inter-war Europe. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231701006.
• Bougarel, Xavier (2017). Peter, Frank; GhaneaBassiri, Kambiz (eds.). Islam and Nationhood in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Surviving Empires. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781350003590.
• Hoare, Marko Attila (2013). The Bosnian Muslims in the Second World War: A History. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199327850.
• Motadel, David (2014). Islam and Nazi Germany's War. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674724600.
• Mekić, Sejad (2016). A Muslim Reformist in Communist Yugoslavia: The Life and Thought of Husein Đozo. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781315525839.

Articles

• Karić, Enes (2016). "Mehmed Handžić − alim koji je širio povjerenje u tradiciju" [Mehmed Handžić - alim who spread confidence in tradition]. Godišnjak Bošnjačke zajednice kulture »Preporod« (in Bosnian) (1) – via CEEOL.
• Cetin, Onder (2010). "1941 Resolutions of El-Hidaje in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a Case of Traditional Conflict Transformation". European Journal of Economic and Political Studies. 3 (2).
• Algar, Hamid (1994). "Persian literature in Bosnia-Herzegovina". Journal of Islamic Studies. 5 (2) – via Oxford Academic.
• Busuladžić, Mustafa (1942). "Lo scrittore Hadži Mehmed Handžić di Sarajevo". Oriente Moderno (in Italian). 22 (4). Istituto per l'Oriente C. A. Nallino – via JSTOR.
• Motadel, David (2013). "The 'Muslim Question' in Hitler's Balkans". The Historical Journal. 56 (4). Cambridge University Press – via JSTOR.
• Fazlic, Hazim (2015). "Modern Muslim Thought in the Balkans: The Writings of Mehmed ef. Handžić in the El-Hidaje Periodical in the Context of Discrimination and Genocide". Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. 35 (3) – via Taylor and Francis.