Džemaludin Čaušević
Džemaludin Čaušević | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 28 March 1938 | (aged 67)
Occupation(s) | Theologian, journalist, translator, linguist |
Mehmed Džemaludin
Early life
Mehmed Džemaludin Čaušević was born in northwestern Bosnia, in the village of Arapuša, near Bosanska Krupa.
His earliest education was obtained at the hands of his father, Ali Hodža, who was a member of the local Islamic clergy. As a teenager, Čaušević was enrolled into the madrasa of the nearby city of Bihać where he attracted the attention of its foremost instructor, Mehmed Sabit Ribić (who was also the city’s Mufti).
Education
He was sent to Istanbul at the age of seventeen to receive a higher education in Islamic studies. While in the Ottoman capital Čaušević finished his education in Islamic Studies with high marks and subsequently enrolled in the empire’s law school, the Mekteb-i Hukuk. It was here that he was first exposed to the ongoing modernization that had been instituted in the empire over the last several decades.
There are sources indicating that during the summer months while a student at the Mekteb-i Hukuk, he would, on invitation, travel back to Bosnia to speak at various venues. It was already apparent from his lectures at this time that Čaušević was receptive to notions of both religious and societal reform. Moreover, he spent some time in
Return to Bosnia and Herzegovina
The turn of the 20th century was a period of great cultural and political transformation within
Needless to say, this flight triggered not only considerable alterations to Bosnia and Herzegovina's
Activities in Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Making his residence in
- “strengthened Čaušević’s conviction that there would be no progress among Bosnian Muslims, especially in the religious sense, without reform and the advancement of religious education.”
In 1909 Čaušević accepted a position as
- “On March 26, 1914, on the very eve of World War I, Čaušević was proclaimed the reis-ul-ulema of the Islamic community in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He remained in that position until 1930 when he resigned because of disagreements with the Yugoslav government over the administration of waqfs (Muslim charitable organisations) and religious positions in Yugoslavia.”
Following his retirement from this post in 1930, Čaušević continued to be an active participant in Islamic intellectual discourse through contributions to literary papers (some of which he established). Together with Hafiz Muhamed Pandža, he also translated the
Čaušević and other reformers' legacy
As with other Muslim reformers of his generation, Džemaludin Čaušević had the same objective in mind for his people, and he employed the same rhetoric and methodology: use of the printing press, allowing for women to uncover their faces, calling for educational reforms, etc. The rhetoric that he used was evocative of other reformist calls throughout the Muslim Middle East and Central Asia. He censured his fellow Muslims for having drifted into the “deep sleep” of apathy and defeatism:
- “Muslims fell into a deep sleep, from which they were not able to wake up until the Europeans, with their weapons of knowledge and all sorts of inventions, came to the door of their house and demonstrated the divine truth: Knowledge and ignorance cannot be equal, knowledge always triumphs over ignorance.”
The focal point that reform and modernity evolved around for all Muslim reformers was knowledge; for “knowledge always triumphs over ignorance”, and they believed that Muslims must have fallen into ignorance, as the Europeans had triumphed over them. Now this knowledge (which the Muslims once possessed when they knew how to interpret the Qur’an correctly) had to be regained, and the Europeans, as well as other advanced nations, should be used as models for proficiency and advancement. Muslims needed to learn from Europe to regain the worldly wisdom they once possessed. Seeing that most of these reformers were sincere believers, they did not question the authenticity of the Qur’an, and in fact, they sought to reinterpret the Qur’an so that its real message became the search for knowledge, accompanied by moral and material enrichment.
Death
Džemaludin Čaušević died in 1938, on the eve of World War II.
References
Sources
- Karić, Enes & Demirović, Mujo; Reis Džemaludin Čaušević: Prosvjetitelj i reformator. Ljiljan, Sarajevo, 2002.
- Traljić, Mahmud, Islamska Misao H. Mehmeda Džemaludina Čauševića. Rijaset Islamske Zajednice, Sarajevo, 1998.