Mustafa Cerić

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Mustafa Cerić

Mustafa ef. Cerić at the Faculty of Islamic Studies in Sarajevo
Born Mustafa Cerić
(1952-02-05) 5 February 1952
Visoko, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia
Alma mater University of Chicago (PhD)
Occupation World Bosniak Congress, Bosniak Academy of Sciences and Arts
Religion Sunni Islam (Hanafi, Maturidi)

Mustafa Cerić ([mustafaː tserit͡ɕ]), born 5 February 1952) is President of the World Bosniak Congress. He is one of the founders of the Bosniak Academy of Sciences and Arts. He is a Bosnian Muslim cleric and was serving as the Grand Mufti (reisu-l-ulema) of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is fluent in Bosnian, English and Arabic, and cites a "passive knowledge" of Turkish, German and French.[1] Cerić is married and has two daughters and a son.

Early life

Cerić graduated from the Madresa 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. He officially became the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1999, although he has led the Islamic community in Bosnia since 1993, a fact that has sparked controversy in his re-election.

Membership

First Gathering of European Muslim and Jewish leaders in Brussels, December 2010 - left to right: Grand Mufti Mustafa Ceric - European Council President Herman Van Rompuy - Marc Schneier - Abdujalil Sajid
Cerić is a member of several local and international scientific organisations and societies, including the Interreligious Council of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Foundation of Srebrenica-Potočari Memorial and Cemetery, the Council of 100 Leaders of the World Economic Forum, the European Council for Fatwas and Research, Religion for Peace, the Executive Committee of the European Council of Religious Leaders, the Board of Trustees of International Islamic University Islamabad, the Sharia'h Board of Bosnia Bank International, the Fiqh Academy in Mecca, Aal Albayt Foundation for Islamic Thought in Jordan, the World Council of Religions for Peace, International Commission for Peace Research chaired by Henry Kissinger, UNESCO and the Executive Council of World Forum of Ulama. He has delivered numerous lectures and led several workshops on interreligious and interfaith issues at local and international conferences.[citation needed]

He 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.[citation needed] Cerić is also a member of the Committee of Conscience fighting against the Holocaust denial.[2]

At his public speeches as the one in 2010 organised by Foundation For Ethnic Understanding he calls for common efforts on behalf of humanity and better understanding between the religious communities.[3]

Views

Cerić is known for having made many controversial comments which have drawn criticism from secular Bosniaks, Serbians and Croatians alike. In May 2009, while visiting a Muslim community in Serbia’s Bosniak-majority Sandžak region bordering Montenegro, Cerić said that no force could separate Muslims in Serbia from those in Bosnia, which he has described as a homeland for Muslims. On 15 August 2009, while conducting Bosnia's first Sharia mass wedding in Zenica, he called for Islamic Sharia law to be incorporated into the Bosnian constitution.[4]

Some have criticised Cerić for what they claim is the glorification of "the Ottomans who ruled the Balkans for six centuries, converting the local Slavic Christian population to Islam."[4] After an International Court of Justice opinion, he said "nobody needs to prove to us nor we need to prove to somebody who planned this, executed it and who did not punish those who committed the genocide." in accusation against Serbia. He added that "We know everything came from Belgrade and we will live with it...because the right way for misunderstandings among people to be solved is the International Court, it said its business and it remains for eternity."[5]

During his meeting with the Turkish prime minister, Cerić said: "Turkey is our Mother. That's how it was always, and it will remain like that."[6][7][8]

Cerić also sits on the Board of World Religious Leaders for The Elijah Interfaith Institute.[9]

Awards

He was the co-recipient of the 2003 UNESCO Felix Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize[10] and recipient of the International Council of Christians and Jews Annual Sternberg Award “for exceptional contribution to interfaith understanding."[11] He also received the 2007 Theodor-Heuss-Stiftung award for his contribution to spreading and strengthening democracy."[12] 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.”[13] He is also a 2008 recipient of Eugen Biser Foundation award for his efforts in promoting understanding and peace between Islamic and Christian thought.[14] In 2008, Cerić accepted the invitation of Tony Blair to be on the advisory council of the Tony Blair Faith Foundation.[15]

Publications

References

  1. ↑ Faculty of Islamic Studies in Sarajevo
  2. ↑ Committee on Conscience
  3. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoT6LUs4dBo&feature=related
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bosnia: Muslim spiritual leader urges more Sharia law - adnkronos, August 17, 2009
  5. ↑ http://dalje.com/en-world/reis-ceric--we-know-serbia-committed-genocide/23148
  6. ↑ http://www.livno-online.com/bih/9641-je-li-turska-mati-bosnjacima
  7. ↑ http://nwbih.com/news.cgi?ref1=1477
  8. ↑ http://stara.oslobodjenje.ba/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=49731&Itemid=46
  9. ↑ The Elijah Interfaith Institute - Muslim Members of the Board of World Religious Leaders
  10. ↑ Monsignor Etchegaray and the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mustafa Ceric to receive UNESCO's 2003 Félix Houphouët-Boigny peace prize, UNESCO.org
  11. ↑ Dr Mustafa Ceric, Grand Mufti, Bosnia-Herzegovina addressed a large audience at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies on Wednesday, March 7, Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies
  12. ↑ Theodor-Heuss-Stiftung, German wikipedia
  13. ↑ Association of Muslim Social Scientists UK
  14. ↑ Mustafi ef. Ceriću nagrada Fondacije „Eugen Bizer“, Infobiro.ba
  15. ↑ TheTonyBlairFaithFoundation.org

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