Alija Izzetbegovic: Man of Fairness, Justice, Affection

ISTANBUL

By Ayse Humeyra Atilgan

Beloved by a great number of Muslims across the world as a good leader and owing to his efforts for Islam, Alija Izetbegovic is widely known as 'man of fairness, justice, and affection'. 

"Among those who like him, there are many non-Muslims as well," Alija's daughter Sabina Berberovic Izzetbegovic told the Anadolu Agency (AA). 

"Even some people that I know who are non-Muslims love him as they really understand his thoughts," she said. 

Alija, born in 1925 in Bosnia and died in 2003 of heart disease, has been commemorated across the world in the tenth anniversary of his death. 

The Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) politician, activist, lawyer, author, and philosopher was sentenced to a 14-year prison term in 1983 together with twelve other Bosniak activists for their Muslim nationalist activities. Following strong criticism of the verdict by Western human rights organisations, his sentence was first reduced to twelve years and later he was released after almost five years in prison, where his health suffered serious damage.

"When Alija was in prison, it was the time of both mental and physical oppression," his granddaughter Esma Zlatar told AA. 

"We were not really allowed to practise our religion in public area, it was something confined to home," she said. "Nowadays we are free to do that, everyday I see people who know their identity who are practising Islam and at the same time educated and striving to make a better society for everybody." 

Alija's daughter Sabina still have the blues when she speaks of her father.

"When he was sent to prison, I promised myself I would write him everyday, I wanted to keep the communication between us continuous," she noted. 

"I did write him almost every day but sometimes I just did not have a minute to spare after I had my children. During those 6 years when he was in prison, I wrote thousands of letters, and he responded every three or four days."

"I still keep his letters, it is very hard to read them again as they all bring back my memories with him."

In 1989, Izetbegovic and other Bosniak activists established a political party, the Party of Democratic Action (SDA). Having a largely Muslim character, SDA won the largest share of the vote, with 33% of the seats, and Izetbegovic became the President. 

In February 1992, the President called a national referendum on the independence of Bosnia, and with 99.4% votes in favour Izetbegovic announced the country's independence. 

"He was extremely intelligent, very tolerant to all kinds of living things, and very understanding," said the daughter Sabina. "He left us an independent country."

Alija's granddaughter Esma said, "Today, I feel happy to see that people in our independent country are practising their religious duties without having a trouble. My grandfather was a true believer, Islam was very important for him."

Stressing that Alija was an honest believer, she said, "that was also recognised by others who were not Muslims and that was what they respected him for."

When the independence of Bosnia received international recognition, however, war immediately broke out in 1993 across the country as Serb and Yugoslav Army forces took control of large areas of the country against the government security forces.

Towns and villages were attacked killing thousands of Bosniaks at the heart of Europe which later accepted in the world as 'massacre'. 

In July 1995 of 'Srebrenica massacre', more than 8,000 Bosnians were killed in and around the town of Srebrenica during the Bosnian War, which was formally ended by the Dayton peace accord in November 1995. 

"The biggest thing that Alija left for us is the very fact that we, as Bosnian people, survived the war," his daughter Sabina told AA. 

"That Islam survived in Bosnia at the heart of Europe is a major achievement of him."

Concerning Alija's books including 'Islam Between East and West', 'Inescapable Questions: Autobiographical Notes', 'Izetbegovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Notes from Prison', Sabina said, "People can find the motivation in his books to reaffirm the faith and the identities of Muslims and not to be ashamed of being a Muslim. They can find the right way to maintain the Islamic life in the modern world, facing all the challenges that modern life brings to us

englishnews@aa.com.tr