SARAJEVO (AA) - September 24, 2012 - An Islamic council governing religious affairs in Bosnia-Herzegovina has elected Husein Kavazovic as the country's new Reis-ul Ulema, or grand mufti.
Kavazovic, the mufti of the northeast Tuzla city, was elected by the votes of 240 members of the 374-seat Islamic Union Council in Sunday's election at the Ghazi Husrev Bey Library in capital Sarajevo.
In the election, candidates Nusrat Abdibegovic from Travnik and Husein Smayic from Sarajevo got 69 and 45 votes, respectively.
"I am aware that a huge responsibility is placed on my shoulders. I am praying to God to help me bear this task honorably. We will continue working together," said Kavazovic who is set to replace Mustafa Ceric as the highest Islamic authority of Bosnia-Herzegovina's Muslim community.
48-year-old Kavazovic studied Islamic law, or sharia, at the Cairo-based Al-Azhar University between 1985 and 1990. He was selected mufti of Tuzla in 1993.
