Gajret was a cultural society established in 1903 that promoted

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

identity among the Slavic Muslims of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(today's

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

). After 1929, it was known as the Serb Muslim Cultural Society. The organization was pro-

History

After the 1914

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated on 28 June 1914 by Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip. They were shot at close range whil ...

leadership of the association was interned in Arad. The organization viewed that the South-Slavic Muslims were Serbs lacking ethnic consciousness. The view that South-Slavic Muslims were Serbs is probably the oldest of three ethnic theories among the

Bosnian Muslims The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...

themselves. After the

Austro-Hungarian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The campaign to establish Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina lasted from 29 July to 20 October 1878 against the local resistance fighters supported by the Ottoman Empire. The Austro-Hungarian Army entered the country in two large mov ...

, the Bosnian Muslims, feeling threatened by

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Habsburg rule, established several organizations. These included, apart from Gajret, the Muslim National Organization (1906) and the United Muslim Organization (1911). In 1912, after the death of Osman Đikić, the editing of Gajret was entrusted to

Avdo Sumbul Abdulah "Avdo" Sumbul (27 April 1884 — 8 February 1915) was Serb Muslim literature journal editor and national activist in Austrian annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sumbul belonged to a group of Serb Muslims who were targeted as enemies by Aus ...

. Gajret's main rival was the pro-Croat Muslim organization Narodna Uzdanica, established in 1924. In interwar

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, members experienced persecution at the hands of non-Serbs due to their political inclinations. In this period association run a number of student dormitories in

Mostar , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Mostar (collage image).jpg , image_caption = From top, left to right: A panoramic view of the heritage town site and the Neretva river from Lučki Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha ...

, Sarajevo, Belgrade and

Novi Pazar Novi Pazar ( sr-cyr, Нови Пазар, lit. "New Bazaar"; ) is a city located in the Raška District of southwestern Serbia. As of the 2011 census, the urban area has 66,527 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 100,410 inhabit ...

. During World War II, the association was dismantled by the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It was established in p ...

. Some members, non-Communists, joined or collaborated with the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод� ...

(such as M. Sudžuka, Z. Šarac, H. Brkić, H. Ćemerlić, and M. Zaimović). Ismet Popovac and Fehim Musakadić joined the Chetniks. In 1945, a new Muslim organization, Preporod, was founded in order to replace the pro-Serb Gajret and pro-Croat Narodna Uzdanica. The former organizations voted for and were merged into Preporod. In 1996 it was reestablished as a Bosniak cultural association.

Notable members

* Osman Đikić (founder) *

Safvet-beg Bašagić Dr. Safvet-beg Bašagić ( sr-cyrl, Сафвет-бег Башагић; 6 May 1870 – 9 April 1934), also known as Mirza Safvet, was a Bosnian writer who is often described by Bosniak historians as the "father of Bosnian Renaissance", and one of ...

(founder) *

Edhem Mulabdić Edhem Mulabdić (19 October 1862 – 29 January 1954) was a Bosnian writer and co-founder of the political journal ''Behar''. Biography Edhem Mulabdić was born in Maglaj in 1862, where he finished Islamic elementary school maktab and then got ...

(founder) *

* Osman Nuri Hadžić * Ismet Popovac * Fehim Musakadić *Muhamed Sudžuka *Zaim Šarac *Husein Brkić *Hamdija Ćemerlić *Murat-beg Zaimović

References

Sources

* * * * {{Authority control Bosniak history Bosnia and Herzegovina Muslims Yugoslav Bosnia and Herzegovina Ethnic organizations based in Yugoslavia Ethnic organizations based in Austria-Hungary Organizations established in 1903 1903 establishments in Austria-Hungary 1900s establishments in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1941 disestablishments in Europe

History

Notable members

See also

References

Sources