''Biser'' was a Bosnian magazine, intended as a non-political replacement for the defunct ''

Behar Behar, BeHar, Be-har, or B'har (—Hebrew for "on the mount," the fifth word, and the first distinctive word, in the parashah) is the 32nd weekly Torah portion (, ''parashah'') in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the ninth in the Boo ...

''. The first issue was published 1 June 1912 out of

Mostar Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

by 19-year-old publisher

Muhamed Bekir Kalajdžić Muhamed Bekir Kalajdžić (22 October 1892 – 10 September 1963) was a Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian writer, bookseller and publisher, who founded the journal ''Biser (magazine), Biser'' as a teenager. The first issue of the magazine was publi ...

. The main objective of ''Biser'' was to focus on

Bosniak The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...

culture and heritage, as well as Muslim literary works. The Bosnian word ''biser'' means pearl in English. Poet

Musa Ćazim Ćatić Musa Ćazim Ćatić ( sr-Cyrl, Муса Ћазим Ћатић; 12 March 1878 – 6 April 1915) was a Bosnian poet of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Renaissance at the turn of the 20th century. Life Ćatić completed Sharia Law studies in Zagreb. He w ...

served as editor in chief, often writing poems, essays, criticism, and translations of numerous studies and books for the magazine. Due to the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1914, ''Biser'' halted production until 1918 when Kalajdžić began printing again in 1918 to avoid being drafted into the army. ''Biser'' ended its run in 1919.

References

Bosniak history Defunct political magazines Magazines established in 1912 Magazines disestablished in 1919 Mass media in Mostar Magazines published in Bosnia and Herzegovina {{Europe-poli-mag-stub