Salih Vilajetović, known as Hadži Lojo (; 1834–1887) was a

Bosnian Muslim Islam is the most widespread religion in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was introduced to the local population in the 15th and 16th centuries as a result of the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Muslims make the largest religious co ...

leader in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

in the 1870s.

Biography

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

worker,

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

er for hire, primary ''

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

'' teacher, and bashi-bazouk, Lojo became noted in the city after joining the resistance to

Ottoman reforms The (, , lit. 'Reorganization') was a period of liberal reforms in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Edict of Gülhane of 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. Driven by reformist statesmen such as Mustafa Reşid Pasha, ...

, and especially when he in 1872 led the opposition to the building of a new Orthodox church. In the following years he deviated from the Ottoman government and carried out various violent outbursts and robberies (

brigandage Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who is typically part of a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first recorded ...

), which led to the Ottoman authorities chasing him and his band. Shortly before the occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, Lojo rallied the Muslim, Orthodox, Jewish and even some Catholic citizens to fight. Lojo was one of the main leaders of Muslim resistance to the occupation in the city in 1878, along with people such as Mehmed Šemsikadić, Hafiz Kaukčija and Hadži Jamaković. On 28 July, the opponents of the occupation organized a government in the city and decreed the mobilisation of all Muslim and other citizens capable of military service. Although he did not actively participate in the rebellion in the city, the Austro-Hungarian government held him accounted as the main organizer, while the other rebel leaders saw him as bothering and of little help, trying to assassinate him on 14 August 1879. On the night of 16–17 August, after wounding himself, he left Sarajevo and hid around

Rogatica Rogatica ( sr-cyrl, Рогатица, ) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the municipality has a population of 10,723 inhabitants, while the town of Rogatica itself has a population of 6,855 inh ...

and

Goražde Goražde ( sr-cyrl, Горажде, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Bosnian-Podrinje Canton Goražde of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of the Drina rive ...

, where he was apprehended on 2 September. He was at first sentenced to death, then had his sentence reduced to five years in prison, which he then served in

Terezín Terezín (; ) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,900 inhabitants. It is a former military fortress composed of the citadel and adjacent walled garrison town. The town centre i ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. As he was not allowed to return to Bosnia, Lojo went to Turkey after serving his sentence. He died in

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

. There are several novels based on him. Jindřich Penn wrote a (958 pp. long) novel in 1879,

Branislav Nušić Branislav Nušić ( sr-Cyrl, Бранислав Нушић, ; – 19 January 1938) was a Serbian playwright, satirist, essayist, novelist and founder of Modern Rhetoric, modern rhetoric in Serbia. He also worked as a journalist and a civil ...

in 1908, and Rešad Kadić in 1982.

References

Sources

*Schindler, John. "Defeating Balkan Insurgency: The Austro-Hungarian Army in Bosnia-Hercegovina, 1878-82." Journal of Strategic Studies 27.3 (2004): 528–552. *Bojic, Mehmedalija. "Armed Resistance in Bosnia and Herzegovina against the Austro-Hungarian Invasion in 1878." Survey Sarajevo 6 (1979): 49. * {{Authority control Bosnian Muslims from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century people from the Ottoman Empire Rebels from the Ottoman Empire 1834 births 1887 deaths People from Sarajevo Prisoners and detainees from the Ottoman Empire Prisoners and detainees of Austria-Hungary