Fehim Spaho

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Fehim Spaho
Bosnian Grand Mufti Fehim Spaho
Born(1877-02-13)13 February 1877
Died14 February 1942(1942-02-14) (aged 65)
NationalityBosniak

Fehim Spaho (13 February 1877 – 14 February 1942) was the Grand Mufti of Yugoslavia and one of the most prominent Bosniak cultural figures of his time. His younger brother was politician Mehmed Spaho.

Spaho worked in varying positions in Sarajevo and Belgrade's local governments between 1901 and 1920. At his own request he was returned to Sarajevo where he was a senior government adviser on faith. He served as the president of the Higher Sharia Court in Sarajevo from 1936 until 1938.[1] He was appointed the Grand Mufti of Yugoslavia in 1938, holding the position until his sudden death four years later.

Grand Mufti[edit]

On 20 April 1938 Spaho was among three candidates for the Reis-ul-Ulema, or Grand Mufti, of Yugoslavia. He was appointed on 26 April 1938 and his inauguration ceremony occurred in the Emperor's Mosque on 9 June 1938.[2]

Personal life[edit]

Fehim Spaho was born 13 February 1877 in Ottoman-controlled Sarajevo to a coppersmith family. His father, Hasan Spaho was an expert of the Sharia law, and before the Austrian-Hungarian occupation in 1878, he was a judge in Jajce, Sofia, Damascus and Cairo. His mother was Fatima (née Bičakčić). Spaho had two brothers, Mehmed and Mustafa and three sisters, Behija, Aiša and Habiba. Spaho was educated in Sarajevo and attended Sharia Law school.

Fehim Spaho died unexpectedly[3] on 14 February 1942 in war-torn Sarajevo, one day after turning 65.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Islam and Nazi Germany's War. Harvard University Press. 30 November 2014. ISBN 9780674724600. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  2. ^ A History of Modern Political Thought in East Central Europe: Negotiating Modernity in the 'Long Nineteenth Century'. Oxford University Press. 25 February 2016. ISBN 9780198737148. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  3. ^ The Utopia of Terror: Life and Death in Wartime Croatia. Boydell & Brewer. 1 December 2015. ISBN 9781580465458. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
Religious titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Ibrahim Maglajlić
Grand Mufti of Yugoslavia
1936-1942
Vacant
Title next held by
Ibrahim Fejić