Islamic Textbooks and Curricula in Europe
Bearbeitet von
Ednan Aslan
1. Auflage 2011. Buch. 309 S. Hardcover
ISBN 978 3 631 63013 6
Format (B x L): 14 x 21 cm
Gewicht: 510 g
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The Meaning of Religious Education for Peace
and Dialogue in the Balkans
Mustafa Ceric
The Balkans or the Balkan Peninsula lies between East and West in all aspects
of East-West relations: geographically, politically, culturally, and religiously.
From Alexander the Great’s empire in the 3rd century BCE to the Romans who
later established their provinces of Illyricum, Moesia, and Dacia there, the Balkans played a significant role in human history. In 395 CE, the Roman Empire
was divided in two, and most of Rome’s possessions in the Balkans were transferred to the eastern Roman Empire. The Ottomans influence on the Balkans
began in 1358 with their introduction of the Islamic faith and culture to the Balkan Peninsula. Thus we may note that the arrival of Islam into Europe has come
via two gates: the gate of the Iberian Peninsula in the 8th century and the gate of
the Balkan Peninsula in the 14th century. Eight centuries of the Islamic presence
in Andalusia, Spain, produced a unique tradition of religious and cultural tolerance as well as academic freedom which greatly helped Europe on its way to the
Enlightenment. However, Andalusia’s religious tolerance did not survive European history, whereas the Balkan’s religious tolerance did. Since, as John Lukacs has pointed out, “all things are known by comparison,”1 we may by know,
by means of comparison why traditional Islam is still alive in the Balkans whereas this is not the case in Andalusia. We may consider the example of the Andalusian caliph Abd al-Rahman III who took Hasdai bin Shaprut, the prince of
the Andalusian Jews, as his foreign secretary2. This detail of European history
from the beginning of 10th century shows us that it is possible for a Muslim Caliph and a Jewish foreign minister to work together for the public good. This fact
of European history is a good reason for Europe to consider the possibility that a
native European Muslim, a Bosnian Muslim for instance, may one day become
the foreign minister of the European Union. European governments can no
longer ignore the European Muslim’s right to become part of the decision-making process when it comes not only to their religious and cultural rights, but also
1
2
John Lukacs, At the End of an Age (New Haven & London: Yale University Press,
2002).
Maria Rosa Menocal, The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews and Christians
Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain (New York: Little, Brown and
Company, 2002).
14
Mustafa Ceric
to their political and economical claims. I do not know any European government that has a Muslim minister of anything. To be sure, I agree with those who
say that one should not be made minister just because he or she is a Muslim, but
if we turn the argument around, the conclusion ought to be that one should not
be deprived of the right to be the European minister because of their Muslim
faith. Perhaps the next example that I will put forth, from Bosnian-European
history does not satisfy all the criteria of human rights as we know them today,
but it certainly gives me, an old European-Bosnian Muslim, the a cause of which
to speak loudly and proudly. I am referring to the example of the Ahdname (accord) issued by Sultan Mehmed Fatih on May 28th, 1464 to the Franciscans of
Bosnia, guaranteeing them five fundamental rights: the right to life (nafs), the
right to faith (dīn), the right to freedom (‘aql), the right to property (māl) and the
right to dignity (‘ird). I wish that on July 11th, 1995 we Bosnian Muslims had
had such an Ahdname issued by any one of the European rulers so that Sreberenica’s women would not have become widows – at the zenith of European human rights and in the broad daylight of the Safe-Zone of the Security Council of
the United Nations. Reflecting on the fact that Mehmed Fatih’s Ahdname saved
the Franciscans of Bosnia in the middle of 15th century whereas Butros Butros
Gali’s Security Council resolution at the end of the twentieth century did not
save ten thousand Muslims in Srebrenica, I would now like to bring your attention to another comparison that will show the complexity, but also the real possibility of peace and dialogue in Europe. In its long history Europe has witnessed many monarchs, just and unjust, humble and arrogant, great and small.
Two of them, however, attract my attention because of their influence on the
European Islam at different times and in different ways. They are Ferdinand and
Isabella in Spain and Francis Joseph I in Bosnia. The year of temptation for the
former was 1492 and for the latter it was 1882. The difference between these
two Catholic Monarchs in their approach to Islam and Muslims is as big as the
time distance of 390 years between them. One one side, we see that Ferdinand
and Isabella could not tolerate Islam in the Iberian Peninsula and, therefore, the
Moorish Muslims were forced to forever leave their homes, after eight centuries
of their uniquely productive cultural life. On the other side, we see that the
Catholic Monarch Francis Joseph I not only showed tolerance towards Islam in
Bosnia-Herzegovina, but also did not spare his time nor effort to help Bosnian
Muslims make further progress in their endeavor to adapt to the European way
of life while retaining their strong Islamic identity. It is interesting to note here
how one of the most influential raisu-l-ulamas of Bosnia, Mehmed Džemaluddin
Čaušević, conducted a constructive diaologue in his time that can be a good example for all of us today. The fourth in the line of Bosnian religious dignitaries,
he had witnessed the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the beginning of
THE MEANING OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION FOR PEACE AND DIALOGUE IN THE BALKANS 15
the Kingdom of Old Yugoslavia. He had been appointed as the raisu-l-ulama of
Bosnia-Herzegovina by the King Francis Joseph’s decree in 1913, but because
of his disagreement with the policy of the Kingdom of Old Yugoslavia, he
resigned from that post in 1930. Hence, he had survived the First Word War, but
he could not survive a policy which wanted to deny full autonomy to the
Bosnian Muslims in their religious affairs. It is interesting to know that he wrote
a special prayer for Francis Joseph in which he asked God for his long life and
good health. Given that we know him to be strong in character and an
independent personality, and bearing in mind that he was an Istanbul student
with rich experience and fresh memories, raisu-l-ulama Čaušević had not written
his prayer for the King Francis Joseph out of fear or for personal gain. I am
convinced that he did this out of his deep awareness of the historical
circumstances in Bosnia-Herzegovina at the time, but also out of his
appreciation for King Francis Joseph who, as a Christian ruler, had shown
respect and tolerance towards Bosnian Muslims. Furthermore, by the adoption
of the Islamic Law of 1912, the Catholic Monarch Francis Joseph had demonstrated a unique sensibility towards the principle of religious tolerance in general
and towards Islam in particular. Because of the historic significance of Francis
Joseph’s Islamic Law which recognized the faith and culture of Islam in the
heart of Europe at the beginning of the last century, and to in order to suggest to
today’s European politicians how to begin the institutionalization of Islam in
Europe. The Austrian Islamic Law is a unique example of European religious
and cultural tolerance.3
I hope that European Catholics are as proud of their historical monarch
Francis Joseph I who helped the Muslims of Bosnia to cope with the complexities of Balkan history as the European Muslims are of Sultan Mehmed Fatih the
Magnificent who saved the Franciscans of Bosnia with his famous Ahdname.
And I hope, also, that the logic of Ferdinand and Isabella from the Iberian Peninsula in the fifteenth century is dead just as the evil of Milošević from the
twentieth century in the Balkan Peninsula has been overcome in the Hague.
These are the dreams of an ancient Muslim of the Balkans who, unlike his fellow brother of Iberia, has survived European history so that he may be an important witness of the Muslim-Christian relationship that is based on a rich experience of the past and a promising remembering of the future as well. We want
to be very clear that we disagree with people who, on behalf of Islam, do wrong
to other people, but we do not accept the logic that two wrongs make one right.
We in the Balkans have committed ourselves to Europe, but Europe has not un3
See more on “Islamic law of 1912,” http://www.derislam.at/islam.php?name=Themen&
pa=showpage&pid=6. (accessed 07 April, 2011)
16
Mustafa Ceric
derstood the specifics of the Balkan position. Instead of a comprehensive approach to the Balkan religious, national, cultural and lingual diversity, the Balkan people have been portrayed in Europe as an unwanted people. The term
“balkanization” was invented to indicate “the division of a region into a number
of smaller and often mutually hostile units,” the prime example of which was the
Balkan Peninsula in the late 19th and early 20th century.” In fact, the word “balkanization” was coined by German socialists to describe what was done to the
western fringe of the Russian Empire by the Peace Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in
1596. A statement such as, “A war that began with the attempt to impose order
in the Balkans has had the effect of balkanizing Europe” – is a common European perception about the Balkans as unpredictable, unreasonable and incompatible with European expectations. The idea of peace and dialogue in the Balkans is of utmost importance because of the fact that almost the entire history of
the Balkans may be seen as periods between wars or between peace treaties. It is
obvious, then, that I am in a dilemma concerning how to define the present situation of my people and my country. Should I speak about the post-war or postpeace period of my country and my Bosnian people?
If I were to speak about the post-war period, I cannot but remind you of the
facts of war which are very painful for my people and very shameful for Europe.
But if I were to speak about the post-peace period, I cannot but lead you to the
facts of our common European future. In fact, this dilemma is a matter of one’s
identity through the continuity of memory – whether regressively being reminded of the past and its conflicts and wars or progressively moving to that which
leads us to the future of peace and dialogue. The regressive memory of my Bosnian people is very painful, but unavoidable, while their progressive memory is
very hopeful, but uncertain. It is in that forward direction that religion may help
us if we understand its purpose as service to Almighty God, if we understand its
purpose in helping man who ought to see what is common to him with the rest
of humanity. Indeed, religion may help us all if we understand its teachings as
common human values which bring hope and prosperity to all of us, instead of
hatred and poverty. Poverty, hopelessness, and hatred are too big a factor in today’s societies. With the technology, riches, and resources now available, we
cannot afford to allow the issues that breed these undesirable conditions to continue to exist. The best remedy for them is to ensure that each and every person
receives a quality public education, including religious education, the aim of
which is to replace hatred with hope, and poverty with prosperity. Many of the
historical barriers to hope and prosperity can now be mitigated or alleviated with
good education. Each and every person should have the opportunity to move
from a position of desperation and poverty to hopefulness and prosperity. An
inverse correlation exists between the amount of education a person has and the
THE MEANING OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION FOR PEACE AND DIALOGUE IN THE BALKANS 17
amount of hatred they feel: the less education, the more hatred. On the positive
side, a direct correlation exists between the amount of education and the amount
of hope they feel. Children who grow up with little access to good education,
including religious education, are more likely to not regard themselves as having
access to a good quality of life. That sense of hopelessness makes them very
open to manipulation by hate-mongers and local criminals. On the other hand, if
a youngster can visualize him- or herself having a happy and productive future,
then he or she is less likely to be open to self-destructive, hateful behaviors.
Another indication of the connection between education and hope is found
in crime statistics. The more meaningful an education individuals have, the less
likely they are to commit crimes. It is reasonable to assume that a meaningful
religious education gives individuals the hope that they can make an honest living and steer clear of crime. Whether in post-war or post-peace, the most important thing for Balkan states and societies is a good education which promotes
peace and dialogue. The present education system of Bosnia-Herzegovina is not
simple. As a result of the Dayton Peace Accord the country is organized into
two entities. In the case of the Republika Srpska, it is centralized and the municipalities are directly responsible to the government. The situation in the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina is more complex. It is divided into cantons, which
makes running its entire educational system much more costly and time-consuming. There is no Ministry of Education at the state level, and thus jurisdiction for the education system is placed at the local level. This decentralization of
the education system in Bosnia-Herzegovina creates a disproportionate educational framework. For the purpose of demonstrating the existence of tolerance in
Bosnian schools in this paper, a study was carried out, using data from two elementary schools that were randomly selected, one in Republika Srpska and the
other in the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The study was conducted in one
classroom from each of the respective schools. The number of students in each
class was between 25 and 32. The name of the schools will remain undisclosed,
as agreed between the researcher and the school on the basis that this would be
an anonymous sample for the purpose of this study. Each class was primarily
selected on the basis of it being multicultural, meaning that it represents at least
two ethnic/religious groups per sample.
Students were asked the following question: Do you find that your classmates avoid other children of different religious or ethnic background? Their
answers to this question offer a small scale but also representative overview of
the degree of tolerance present in schools in Bosnia at the present.
This sample of course does not reflect the situation in all of Bosnia. However, the results may be used to qualitatively comment on the state of ethnic and