EDHEM MULABDIĆ

ON THE 142nd ANNIVERSARY OF HIS BIRTH AND THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEATH

Abstract

On the 142nd anniversary of his birth and the 50th anniversary of his death

Edhem Mulabdić was born in Maglaj in 1862. After completingmektebandruzdija,hegraduated from the Teachers’ College in Sarajevo in 1890, and passed his civil schools teacher’s exam in Zagreb. He worked as a teacher in Brčko and in Sarajevo – at Darul-mualimin (a Bosniac school for Islamic teachers), at the Teacher’s College, at the Sharia Law School, at Muslim Elementary School and at the Higher School for Girls. From 1911 to 1917, he worked as a school inspector in the Sarajevo district, and from 1923 to 1929 he was a representative at the National Assembly in Belgrade. Besides his regular work, he devoted fivedecades of his life to writing. He wrote poetry, novels, stories, dramas, literary reviews, historical essays and essays on language and literature. He was also a translator and collector and chronologist of folk traditions. In addition, for many years he was involved in organizing and establishing a number of Bosniac cultural associations, printing and publishing houses. He was the editor of Bajraktar, Mearif, Gajret and Pravda calendars, as well as Bosniak, Gajret and Novi Behar papers; he was also the founder of Behar literary review. He initiated the establishing of Gajret and Narodna uzdanica cultural and educational associations, and greatly contributed in the establishment and activities of the Islamic Printing House Corporation. To sum it up, Edhem Mulabdić, was the firstgeneration of Bosniak erudites and intellectuals who dedicated their entire life to serve their fellow nationals and contribute to their prosperity through emancipation and europeization, without compromising that what was most valuable and worthy of their centuries-long traditions.