BOSNIAN ISLAM IN THE INTELLECTUAL HORIZONS OF MUSTAFA BUSULADZIC

Abstract

For decades, the intellectual legacy of Mustafa Busuladzic (1914-1945) has been ignored due to ideological reasons. This work will attempt to shed some light on his ideas, with emphasis on its cultural interpretation of Islam. Namely, Mustafa Busuladzic was the first author to introduce, into popular discourse, the syntagm “Bosnian Islam” with which he attempted to solve the identity crisis among the Bosniaks. In other words, he is of the opinion that identity is multileveled and that we are adherents of Islam but we also belong to Bosnia and the world as a whole. During his time, these views were very exceptionally avant-garde and as such it is obliging and relevant for those conducting research in this field. His ideas can serve as the basis for a better understanding of Islam and the West, considering the experience of the Bosnian Muslims who are, according to him, the inheritors of the values of both. As such, their geostrategic position enables them to be the ambassadors of the East in the West and the West in the East.