Author: Giomi Fabio
Publisher: Routledge Ltd
ISSN: 1469-9591
Source: Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol.29, Iss.4, 2009-12, pp. : 495-510
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Abstract
This paper reviews the events that led to the establishment of Reforma—Organization of Progressive Muslims at the beginning of 1928, when a group of Bosnian Muslim intellectuals came together to launch this new initiative in Sarajevo, and its subsequent dissolution seven months later. This took place while the preparations for the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Gajret, the most widely known Muslim cultural association in the country, were ongoing for September of that same year. The launch of Reforma, produced widespread discussions among different cultural, religious and political actors of the Bosnian Muslim society. The first months of 1928 then became an occasion to discuss the Bosnian Muslim position in the first Yugoslavia and, more generally, the role played by the different cultural, political and religious actors since 1878. This paper analyses the role and significance of this short lived organization, especially taking into consideration the articles published in the association's review. Thanks to its radical statements in the areas of education, economy, traditional customs, the position of women as well as questions of national identity, all of which generated much debate and even bitter polemic, Reforma left an original mark in Bosnian Muslim intellectual history.