ZAGREB MOSQUE - Islamska zajednica u Hrvatskoj

Oriental philologist and diplomat
Franz Dombay published
in Zagreb the biography of
God’s emissary Mohammed,
as the pioneering work of European
Oriental Studies. He
described Islamic teaching in
an objective way without the
usual polemical discourse. The
turning-point occurred in 1878
following the Austro-Hungarian
annexation of the westernmost
Ottoman province of
Bosnia and Herzegovina. From
that point, Bosnia and Herzegovina
was within the framework
of the various regions
comprising today’s Republic of
Croatia. The inclusion of Bosnia
and Herzegovina within the
Habsburg Monarchy at the end
of the 19 th century represented
a break with the centuries-old
state, legal and cultural barriers
between Christians and Muslims
in these regions. It was
the beginning of the gradual
formation of a specific Muslim
community in Zagreb, together
with its religious and attendant
social institutions. The first
Muslims in Zagreb after 1878
were young men from Bosnia
and Herzegovina of various
professions who came looking
for job; a special group was
10 10 11 comprised of Muslim pupils
and students at Zagreb University,
who left a significant
mark in Croatian public and
cultural life at the end of the
19 th century. These beginnings
of a Muslim community
are witnessed by the fact that
the first Muslim was buried in
the Zagreb Mirogoj cemetery
in 1883; his tomb marked the
start of the oldest Muslim cemetery
in central Europe. A special
feature of the cemetery is a
two-metre high Islamic monument
from 1873, outstanding
in its beauty and detail.
The census of 1910 recorded
the existence of a small
35-strong Muslim community
in Zagreb which grew to 2000
permanent inhabitants in 1941.
The rise of the Muslim community
in Zagreb created a
need for a legal framework as
a prerequisite for the formation
of a permanent Islamic community,
together with its religious,
cultural and educational
institutions. Therefore in 1916,
the Croatian Sabor (Parliament)
passed “The Act of Recognition
of Islamic confession in
the Kingdoms of Croatia and
Slavonia”, which guaranteed
Islam the same legal protec-
Nišan (stonetomb) of the Ferhatović family in the Mirogoj cemetery
from 1893