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160 SMAIL BALICIT~~ Cultural Achievements of Bosnian Muslims literary criticism. These are: Mdpmmad Hawa'i ~skiifi (1601-ca. 165 1); Mustafa or, as Otto Blau calls him, 'Abd al-Musgfi, whose dates cannot be ascertained; and Fejzo Softa of the nineteenth century. From Mulpmmad HawB'i ~skiifi we get a rhymed dictionary of the Bosnian Language for the Turks, Makbzil-i 'drif (approximately: Favourite of the Expert); several pious poems in quatrains; a mystic poem, "Tabshirl al-'~rifm" (Happy Messages to Searchers for Knowledge); a poetic reflection on women; a love poem; and several comic epistles. Blau has translated into German a beautiful amorous plaint by Mustafa who wrote half in Turkish and half in Cr~atian.~' The simple poetry of Fejim Softa, which forms the basis of a unique primer of the Arabic language, is beautiful in language and thought. Each letter is explained with a little verse of four or five lines. All writings of the Bosnian Muslims prior to 1878 are in the Arabic script. The national alphabet, the bosantica, which was based on the Greek alphabet, was used mainly for private and sometimes for diplomatic correspondence. Because of its completely independent development, the Muslim literature in Croatian remained devoid of influence and enrichment from the other national territories. This separate existence led to an ossification of form and thought, and the language remained poor and stunted. Despite these deficiencies, this literature has fulfilled three tasks: (a) it has proved that the national consciousness of the Bosnian Muslims remained alive even during the Turkish reign, (b) it has helped to explode the myth of the "cultureless Turkish past", and (c) it has enriched the common Croatian literature with a new tone. MINIATURE PAINTING, CALLIGRAPHY, AND DECORATIVE BOOKBINDING The Persian and Turkish arts of book-illustration were practiced in Bosnia, and survive mainly in litanies in praise of the Prophet M@ammad (peace be on him) and other books of prayers, especially the so-called hami'il (hamajlije), as well as in anthologies of poems and in historical monographs. We find representations of sacred places in Makkah, Madinah, and Istanbul; drawings of historical buildings; portraits of 'Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet; animal- drawings; various geometrical figures; hunting scenes and love scenes. Most of the historically significant motifs are borrowed from Persian miniature painting, and the style, characteristically Persian, is distinguished by its harmony of colour. It is difficult to determine how many Ottoman artists were Bosnians.@' The greatest Turkish painter of Bosnian origin was Nasiih al-Silai al-Mitr&i al-Wisobwi (d. 1547), a man of wide-ranging ability: he was a successful fencing master, a historian, mathematician and calligrapher. His Majma' al- Maniizil, a description of the war expedition of Sultan Suleiman to Iraq (1533-S), contains 132 valuable miniatures. "He paints all localities in a most characteristic way. He omits every human aspect, especially everything vulgar.
Islamic Studies 3 6 : 2, 3 ( 1 9 9 7 161 Because of this the artist succeeds in filling his miniatures with a colourful serenity which gives every place the shining appearance of a higher existence" .61 Ornamental border designs, and title-<strong>page</strong> illustrations, preferably executed in gold, coloured medallions, and rosettes adorned manu~cripts.~~ The graceful ornamental Arabic calligraphy, which blossomed all during the Ottoman reign, is used even today, albeit only modestly. The decorative panels (levha) painted in gold, embroidered on cloth, or carved in wood, on which are written in Arabic letters verses of the Qur'iin, or other sayings from the teachings of Islam or of Arabic philosophy, are of special interest. The following Bosnians were distinguished calligraphers: Husayn ibn NqiQ al-Wisobwi, who finished copying a Turkish Qur'iin commentary on April 3, 1579 (this commentary is to be found in the city library of Breslau); Mdpmmad Nergisi (d. 1634); Sulaym2.n Mazgi (d. 1677); Zakariyya Sukkari (d. 1687); Darwish Kahramiin Muhammad al-GradiEawi (seventeenth century); 'Abd al-Kiidir; Muhammad Cato; mmad Bayadi-Ziide; Zakariyya ibn Husayn ibn Masih; Ibraim ibn SA*; Isma'il ibn Ibraim; Mustafa ibn Ismi'il; mmad Khatam AkowalT-Ziide (d. 1754); 'Uthmiin Bosnawi; Muhammad Muhtashim [Sabanovi~] (d. 1694); Yahyii Bosnawi; Kimyager (Chemist) 'Ali Zaki; '~sim Yiisuf; 'Abd All% Mair (d. 1710); Sd* Sal&i; Mustafa ibn Ibrfiim al- Mostilri; Mustafa al-Hiifiz; Mustafa Pasha Bosnawi; Sulaym2.n "Arif; Isma'il Bosnawi; Dawiid ibn Ismi'il; Darwish Husam al-Din; Husayn ibn 'Abd Allf; Sulaym2.n Bosnawi; 'Abd-al-R&miin; Sayyid Mulynmad ibn Rajab; T&ir Ibrfiim; Hurram Bosnawi; Ahmad Bosnawi; @mad ibn 'Ali al-Ghazghai al- Bosnawi (first half of the eighteenth century); Muhammad IslamoviC (nineteenth century); 'Ali FaginoviC; Sdim Niyiizi; DerviS Korkut (d. 1942); Hiijj Hifiz Muspfa Cadordiija (d. 1933); mmad Jamal DerviSeviC (died in Cairo 1936); Sulaym2.n Cueak; Bahi' al-Din SikiriC; Wahbi SmailkadiC; Fawzi DjuliC; Muhammad MujagiC (twentieth century); and Muhammad Wahbi al-Bosnawi (died in Cairo 1948).63 Figured miniatures of trees, plants, animals, and arabesques appear on various utility items such as cradles, chests, coffee tables, and weaving looms, as well as on such parts of rooms and houses as doors, cupboards, pillars, railings, and ceilings. The KolakoviC-House in Buna near Mostar and the Ottoman-Turkish School, "Rushdiya", in Sarajevo are especially rich in such ornamentations. In the many richly decorated Qur'iin reading-desks, book covers, and frames for hand-mirrors, the extensive use of mother-of-pearl is specially striking. SCHOOLS, SEMINARIES, AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS Universities, in the Western sense of the term, did not exist during the period of Ottoman rule. Attendance at lectures in the theological seminaries (rnadrasahs), which gave one a secondary education, was voluntary, and could be continued over an indefinite period of time. By means of question-answer periods following lectures, a kind of seminar approach was followed; thus a veritable university system was employed in a number of these madrasahs.
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