On October 10, Bosnia and Herzegovina elects a new Grand Mufti — a figure whose authority extends well beyond one small country's borders. The Bosnian Islamic Community, born from an unlikely colonial arrangement in 1882, has quietly become one of Europe's most enduring models of self-governing, democratically organized Muslim life. At a moment when Islamophobia is rising and foreign powers compete for influence over Muslim communities, the choice of who leads this institution carries meaning for millions of Muslims — and non-Muslims — across the continent.
Bosnia's New Grand Mufti Election Could Shape Islam's Future Across Europe
No other Islamic leader in Europe holds a position like this one
Mark
Why does an election in Bosnia matter to Muslims in Germany or France or anywhere else in Europe?
Mimi
Because Bosnia's Islamic Community has figured out something most European Muslim organizations are still struggling with—how to be independent, self-governing, and fully integrated into a secular democracy at the same time. It's been doing that for 150 years.
Luke
But does the model actually work, or is it just that people admire it from a distance? What's the actual track record?
Mimi
It survived the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, communism, and a brutal war. It maintained ties with Christian and Jewish communities through all of it. That's not nothing.
Mark
So the three candidates—what's the real difference between them?
Mimi
Dedovic wants the office to be more openly political. Grabus emphasizes international cooperation and adaptation to modern pressures. Malkic wants to strengthen the institution from the inside.
Luke
And which approach would actually serve European Muslims better? Or is that not something the reporting can answer?
Mimi
That's the open question. The sources hope the new leader will be more vocal about defending Islam's place in Europe, but they don't know which candidate will do that most effectively.
Mark
You mentioned foreign pressure—Turkey, Saudi Arabia, but also the U.S. and Germany. How real is that threat?
Mimi
Real enough that a scholar quoted in the reporting specifically named it as something the new leader will have to navigate. But the reporting doesn't detail specific instances of interference.
Luke
So we know it's a concern, but we don't know the scale or the methods. That's worth noting.
Mark
What happens if the election produces someone who doesn't live up to these hopes?
Mimi
Then the model that European Muslims are looking to for guidance doesn't deliver what they need. And the conversation about Islam's future in Europe gets harder.
El Pulso
- Three candidates with distinct visions are competing to fill a role that no other Islamic institution in Europe quite replicates — one that blends spiritual authority, political voice, and institutional independence.
- The outgoing Grand Mufti leaves behind a 150-year legacy of survival through empires, communism, and war, raising the stakes for whoever must now defend that inheritance.
- Foreign actors — from Turkey and Saudi Arabia to the EU and the United States — are pressing for influence over Bosnia's Islamic Community, threatening the very independence that makes it a model worth emulating.
- Across Europe, rising right-wing populism and anti-Muslim hostility are narrowing the space for Muslim public life, making the new leader's democratic legitimacy both a shield and a responsibility.
- Muslim leaders in Germany and beyond are watching closely, hoping the election produces someone who can demonstrate — through action, not just words — that Islam belongs fully within European democratic society.
On October 10, Bosnia and Herzegovina elects a new Grand Mufti — a figure whose authority extends well beyond one small country's borders. The Bosnian Islamic Community, born from an unlikely colonial arrangement in 1882, has quietly become one of Europe's most enduring models of self-governing, democratically organized Muslim life. At a moment when Islamophobia is rising and foreign powers compete for influence over Muslim communities, the choice of who leads this institution carries meaning for millions of Muslims — and non-Muslims — across the continent.
On October 10, Bosnia and Herzegovina will elect a new reis-ul-ulema — the Grand Mufti who serves as the public voice of its Islamic Community before the state, weighs in on political and moral questions, and guards the community's independence against outside pressure. Husein Kavazovic, who held the office for two seven-year terms, cannot run again. Three candidates are competing to succeed him: Salem Dedovic, who sees the role as fundamentally political; Nedzad Grabus, who emphasizes international engagement and the challenges of globalization; and Mensur Malkic, who focuses on deepening the community's religious and institutional foundations.
The significance of this election reaches far beyond Bosnia's borders. The Islamic Community was established in 1882, when the Austro-Hungarian Empire — following precedents it had set for Christian churches — recognized Islam as an official religious community and appointed the first Reis-ul-ulema. What began as a colonial administrative act became something Bosnian Muslims made entirely their own. The community now operates with its own parliament, a Constitutional Court, and finances itself through donations and religious giving. It has outlasted the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburgs, communist Yugoslavia, and the devastation of the 1990s war — consistently distancing itself from radical movements and maintaining cooperation with Jewish and Christian neighbors.
For Muslim leaders across Europe, that track record is the point. Benjamin Idriz, an imam in Bavaria, has said plainly that no other Islamic leader in Europe holds a comparable position. Zenahir Mrakovic, who leads the Islamic Community of Bosniaks in Germany — representing roughly 100 communities — sees the election as a signal of how Bosnian Muslim identity will be represented and defended in its historic homeland. Scholar Esnaf Begic argues that European countries should study Bosnia's experience more carefully: Bosniaks are autochthonous European Muslims whose presence predates modern nation-states, and their model of preserving faith while participating fully in democratic society holds lessons for the entire continent.
The new leader will inherit both the authority and the vulnerability of the office. Bosnia's statehood remains fragile, and foreign powers — Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Germany, the EU — are each applying their own pressures. Meanwhile, Islamophobia is intensifying across Europe, and right-wing populist movements are working to push Muslims out of full civic participation. The hope among observers is that the new Reis-ul-ulema will use the democratic legitimacy and historical weight of his office not to retreat, but to engage — demonstrating to both Muslim communities and majority societies that Islam affirms the rule of law, gender equality, and freedom of expression. Whether the election produces a leader willing and able to do that remains an open question.
On October 10, Bosnia and Herzegovina will choose a new leader for its Islamic Community—a position that carries weight far beyond the country's borders. The reis-ul-ulema, or Grand Mufti, serves as the public voice of Muslims before the state, weighs in on political and moral questions, and guards the community's independence against outside pressure. It is a role unlike any other in European Islam, and the person elected to it will inherit both its authority and its vulnerability.
Husein Kavazovic has held the office through two seven-year terms and cannot run again. Three candidates are competing to replace him. Salem Dedovic, the Mufti of Mostar, sees the position as fundamentally political and wants to draw the community into broader social debates. Nedzad Grabus, who leads the Islamic Community in Sarajevo and previously served as Grand Mufti of Slovenia, emphasizes international engagement and the need to strengthen faith in an age of globalization and secularization. Mensur Malkic, the head of the Directorate for Religious Affairs and the current Grand Mufti's envoy, focuses on deepening the community's religious and institutional foundations.
Why does this election matter to Muslims in Munich, Berlin, or anywhere else in Europe? Because Bosnia's Islamic Community represents something rare: a model of independent, self-governing Islamic life that has endured for 150 years within a secular, democratic state. The structure was born from an unlikely source. When the Austro-Hungarian Empire took control of Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Berlin Congress in 1878, it recognized Islam as an official religious community—following the precedent it had already set for Christian churches. In 1882, the empire appointed the first Reis-ul-ulema and established the Council of Ulema. What began as a colonial administrative decision became the foundation for something the Bosnian Muslims would make their own.
The Islamic Community operates with its own parliament, called the Sabor, and a Constitutional Court that ensures compliance with the country's laws. It finances itself through donations, membership fees, and zakat—the charitable giving required of Muslims. It has survived the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Tito's communist state, and the devastation of the 1990s war. Through all of it, the community has repeatedly distanced itself from radical movements and maintained cooperation with Jewish and Christian neighbors. That track record—of institutional independence, democratic practice, and interfaith coexistence—is what catches the attention of Muslim leaders across Europe.
Benjamin Idriz, an imam in the Bavarian city of Penzberg and chair of the Munich Forum for Islam, put it plainly: no other Islamic leader in Europe holds a position comparable to the Reis-ul-ulema in Sarajevo. The election, he said, matters not just to Bosnian Muslims but to Muslims and non-Muslims across the continent. Zenahir Mrakovic, president of the Islamic Community of Bosniaks in Germany, echoed that view. The IGBD represents roughly 100 communities across Germany and draws its identity and institutional memory from Bosnia. For Bosnian Muslims living in diaspora, the election signals how their faith will be represented and defended in its historic homeland.
Esnaf Begic, a former imam and lecturer at the Institute for Islamic Theology in Osnabrück, argues that Germany and other European countries should study Bosnia's experience more carefully. Bosniaks, he noted, are autochthonous European Muslims—their presence in Europe predates modern nation-states. They share more in common with their German neighbors, he suggested, than with Muslims from Afghanistan, Iran, or Saudi Arabia. The question Bosnia's model poses is whether Islamic communities can preserve their faith and identity while functioning as full participants in democratic, pluralistic societies. That is not a question unique to Bosnia, and the answer it has developed over 150 years carries lessons for Muslims everywhere in Europe.
But the new Reis-ul-ulema will assume office in difficult circumstances. Bosnia's statehood remains fragile, and foreign powers are competing for influence—not only Turkey and Saudi Arabia, but also the United States, Germany, and the European Union. Each has its own interests and its own pressure to apply. Meanwhile, across Europe, anti-Muslim racism and Islamophobia have intensified. Right-wing populist movements are gaining ground, and extremist parties are working to exclude Muslims from full participation in society. In this climate, the new leader of Bosnia's Islamic Community will be expected to use the democratic legitimacy and historical weight of his office to defend Islam's place in Europe—not by retreating from public life, but by engaging more forcefully in debates about what Islam means and what it can contribute to European democracy. Idriz hopes the new Reis-ul-ulema will demonstrate to both Muslim communities and majority societies that Islam affirms the rule of law, gender equality, and freedom of expression. Whether the election produces a leader willing and able to do that remains to be seen.
Citas Notables
The importance of this election extends far beyond the country, to Muslims and non-Muslims alike, across Europe.— Benjamin Idriz, imam and chair of the Munich Forum for Islam
We are autochthonous European Muslims and to a certain extent, we share more similarities with Germans than with Muslims from Afghanistan, Iran or Saudi Arabia.— Esnaf Begic, former imam and lecturer at the Institute for Islamic Theology at Osnabrück University
Quieres la nota completa?
Lee el original en Deutsche Welle ↗
Politics & Governance