Metodología basada en la respuesta invariante al impulso

In 1912 there was approximately 1000 Muslims living in Zagreb. At that time there was no mosque or Imam serving the needs of the Muslims living in Zagreb. In 1916 the first Imam was appointed to the A-H military garrison in Zagreb for the Muslims serving in the A-H army, the same Imam also performed formal duties among the Muslims living in Zagreb. In 1917 Ismet Muftić from the city of Žepče in central BiH was appointed as the first mufti of Zagreb, he would serve as mufti until 1945. The Muslims in Zagreb had no mosque to perform their religious duties, but with the creation of the NDH Pavelić decided that the Muslim community in Zagreb should have a mosque in the capital. Pavelić decided that the Ivan Meštrović pavilion in central Zagreb should be turned into a mosque. Hilmija Beslagić, who was the Minister of Transportation and Public Works, were given the task to be in charge of the project. The mosque was completed in 1944, but was closed down in 1947; the three minarets that were surrounding the mosque were demolished in 1948.271

Although the Ustaša propaganda praised and portrayed the Muslims as the Croatian flowers the reality was that there were tension between the ilmija and the Ustaša regime.272 On the 14 August 1941 the ilmija trough their association El-Hidaja issued a resolution condemning Ustaša atrocities and genocide against the Serbs and Jews.273 Over one hundred respected Muslims in BiH, among them intellectuals, businessmen and religious officials signed this resolution. The historian Redžić states: “Some observers have suggested that Hadžihasanović was the initiator of this resolution”.274 In the second half of 1941 and early 1942 similar resolutions was passed

270 _{Dedijer & Milietić 1990:521ff.}

271 _{http://www.islamska-zajednica.hr/povijest/povijest_2.php (Web page of the Islamic Community of Croatia).} 272 _{The ilmija during the Second World War was the Muslim clergy in BiH.}

273 _{Imamović 2005:340, Redžić 2005:169. El-Hidaja means: guide to the true path.} 274 _{Redžić 2005:169.}

throughout BiH. The ilmija also distanced itself from the Muslim clergy who supported the Ustaša policies; one of the most notable supporters of the Ustaša policies among the clergy was Akif Handžić also known as the “Ustaša mufti”. Handžić was also a Colonel in the NDH: s homeguard army and was successful in rallying tabor imams for support of the Ustaša policies.275 In early 1942 the election for the Reis-ul-ulema in BiH was supposed to be held. The Muslims in the NDH regime Asim Ugljen, Salih Kulović and Munir Šahinović were persuaded by Slavko Kvaternik that the best way to get rid of the mufti Fehim Spaho, who did not support the NDH regime, was to nominate the Zagreb mufti Ismet Muftić as a candidate for the post as Reis-ul- ulema. Ademaga Mešić found out about this matter and contacted Pavelić, he warned Pavelić that meddling of politics in the Islamic community could trigger an outrage in the Islamic community; Mešić told Pavelić that the nomination of candidates for the post of Reis-ul-ulema should be left to the ulema-medžlis.276 Fehim Spaho died before the elections of Reis-ul-ulema was to be held, prominent Muslims from the Islamic community and ulema-medžlis met to discuss what measures should be taken, the decisions that was put forward was that a new Reis-ul-ulema should be elected after the war. The ulema-medžlis elected Salih Bašić as naibu reis (deputy Reis- ul-ulema). During Fehim Spaho’s time as Reis-ul-ulema he complained to the NDH authorities that Jews that converted to the Islamic faith were treated unequal to the Jews that converted to Catholicism. The Reis-ul-ulema complained that Jews who converted to Islam in the town of Zavidovići were accused of being communists and sent to the concentration camp Gospić while Jews who converted to Catholicism moved freely around in the town.277 In a document dated 22 January 1942 from Mostar concerning the same issue as stated above concerning the Jews. The document stated that the Ustaša authorities were taking measures to punish the Jews harshly if they did not wear the Star of David and changed their surname no matter if they converted to Islam or Catholicism. The document also stated that the Islamic religious authorities in Mostar have passed wrong information to the Reis-ul-ulema that Jews that have converted to Islam were punished but the Jews converted to the Catholic faith were not punished. All Jews were punished but it seemed like more Jews converted to the Islamic faith were punished because there were much more Jews that converted to the Islamic faith in Mostar. The document states that certain

275 _{Imamović 2005:340. Tabor imams were Muslim military chaplains in the NDH homeguard.} 276 _{Redžić 2005:86.}

woman from Mostar, Jelisaveta Singer was punished to pay a fine of 1000 Croatian Kuna because she converted to the Catholic faith.278

The Muslims feared that after the Ustaša authorities settled the score with the Orthodox the Muslims in BiH were next. They had reason to fear the hardcore Ustaša party members, one of the hardcore Ustaša’s was the Catholic priest Božidar Bralo. At a meeting in Zenica, March 1942 he stated the following: “With a rifle and knife we are eradicating the Serbs biological; with our intelligent politics we have imposed the Serbs are eradicating the Muslims. The rest of the Muslims we will eradicate ourselves”.279 Bralo’s statement were concerning the situation in north-eastern Bosnia were Četnik units committed massacres on the civilian Muslims. The NDH homeguard were not present in north-eastern Bosnia and left the field open to the Četnik units to commit massacres on civilian Muslims. At the same time Ustaša’s were committing massacres on civilian Orthodox population, the Četnik considered the Muslims to be supporters of the Ustaša authorities. And what Bralo were stating was that the Muslims who escaped Četnik massacres would be massacred by Ustaša’s.