Abstract: The paper analyzes the establishment of the Young Muslims organization, which was formed in Sarajevo at the dawn of World War II, based on previously unpublished archival materials from the association of Young Muslims 1939, private archives, the State Archives of Serbia, Military Archives, and other relevant sources. The analysis shows the identity and ideological direction of the organization as well as its relationship to the Bosnian ulema, the statehood of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the idea of the nation, the Ustasha ideology, the Communist movement, and other ideological currents present in the time when the organization was founded.

Keywords: Young Muslims, Islam, national identity, Bosnianhood / Bosniakhood, Bosnia and Herzegovina, social movements, World War II, Pan-Islamism, Alija Izetbegović

Summary

The paper shows that at the time of the founding of the Young Muslims organization, it was of a purely religious, more specifically of an Islamic character, and in no way it declared or dealt with the affirmation of the national (Bosniak) idea. Also, the issue of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s statehood was of secondary importance to its members, compared to their concerns for the Islamic world, that is, the Ummah and pan-Islamic unity. The focus of the organization’s work was exclusively Islamic faith and activism based on it, where the represented ideas were strongly anti-ulema and very often critically positioned towards what its members called “Bosnian Islam.” Additionally, members’ attitudes were negative towards both new Western ideas and values, as well as towards Ustasha and Nazi ideologies. The work also shows that the Young Muslims’ attitudes towards Communist ideas, and the movement that advocated these ideas on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, were very negative. Members of the Young Muslims saw Communism as the most significant threat, which had a radical impact on the organization after the Communist Party came to power at the end of the Second World War.