Application and Interpretations of Sharia Law in Bosnia under the Ottoman Empire

• Published in: Godišnjak pravnog fakulteta u Sarajevu Vol. 46; pp. 167 - 179
• Main Author: Durmisevic, Enes
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Croatian; English
• Published: 01-01-2003
• Subjects: Bosnia Herzegovina; Courts; Law; Legal System; Ottoman Empire; Reform
• ISSN: 0581-7471

After the Ottoman Empire conquered Bosnia in 1463 introducing the country to Islam, Bosnian population was acquainted to the Sharia Law and has been included into the Ottoman administrative and legal system. Some local institutions and customs that run counter to the Shari a Law had been eliminated while other were integrated into the Sharia structure and thus into the Ottoman Empire's legal system. Sharia Law had regulated most of the private and social life of Muslim population in Bosnia, leaving a clear trace to date and also influencing the customs of the non-Muslim Bosnian populace. In the period of Tanzimat reforms, the Bosnian judicial system had been divided into two fractions -- one acknowledging modern judiciary with regular civil courts and other remaining loyal to Sharia. Following the establishment of regular civil courts that applied state laws to disputes of all citizens mindless of their religious affiliation and their separation from the Sharia courts, the Sharia Law moved from the administrative and legal into religious and metaphysical sphere. This marked the beginning of the process of secularization of the Ottoman society that has been completed by the foundation of the modern Republic of Turkey and Ataturk's reforms. Sharia courts in Bosnia had been suspended by Yugoslav authorities in 1946. Adapted from the source document.