'DŽEJ ASKED ME FOR QURAN BEFORE HE DIED!' Mufti Jusufspahić opens up to Kurir: 'Đoković is attacked by snobs as he is not a snob'

Belgrade Mufti Mustafa Jusufspahić is a man of kind words. Whatever he talks about, his words have a reconciliatory and understanding tone to them. This Dorćol-born man got his education and lived all across the world, played football, was in other lines of work too – especially during the turbulent 1990s – but eventually decided to devote his whole life to faith and to Belgrade. In addition to his other activities, since 2013 he has been active as the head imam in the Serbian Armed Forces. He has the rank of major.

We met at the Belgrade Bairakli Mosque. Over coffee and the ubiquitous Kalburabastı pastry, we talked about the modern world, the culture of dialogue, and about the ever so urgent need to listen to one another. We also touched on politics, the coronavirus pandemic, and the collaboration with the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) and its new head, Porfirije. Needless to say, we discussed the unavoidable topics of the mufti's acquaintances with the great Muhammad Ali, Novak Đoković, and Džej.

What has your experience of this coronavirus pandemic been?

"It's a great challenge. God said in the Quran that he holds both illness and cure, and that there is a cure for each illness, except old age and death. I believe that this is a challenge for both science and expert professionals – finding the cure as soon as possible in order to help humanity. We should do what expert professionals suggest."

Do you support vaccination?

"I support everything that can contribute to us becoming healthy again and keeping our health. The vaccine has been and still is an instrument to defend people's health. If I were to tell you that I did not support it, perhaps I would influence people who tomorrow could die as a result of that. This would make me responsible for death. The Islamic terminology doesn't contain 'genocide'; instead, we say, 'he who slays a soul - shall be as if he had slain all mankind'; 'and he who saves a life shall be as if he had given life to all mankind'."

Do you get the impression that as a society we need more dialogue on everything? It is as if everyone is talking, but no one is listening.

"Yes indeed. This is the case in all aspects of life, unfortunately. We live, globally, in a society which produces more food than ever before, but which has never before had more hungry people. Moreover, today's medical science is cutting edge, and yet we have so many sick people. We have so many tools for communicating – social media and the rest of it – and yet people have never communicated less. On the other hand, not everyone should be saying anything. For, anyone can talk, but one must know which values ought to emerge and shape society. Democracy has been given a wrong interpretation, with anyone being able to say anything to anyone else, or throw curse words at them. That's why we have faith, a belief that god keeps a record of all that somewhere, and that there is such a thing as the day of the Last Judgement, since here you cannot expect ultimate justice. To conclude, we do need more dialogue, but a good kind of dialogue at that. I happen to like sports, and I think that giving vent to your feelings through sport is the most beautiful sort of dialogue. That's what we need. We vent our feelings there, and then head on out to the third half, just to sit down and have a chat. Sport is an option that ought to be used in dialogue."

Since we have brought up sports, you like football and Partizan FC, and you have trained with Red Star FC. Where did this love of sport come from?

"I used to train as a kid. There was no preparatory seminary school in Belgrade at the time, so I continued my schooling in Sarajevo. I continued to train in Sarajevo FC, and we were making good progress – we got through to the junior finals with Red Star in the Yugoslavian championship. Cvetković, who was the Red Star secretary then, told my father [author's note: Hamdija Jusufspahić, honorary Reis-ul-ulema of the Islamic Religious Community of Serbia and Belgrade Mufti for many years] and myself that, as a Belgrade-born child, I should come to Red Star and get my kit. During the following summer break I trained with them, thinking at first that I was going to be with my own generation. Instead, Dragiša Binić and Piksi walk into the locker room. I thought I was in the wrong locker room. Then they took me to Zrenjanin for a match against Proleter FC, but I wasn't supposed to officially play for Red Star because I was still registered with the Sarajevo club. So, in order to be able to play, and for them to see how good I was out on the pitch, I got a jersey with Janković written on it. We got out onto the pitch, but a cake shop owner who knew my father and me saw me and started to call out: 'Mustafa! Mustafa!' So they ended up removing me although the coach told me I'd had done well during half-time."

Do you follow politics?

"To the extent to which I depend on it. And we all do, a good deal. Sadly, there is too much politics in Islam, and too little Islam in politics. We could see that certain political parties were founded which abuse Islam, the Islamic Community, and its infrastructure, etc. for their own interests. That's how things stand globally, and that is how things have been here for a couple of years now, unfortunately. We are strictly opposed to political Islam, bit not against Islamic policy, as that is what develops an individual's moral fibre."

Is there more harmony in the Islamic Community than before, when there were conflicts, harsh words, and divisions?

"It's getting better than it used to be. The people are more mature, they understand more, and feel sick and tired of conflicts. That is precisely where people suffer the most. Those in the community's highest offices should lead people towards unity. Many political parties were founded in a small political space and, as a result, the very person who should have reconciled two warring sides ended up founding a third party. Therefore, their ambition was never to restore peace among the brothers but to make profit instead. Nowadays, we have big profiteers and foreign actors, attempting to interfere. We really are in a tough spot. Also, we've been under attack in the National Assembly recently and haven't been given an opportunity to respond. Well, if the National Assembly is a home to all citizens, then give us a chance once a month to actually say something there. Another issue that we have is that, as a recognized Islamic Community, we don't have a representative – other people have been allowed to represent all of us and act as our sole representatives. Lastly, we show up in the media only when we're at odds with each other. An ounce of hatred is more interesting to the media than a tonne of love."

After the re-introduction of the chaplaincy service in the Serbian Armed Forces in 2013, you were appointed Chief Military Imam with the rank of captain. Now you are a major.

"We simply went back to what had disappeared 74 years ago. Bringing God and morality back to the armed forces is a good decision. You know, you used to act in the name of the king, but a king is mortal. When, however, you act in the name of God – he is immortal and eternal. When we protect our country in the name of God, that has an additional gravity and carries more weight. Over 90 percent of Serbs identify as believers, followers of monotheistic religions, and therefore believe in one god. That is what connects us. There are many challenges in the Serbian Armed Forces, but we have had some good responses too. It is perhaps the only institution where an Orthodox priest, Muslim hodja, and Catholic cleric can be seen in a single office daily, exchanging experiences, living together, breathing the same air…"

You have known well singer Džej Ramadanovski, who passed away last year.

"Džej used to come here, to the mosque, and we'd meet up… I had known him since the 1980s, when he had his own club and worked with Oliver Mandić. He was a real stand-up guy, a cool fellow who liked to joke around and was always cheerful. It was great having him around. A couple of weeks before he died, he came to the mosque for the Friday prayer, and asked me to sign a translation of the Quran for him. So I did. He sang for my son Omar although he was already ill – his vocal cords had gone – but he was so full of spirit that he did sing. He used to sing in many different languages, actually. This one time, I had some friends from Italy over who were originally from Pakistan, and he sang to them in their own language."

What was your impression of Novak Đoković when you met him first?

"A wonderful person. Both him and his family. His father is a workaholic and has chosen the hard way, so God has rewarded him. He had invested all he had because he believed that his son could reach the top. Novak doesn't act all imperious even though he could have become haughty. He isn't condescending but kind and warm with everyone. He's kept his feet on the ground, and that's why most people in the world like him. A certain number of snobs dislike him, but they dislike and attack him because he himself isn't a snob. We always pray for his success."

What was your connection with the famous boxer Muhammad Ali?

"He was here in 1984. He came to Belgrade for consultations with Dr Medenica, who had been treating him for Parkinson's disease. He expressed an interest in visiting the mosque. He was cracking jokes, posing with his guard up with my father, and bowed in prayer. Back in the 1970s, we used to wake up at 3am to watch his matches against Frazier and Foreman. He was a great man."

Collaboration with the Serbian Orthodox Church

'Porfirije is our friend'

How satisfied are you with the collaboration with the SOC and Patriarch Porfirije?

"Above all else, we've been friends with Porfirije for many years. He is just starting out, but we think there's a good chance of having a quality dialogue with the SOC. The government is facing many challenges as it is, so us from the religious communities really shouldn't make it more difficult for them. That said, I do hope that one day our problems will be at the top of the agenda and be resolved. The main issue we face is that we don't have a permission to build a new mosque in Belgrade. We've been renewing the request for over 35 years. We don't like to get involved in politics, but please don't make us start a political party to get your attention."

The 2004 burning of the mosque cannot be forgotten

'An inconceivable act, a day when good and evil met face to face'

We are having this conversation in the Bairakli Mosque, which a group of hooligans set on fire on 17 March 2004, following the March unrest in Kosovo and Metohija, in a sort of a "response" to the burning of the Serbian churches in Kosovo. How do you see the events of that day now?

"I was here, in the mosque, that day… I couldn't understand it. It was a horrific time and something that I can never forget. Above all, I don't understand the people who did it. I don't know what it is that they gained by doing that. Perhaps some of them have only just realized what they had done. Under Islam, we believe that whatever happens, happens by God's decree. If God had wanted to prevent it, he would have. However, he let us show our faces, our hearts, he let us pass or fail that test. As a believer, that's how I have to see it. There is nothing that God cannot stop. Good and evil met face to face on that day. I saw a great deal of sadness, disappointment, and shame in my neighbours over other people's actions. We have been through a lot – 11 mosques have been burnt down in my lifetime, and there have been attempts at blowing them up, throwing firebombs at them, etc. We've been a victim of every political conflict taking place elsewhere."

On Kosovo and the Kosovo problem

'Albanians and Serbs must find the common ground'

What is your view on the situation in Kosovo and the cutting of the Kosovo knot?

"I call upon people to live in peace. Few among us call for peace today, but when you approach ordinary people, you see that that's all they want. God in the Quran does not demonize Serbs, nor does he demonize Albanians in the Bible. We have a link between us that is God. The SOC and the Islamic Community have always been guides to a better living. Kosovo is a land of Serbia that needs to be cherished and the cradle of the Serbs who were born there, as much as Serbia is the cradle of the Muslims and Albanians who are born here. Kosovo is a place where people should live together. If there are no people there, then it's all in vain. What good is a country if it has no people? Albanians and Serbs must find the common ground, and that is possible through economy – as it is being done already – and through culture and sport."

Boban Karović

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