Sarajevo Essays: Politics, Ideology, and Tradition

Draws on the Bosnian situation to argue for a reconciliation between modernity and tradition.

One of Bosnia’s leading intellectuals explains the Bosnian experience by critiquing the politics and ideology that brought about the great destruction—both material and spiritual—of Bosnia and Herzegovina. These incisive and theologically profound essays address the confrontation between the West and Islam as the author explores the realm of humanity’s long-standing search for the roots of evil in the dual nature of mankind to gain insight into ways of achieving peace. By drawing on the Bosnian situation, the author explores questions of identity and otherness, knowledge and transcendence, authority and authoritarianism, and tradition and fundamentalism, and he argues for a reconciliation between modernity and tradition for the benefit of modern coexistence, not just in his native land but throughout the world.

"Mahmutcehajic's current collection is important, not only for any program of resuscitating Bosnia-Herzegovina, but also, and perhaps more importantly for Western readers, as a guidebook for coexistence in an increasingly fractured and ideologically polarized world." — Ivo Banac, editor of Eastern Europe in Revolution

"Sarajevo Essays is just the latest evidence that Rusmir Mahmutcehajic is one of the more important writers and thinkers in the former Yugoslavia. His vision is a distinctive blend of Bosnian history, interreligious communication, and reflections on secularism, liberal democracy, nationalism, and religion. He embraces tolerance, democracy, and the possibility of true religious commitment that is not exclusive, but rather that becomes a motive for mutual understanding." — Michael A. Sells, author of The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and Genocide in Bosnia