Ešref Kovačević – The Last Qur’an Transcriber of Bosnia 🇧🇦☪

At a time when it seemed the centuries-old tradition of Qur’an trannoscription might disappear forever, a single man stood as its final guardian: Ešref Kovačević, a renowned Bosniak historian, researcher, and master calligrapher.

The Qur’an has been written down since the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). By the end of the 7th century, there was already a dedicated district of scribes in Medina. Over time, Muslims sought not only to preserve the words of the Qur’an but to render them in their most beautiful visual form.

When Islam reached Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 15th century, the tradition of transcribing the Qur’an began to flourish. Though the earliest local copies have been lost, many mushafs (manunoscripts of the Qur’an) made by Bosniak scribes from later centuries remain. One example is Hafiz Ibrahim Šehović of 18th-century Sarajevo, who hand-copied at least 66 mushafs.

By the early 20th century, this vibrant calligraphic culture had faded. Then came Ešref Kovačević, born in 1924 near Glamoč. Trained in Turkish, Arabic, and history, he taught at several major institutions in Sarajevo, including the Faculty of Philosophy and Gazi Husrev-bey Madrasa.

Kovačević was not just a scholar—he was a brilliant calligrapher. His hundreds of compositions are found throughout Bosnia and the former Yugoslavia, adorning homes, mosques, libraries, and state archives. His works still grace places like Sarajevo’s Emperor’s Mosque and the Čaršija Mosque in Fojnica.

But his most ambitious and meaningful project began under extraordinary circumstances: during the 1990s war in Bosnia, while battling illness, Kovačević began hand-transcribing the entire Qur’an.

He completed it after months of painstaking work and in 1995 submitted his manunoscript to IRCICA (Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture) in Istanbul. They recognized the value of his work and agreed to publish it.

Kovačević made only one request: his Qur’an should never be sold, only gifted. And so it was.

His mushaf departed from Ottoman standards—not focused on ornate visuals, but on readability and clarity, especially for those whose native language is not Arabic. “From Bosnians to Japanese,” he said, his aim was accessibility. He wove into every letter the experience of teaching hundreds of students how to read Arabic.

Thanks to him, Islamic calligraphy in Bosnia saw a rebirth. He inspired a new generation of calligraphers who see him as their guiding light. He revived the art of mushaf trannoscription—and, for now, became its last bearer in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ešref Kovačević passed away on March 2, 1996. His coffin was carried by hand for nearly 3 kilometers through Sarajevo, and he was laid to rest in the harem of the Sarač-Ismail Mosque. His legacy, however, lives on in ink, in paper, and in the hearts of those who see beauty in sacred words.

Life update: Exam season is coming, which means I am once again entering my Dostoevsky existentialist phase instead of studying for said exams. These exams are important, which means there will be a halt to my posting addiction. If you see me posting again during these crucial days, go to the comments and tell me to get back to studying as I slowly lose my mind pondering what the true measure of human intellect is — whether pens and papers, or something greater. ✍

Netanyahu je obavijestio članove kabineta da je nastavak pomoći hitno potreban zbog rastućeg pritiska iz Washingtona

https://www.ummetpress.com/2025/05/netanyahu-zbog-americkog-pritiska.html

Ribići is a village in the municipality of Konjic, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ribići is a popular tourist destination thanks to its lakes. 🇧🇦

Photo: Amel Bubalo

Why do alt-right accounts on X push disinformation/propaganda about Christianity in Kosovo/Albania? The only people who would believe this are Americans. Also based of them for recognising our brother country of Kosovo 🇽🇰

Side note: I notice the lack of such propaganda around Bosnia, I wonder why

I know I'm not suppost to be posting things but I can't help myself

Ej, čuješ li, Bosno!? Čuješ li bombe garantora mira i stabilnosti na Balkanu? 🇺🇸

Hey, do you hear, Bosnia!? Do you hear the bombs of the guarantor of peace and stability in the Balkans? 🇺🇸

🇧🇦 Brief overview of news:

• Mr. Abdulaziz Al-Sukran and Saudi Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina took part in a roundtable with the President of the Bosnian Foreign Trade Chamber to enhance economic dialogue and explore cooperation opportunities between Saudi and Bosnian companies. 🇸🇦

• Iranian military envoy: “We will do everything to strengthen military cooperation between BiH and Iran.” 🇮🇷

• Albanian Embassy officially opened in Sarajevo 🇦🇱

• Republika Srpska National Assembly adopts draft law ending all political party funding from the entity budget essentially cutting all funding for opposition parties ❌

• RS President Milorad Dodik, in a lengthy address, calls on the international community to mine lithium and other minerals in RS in exchange for "freedom."

• Turkish Deputy Minister of Trade announces trade volume with BiH has surpassed $1 billion 🇹🇷

• Turkey donates Kangal anti-drone system; Helez thanks “brotherly” President Erdoğan for support to the BiH Armed Forces 🇹🇷

• Republika Srpska becomes a money laundering haven – no institution has jurisdiction to control it 💸

„Sine moj, bolje da te mrze zato što se nisi povinio, nego da te vole zato što te gaze. Bolje slobodni vuk nego natovareni magarac.”

@endelusbalkan

☪ Sons of Islam - Made by "VukAli" ☪

☪ We remember, we witness ☪

Ibrahim was ten years old when they tied his hands with wire and killed him in Višegrad – his funeral was today

The boy Ibrahim Hodžić was ten years old when, with his hands tied, he was brutally murdered in Višegrad in 1992. On Saturday, 31 years later, a funeral prayer (dženaza) was held for him at the Vlakovo cemetery in Sarajevo, far from his hometown of Višegrad. His cousin, Medina Ćuprija, shared an emotional memory of Ibrahim and the entire murdered family ahead of the funeral.

So far, only Ibrahim has been found. The remains of his father Salke, mother Pašija, and his sisters Fatima, who was only eight years old, and Fata, who was just 13, are still missing.

All that is left of Ibrahim is a photograph of him as a baby in his mother's arms and a small green sweater that was found during the exhumation. And a memory.

This is the story of Ibrahim.


It is also the story of a crime committed against an entire family – the family of my uncle Salke. My uncle had, in addition to Ibrahim, two daughters – Fata and Fatima – and his beloved wife Pašija. They had a carefree childhood, filled with the kind of joy only children can experience...

Until the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina began, and the criminals from Višegrad started carrying out the systematic extermination of Bosniaks. Anyone with a Muslim name was a threat to them.

And then the monsters from Višegrad took everything from us – them, and many other members of our family.

Ibrahim is the first and only one we learned had been exhumed, back in 2010, in Đurevići field. DNA analysis confirmed it was him. During the identification, his mother recognized the small green sweater that was found next to him. The small green sweater that my aunt had knitted for her Ibrahim.

We don’t have any pictures of him from his childhood, because everything was left behind in Višegrad – only this one photo of him in his mother’s arms.

Ibrahim’s funeral and burial will be held in Sarajevo, at Vlakovo, far from Višegrad, on Saturday at 2 PM. Far from the town where monsters, criminals, enemies ended his life. The life of a child not even ten years old. A child whose hands were tied with wire, and whose childhood was ended in a cruel way.

There is no more uncle, no aunt, no Fata, no Fatima, no Ibrahim. One entire family is gone.

Only a few of us remain from a once large and happy family.

We remain to bear witness, to warn, and to tell that our family members did not disappear! They were murdered in a beastly way in Višegrad!

In a town where the sun will never shine again… – wrote Medina Ćuprija.

From Bosnia to the Nile: Traces of a Hidden Heritage 🇧🇦

The descendants of Bosnians live in central Africa today, in tribes in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Does this sound incredible?

However, it is true. Namely, Qasr Ibrim is an archaeological site which the Ottomans occupied in the 16th century. To defend the territory, hundreds of Bosnian soldiers were left to protect the territory. The descendants of these soldiers live in this area even today, at the localities of Derr and Ibrim, stated one of the Reddit, Dan.ba reported.

The Bosnian soldiers and their descendants married the tribeswomen of Gharbye and Djowabere tribes. What is interesting, the younger generations forgot the Bosnian language; however, several features of the northern climate remained present. In the first place it refers to the light brown skin color, while the Nubians are black.

”Some of the women who followed our friends to the ships had a strange skin color, light white eyes and curly red hair. There are numerous families in this area who claim that they are the descendants of Bosnian soldiers who were stationed in Nubia during the conquests of Sultan Selim in 1517. They are extremely proud of their roots, and consider themselves beautiful.” – This is an excerpt from the book ”Back through Nubia” written by Amelie Ann Blandford Edwards back in 1891.

We are everywhere