Between two empires, two educational systems and two judiciary systems: Ottoman judge, prosecutor and candidate for reisul- ulema of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1913, Džafer Ilhami- beg Kulenović and his ijazetnama

Abstract

This article presents the biography, education and promotions in the judicial hierarchy of Džafer Ilhami-beg Kulenović (b. 1867) from Bosanski Petrovac, Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1895, he graduated from the Mekteb-i hukuk (Faculty of Law) in Istanbul. In the same year he received an Ijazetname (degree) in Istanbul in traditional Islamic sciences from the dersiam/muderis) Salih Hilmi al-Bosnawi al-Izinçavi (Salih Hilmi Bosnavi from Zenica). Kulenović served as a judge and prosecutor in the civil courts (nizamiye mahkemeleri) in Ottoman Empire. For a brief time, he was the Minister of Police in the cabinet of Grand Vizier Kamil Pasha and advanced to the position of President of the Court of Cassation (Mahkeme-i Temyiz) in Istanbul. Kulenović was a candidate in the elections for reisul-ulema in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1913. The paper explains the character of Kulenović’s ijazetname within the broader historical, social and cultural context. It discusses the way the ijazetname was acquired. Furthermore, the article examines why Kulenović opted for this type of „dual” education and what role ijazename could have played in Kulenović’s professional promotion in the Ottoman judicial hierarchy and in his nomination for reisul-ulema of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The article also contains an integral translation of the text of Kulenović’s ijazetname.