The youngest member of parliament in Serbia, and one of the youngest in Europe, Minister Usame Zukorlic is a Serbian politician of Muslim Bosniak and Palestinian heritage. Zukorlic is the leader of the Justice and Reconciliation Party, representing the Bosniak and Muslim minority populations present in Serbia, and acts as the current vice-president of the Serbian National Assembly. Zukorlic was born in Constantine, Algeria, and educated in Novi Pazar, Serbia, before completing his studies in law, theology, philosophy across the Mediterranean. With a career spanning several industries, from law to eco-startups to ethnographic studies to government office, Zukorlic is a highly experienced professional fluent in four languages: Bosnian, English, Arabic, and Turkish. Zukorlic recently spoke against me at the Oxford Union, opposing the debate motion ‘This House Believes Islam is Incompatible with Democracy’. Admittedly, I was the one who invited him, knowing full well his background in Islamic theology and ethnography, so I kind of walked right into that one. Nevertheless, it was my pleasure, along with my peer Omer Mihovic, to receive him and his delegation (including his chief of staff, Salahudin Fetic, and photographer, Edin Bacevac) at Oxford and interview him, before debating against him.
Yashas: Welcome, Minister Zukorlic! It is our pleasure to welcome you to our historic campus. To begin, I will ask how your time in Oxford has been so far.
Usame: So, I arrived yesterday, and I had a chance to visit Oxford city and some buildings belonging to the University. The architecture is fascinating. The culture in London and Britain is very unique; it is my first time here.
Yashas: Oh, it’s your first time in England!
(Interruption: Iftikhar Malik, Professor Emeritus, Wolfson College, and specialist in Muslim History, joins our table, introducing himself to us and taking a seat. I continue the interview)
Usame: A very unique culture… I see that England is very different from other places that I have visited. I had a chance in the past to visit 25 European cities in 25 days – with my colleague, Edin, my editor. That was in the month of Ramadan, so we had 25 iftars in 25 places.
Iftikhar: When was that?
Usame: That was 2018, or 2019, yes.
Iftikhar: Why were you travelling?
Usame: I was the coordinator of a very unique project on DNA. I study genealogy as a hobby, and had an operation with the ‘YSEC’ institute, and with genealogy institutions in Houston, who had money to fund us. We collected more than 500 samples of more than 500 surnames on the Bosnian diaspora. I finished law, economy, theology, but history was something I liked a lot and genealogy is a young branch of science, so I moved in that direction. I used the opportunity to witness new things in that scientific field. Very strange, when you compare genetics with history, and with ethnology, and see the overlap. And also sociology, politics, and so on.
Yashas: Was it an effort in the Balkans alone then, or across Europe?
Usame: I started it as a small project in Bosniak communities, mainly amongst Bosniak and Muslim communities within the Balkans. Mainly in the Sandzak region, where I’m from. Bosniaks, Torbesi, Gorani, and Pomaks. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Macedonia, and Bulgaria.
As of 6 months ago, I am the youngest minister in Europe
Iftikhar: You were in the local madrassa (Islamic school), weren’t you?
Usame: Yes, my father was in the madrassa in Sarajevo, and then he studied the philosophy of Sharia law in Constantine, Algeria.
Iftikhar: Yes, you have an Algerian connection, don’t you?
Usame: I was born there. But I am of Bosniak ethnicity, and my mother is from Palestine.
Iftikhar: I used to live in Bosnia, and Herzegovina, very close to the madrassa. I used to walk down Ferhadija, the main thoroughfare in Sarajevo. In the centre, you’d have a Catholic Church, a Jewish Synagogue, and a Muslim Mosque all together. Sadly, in the 1990s, the centre was under heavy sniper fire. People would be shopping, but from the mountains, there would be guys sitting there, firing down into the crowd.
Usame: It was a very bloody war, yes.
Iftikhar: How is the situation in Serbia now?
Usame: It is better now, yes, haha. I am now the Minister for reconciliation, and represent the Bosniak communities in Serbia. The name of my Ministry is the Ministry of Reconciliation, Regional Cooperation, and Regional Stability, and the name of my Party is the Justice and Reconciliation Party.
Iftikhar: Started by your dad, wasn’t it?
Usame: Yes, and he passed, three years ago. On the 6th of November, it would be the anniversary of his passing. The Party officials elected me, in a democratic way. I didn’t inherit the position, not in a dynastic way. (Pointing to Salahudin) He is responsible for electing me, haha!
Yashas: You were in another job before this, weren’t you? BioSan, I believe, was its name.
Usame: So yes, originally I worked in my father’s company, Sandzak TV. I had a very good salary for our region at that time, but because I was a teenager and my father was very famous, I didn’t like the rumours that everything was easy for me. So, I asked my father to “escape”.
(How do we say it? Where is Omer, to translate?)
I moved from Sandzak TV, I resigned, yes that’s the word. My language – Bosno-Croato-Serb, as The Hague calls it – that is what I’m fluent in. Much like Scandinavian languages, it is a political issue to have differences in their name, but they are essentially the same, or very similar languages. Can understand them equally well. Anyway, on BioSan. I started it up myself, I did not want accusations of nepotism to my name, so I spent time working with a small shop on organic and healthy food. It was a very interesting and insightful experience, I learnt many things. Since I was a master in economy, I learnt how to manage an economy on the field! It worked very well until COVID, but when COVID hit, I moved to different fields. I created ‘ITSan’, and moved most of my work to the internet to then be attached to one place.
Yashas: Makes sense, when COVID hit, most things were moved online.
it was the one thing he [my father] didn’t achieve. If he had spoken English, he would be very famous around Europe, maybe in the world.
Usame: I had a very good professor as a mentor, from Georgetown University in Washington. I wanted to apply there to study religious studies as my PhD, and I was preparing myself, in Turkey. I spoke three languages then, Arabic, Bosnian, and English. I needed to learn more languages to have a better chance to attend university, I looked mainly at Turkish, and German. I was just leaving Istanbul when I got the call that my father… and so I attended the Janazah (funeral), and when we finished that, in three days the colleagues of my father suggested that I become the President. I was just a student, at that time.
Yashas: What were you studying then?
Usame: I was studying Turkish language, in Istanbul, preparing myself for a PhD in religious studies in Georgetown. I had a plan to be one year in Istanbul, one in Qatar, and then go to Washington. This was the agreement with my father. He died surprisingly, he was 51, and in the highest power in Serbia, and so I inherited very hard circumstances. My first speech, as it is today, my first political speech, was in front of the President, PM, MPs, ambassadors. My first meeting on the field was in the city square, the most crowded I have ever seen a square, and my first debate today in English is at the Oxford Union. A lot of great opportunities were given to me as a result of my circumstances! As of 6 months ago, I am the youngest minister in Europe; 31 years old when I became Minister.
(Interruption, Majda L., member of the Serbian delegation to Oxford, joins us and takes a seat. There is some shuffling of seats so she can hear the conversation)
Usame: Yes, many opportunities, thanks to God. And today, we will be discussing whether Islam is compatible with democracy!
Yashas: Absolutely, you didn’t seize the opportunity, it was placed upon you. And today we see very often ambitious men who fight over the inheritance of their fathers.
Usame: My father was very famous in our place, very popular. He told me very often to learn English; it was the one thing he didn’t achieve. If he had spoken English, he would be very famous around Europe, maybe in the world. One day, inshallah, we shall translate his books to English. I am just ‘one finger of him’.
Yashas: It is a large legacy. You have big shoes to fill, but are filling them well.
Majda: Usame is not far from him, he is too humble.
Usame: My colleague, Salahudin. He just understands American English, from the movies. I translate from British to American English.
(A third interruption: Omer Mihovic, student at St. Edmund Hall, and personal contact of the Minister at Oxford, arrives. We talk about their morning tour in Oxford briefly, before continuing)
Yashas: So just earlier, we saw a picture of Edward Ferguson on the walls of the Union, the ex-treasurer and current ambassador to Serbia.
Usame: Am I the first Serbian to be within these buildings?
Iftikhar: So several years ago, maybe four or five, we had the Kosovan leader, what was his name? Rugova, Ibrahim Rugova. He published his book, and he was invited by the Union to give a talk about it.
This is my story. I am the first person from Serbia to attend an event like this.
Usame: This is my story. I am the first person from Serbia to attend an event like this. I always move first in the snow to make parts from others, haha.
Iftikhar: Izetbegovic, you walk in his shoes. (To me) He was like Mahatma Gandhi, of Bosnia.
Yashas: I will certainly have a look at his books, then! I won’t take up much more of your time, Minister, since the drinks start at 6:30, so I will ask you just two more questions. First, what advice would you give students of philosophy, politics, and economics since they make up most of Oxford’s student population?
Usame: I will say, know what interests you in your studies. For me, when I study ethnography, I research deeply how the life of Muslims in non-Muslim entities and states can compare to the situations around the world today. I research into the early life of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and his followers in Mecca, before the spread of Islam in the 7th century. I think if we study this more and understand how Muslims lived in non-Muslim majority countries in its early years, then we will find the solution to the same scenarios in today’s world.
Yashas: Thank you, that is very insightful – so a look into this early Muslim life, and how it translates into the lives of modern-day Muslims in European countries? Similar line of argument to what I was considering taking in today’s debate.
Usame: Yes, but please, don’t steal my point! That is what I will be mentioning in today’s debate. If you read the Quran, there is a statement there that says that as a Muslim you ‘will not find better friends than Christians’; I have translated it in my own way, I’m sure it is phrased differently in English. When the Quran says so, and as Muslims we should follow it, then I ask – what’s the issue? Why do Muslims and Christians continue to have conflict?
Yashas: Perhaps sometimes they reinterpret this in their own ways and for their own personal ambitions. I will be quoting you on this.
Usame: That’s it.
Yashas: And finally, Omer showed me several Instagram videos and reels of your political campaigns. Some really funny ones in there, including the one about aliens in the town of Tutin! What I wanted to ask was: how useful has social media been towards your political career?
Usame: This is my biggest advantage over my opponents. We approached the youngest people, and because of the influence of TikTok, I had a situation in Tutin, where after a meeting, about a 100 children jumped on me after my speech, and all because of TikTok! It is very important, we use it a lot in Serbia. We are a small percentage, Muslims in Serbia, but if you look at politicians from Serbia, I must be one of the top five, or top ten most followed politicians in Serbia. Maybe even if you extend it to all the Balkans! I know only of a few politicians who have more followers, but I daresay, we have the most creative content!
Yashas: Haha, of course! It has been a pleasure talking to you, thank you, I look forward to debating you soon.
Usame: Me too, it has been an honour. Thank you, and thank you to my brother, Omer. Let us learn something new.
Image Credit: Slobodan Miljevic
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