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One of the major characteristics of the Muslim tradition in Bosnia and Herzegovina is the upbringing in the spirit of universal human values: honor, honesty, truthfulness, respect for others (especially the elders), etc. The patriarchal way of living and the upbringing of Bosnian children contributed to the respect for the father's authority. Also, the husband's respect for his wife contributed to children's exceptional appreciation for the mother.
Tradition of Virtues
The great-grandmothers raised their children with a lot of love and dedication. They watched over them and taught them, above all, to be good and to be people of strong character. From their earliest childhood, children were taught to respect others and condemn dishonesty or any kind of deceit. Parents punished their children severely for every broken rule. In this way, they made them aware of a code of ethics — what is allowed and what is not, what is good and what is bad, etc.
As mothers spent most of the time with their children and took care of their upbringing, they had more chance than fathers to talk to the children. Mothers made efforts to develop positive characteristics in children's personalities, such as goodness, honesty, dedication, and diligence through instructive tales that mothers used to tell their children.
From their earliest childhood, children adopted the habit of work by getting involved in the work of grownups. One of the greatest values was to be hard-working and honest. There are many tales in the Bosnian tradition that were told by word of mouth about the children who ended up in a bad way because they did not appreciate their parents' hard work and effort. There are also stories with morals that teach children how a good turn deserves another or teach them that every good effort is eventually worthy of making. Arrogance, envy, and indolence have been regarded as undesirable characteristics. Mothers talked about them with contempt and urged their children to keep a distance from them.
Family Collaboration and Hospitality
As the members of families were numerous, it was preferable that elder brothers and sisters take care of younger ones and that they help mothers in house work. Thus, carefulness, responsibility, diligence, and dedication were some of the nurtured positive characteristics of a personality. Parents, especially fathers, did not show love to their children very often; strictness was in the foreground.
Educated people were highly respected and were dear guests to many families. Hospitality, in general, was a common thing; it was interwoven with the people's culture. The guest was given the last piece of food and was provided with the finest shelter for the night.
Child's World
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Children were taught not to speak while elders did, not to interrupt the conversation of the elders, and not to speak when receiving criticism from the elders. On the other hand, children got a chance to reduce their inner tension, which was the result of strictness and discipline in family surroundings. They were allowed to run across wide open fields. In that way, as well as through work, they expended their energies.
There were no toys to buy. Children used to play social games and to make toys out of different natural materials, which was a good basis for developing their creativity and their social skills. Nowadays, when children play computer games, they lose their social life, cooperation, will to innovate, creation, and motivation to make something on their own using their own efforts to feel the joy of accomplishment and to feel the inner satisfaction with what they have made.
The traditional approach to the upbringing of Bosnian Muslims' children included the nurturing manners of respect for other religions and nationalities, peacefulness, and good intentions toward everyone. Moral codes of behavior were so firmly embodied within a family that the society itself severely criticized any immoral behavior. Once lost, the trust of the community will be hard to regain. For that reason, children were taught to be aware of being responsible for their actions.
Education
Unlike the case in the upbringing, the education of Muslim children was affected by different historical eras and systems of governance. The following sheds light on some historical influences.
During the era of the Ottoman Empire, thanks to endowments, Muslim public schools (madrasahs) were built. Upbringing, especially religious, along with education, was of great importance. It generally took place within the family and society. Any diversion from an ethical code was considered unacceptable in the society, and the general rule followed was: It is a shame to lie, steal, or short-weight somebody.
People invoked the basic virtue of every human being — honor. And even today the elders use the well-known "Shame on you!" when scolding a child for bad behavior.
During the era of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, religious schools were pushed back because of the secular ones in which totally different curricula were taught. Also, a different language and alphabet were employed. Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, the alphabet used was arebica (Arabic alphabet). It was adapted to the Bosnian language in terms of the word meaning and pronunciation. Literary and philosophical works were written in Turkish and Arabic. After having had received education in great Islamic centers of the Ottoman Empire, many Bosnian Muslims returned to Bosnia to spread their knowledge.
In the new sociopolitical system, those who did not know the Latin alphabet were considered illiterate. This was due to the influence of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, which tried to expand its own culture and customs among the Bosnian population.
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The part of the Muslim population that did not move out of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Austro-Hungarian rule strongly disapproved the new system of education. In their opinion, if children were to learn the Latin alphabet and receive secular education instead of the religious one according to the new state curriculum, then they will be Christianized and will lose their own national and religious identity. Because of that, many generations of children did not attend school and thus remained illiterate. Parents strictly forbade girls from attending schools, and it remained a custom even after World War II.
Bosnian Muslims were stagnant in the field of education for more than half a century, during which political systems rotated (Austro-Hungarian, Kingdom of Serbs, Croatians, Slovenians, Independent State of Croatia, and Kingdom of Yugoslavia).
During that period, many madrasahs were closed. Consequently the education of Muslim children was left to the family, and knowledge was carried from one generation to another.
After World War II, the Communist regime attempted to destroy anything religious that was left. Prohibition of wearing hijab itself was enough to increase the distrust Bosnian Muslims already had toward the state and secular education. Once more, the parents took on the responsibility of educating and raising their children. As the years passed by, Bosnian Muslims realized that denying their children's education leaves little room for the children to improve and to change their future. Thus, more and more Muslim children attended public schools. Much of it, of course, was due to the state's efforts to decrease illiteracy.
The fact that Muslims of previous generations were not educated was deeply established, that their children were educated by teachers of other nationalities. Of course, the ideology of the time made sure to send Serbian teachers to Muslim areas in most of the cases.
Family upbringing was thus deeply rooted in the tradition of Muslim population in Bosnia. Parents only aimed to make their children honest, well-mannered, diligent, and fair. Still today, this is the case in those families, which succeeded in withstanding different social influences and temptations for years and decades by maintaining traditional values in their authentic frame. This provided a good basis for younger generations to develop their personalities in accordance with the time they lived.
Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina — and of the world — should accept good upbringing according to their traditions as well as good education. Today, they should also accept freedom of expression in all fields of human activities.
They need more self-confidence, courage, and belief in their own power along with true human values. Muslims should not be reluctant to express their identity; they should keep a vigilant eye on contemporary scientific and technical accomplishments. Better yet, they should even contribute in such developments. The belief in Allah, along with proper upbringing, will help children cope with a world full of temptations. Also, good education will make them go along with others and regain the Muslim cultural and scientific blossoms of the past.
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