CREATING DIVISION Proponents of February 1st as Sarajevo's Day are Creating a Counter-Date to April 6th

Prof. Dr. Husnija Kamberović writes for Patria

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There are many arguments why the initiative to mark February 1st as the founding date of Sarajevo should be rejected. The main reason is, of course, that February 1st is not a founding date of Sarajevo at all, but rather a date when the legalization of the vakufnama (endowment deed) of Isa-beg Ishaković may have taken place.

Namely, proponents of the idea of February 1st as the founding date of Sarajevo refer precisely to this vakufnama, but it is dated by month, which lasts from February 1st to March 2nd, not by a precise date. No precise founding date of the city can be derived from a document dated by month.

If the vakufnama were to be taken as the founding date of Sarajevo, then we would have to call it the "month of Sarajevo's founding," which would be quite unserious.

Furthermore, the vakufnama of Isa-beg Ishaković and the facilities he endowed are important for the development of the Ottoman city, but the tradition of life, including urban life, in the areas of present-day Sarajevo also has its pre-Ottoman tradition, and it is not possible to reduce everything solely to one vakufnama. This would, in fact, mean renouncing the rich history of the city of Sarajevo and renouncing something that is the historical identity of this city.

And the identity of today's Sarajevo inherits pre-Ottoman history and tradition, as well as Ottoman and post-Ottoman, Austrian, socialist, and post-socialist. Sarajevo should not reject any of this!

Hasn't the memory of Vrhbosna been preserved to this day? Isn't that part of the city's history that we should also cherish?

Proponents of the thesis that February 1st is celebrated as the founding date of Sarajevo claim that it is the first time Sarajevo is mentioned by that name. However, this is absolutely not true, because Sarajevo is not mentioned in the vakufnama, but rather "Saray ovasi," which is not Sarajevo but "the field of the saraj" (palace/residence), i.e., the field around the konak (residence) – the "saraj." The fact that the term "saraj" from the vakufnama is the basis for the later name Sarajevo means a lot, but it is still not proof that Sarajevo was first mentioned by that name at that time.

As far as I know, Sarajevo is first mentioned by this name in a letter from the governor of Bosnia, Firuz-beg, dated March 7, 1507.

Although proponents of the idea claim that establishing February 1st as the city's founding date is not a counter-date to April 6th, it is difficult to believe. Considering that the mayor of Sarajevo announced that April 5th, the date of the beginning of the siege, will also be marked along with February 1st, it is quite clear that February 1st, which is being attempted to be imposed as the founding date of Sarajevo, and April 5th, the date of the beginning of the siege, are conceived as counter-dates to April 6th.

And April 6th has great symbolic meaning for the city of Sarajevo, because that date is a symbol of freedom and a symbol of resistance, and it has the potential to continue to be maintained as an integrating date, which is the basic meaning of dates that are celebrated, unlike February 1st, which can only be a factor of disintegration of this city. And division is, presumably, enough for all of us already!

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*Husnija Kamberović is a professor at the University of Sarajevo and one of the most recognized Bosnian historians