How did the different cultures and religions get along together in the past?
Karić: We had very long periods of peace in Bosnia lasting for centuries. There was no separation between the different religions only peace and good neighborliness. Bosnia was primarily always one society a citizenry in which people were close to one another. During the Bosnian war, you were Minister for Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. What appeals to you more working as a politician or as a university professor? Karić: I have always preferred my activity as a university professor. At that time, I saw it as my duty for my homeland to assume a political function. I have not held political office since 1996. In your opinion, when did Islam become reestablished in Bosnia in this century? Karić: After 1945, in the first hard years under the communist Soviet regime, uncounted numbers of religious people were arrested over a ten-year period. Under Tito, the situation for the religions improved somewhat. In 1977, the first faculty for Islamic
