Book Review: Ulvija Mušović, Mušovići – Od Begova I Kapetana do Zbjegova I Svjetskih Metropola (Podgorica: Almanah, 2024).
Family histories often appeal primarily to descendants, but occasionally a work emerges that speaks to a much broader audience. Mušovići – Od Begova I Kapetana do Zbjegova I Svjetskih Metropola (Musovichs – From Beys and Captains to Refugees and World Capitals) by Ulvia Mušović is one such publication.
Combining genealogy, social history, migration studies, and memoir, this substantial volume traces the journey of a Muslim family across centuries of political upheaval, conflict, and global dispersal.
The narrative begins in the Sandžak and Montenegrin regions of the Balkans, where the Mušović family occupied positions of prominence during the Ottoman period. The author carefully reconstructs the historical landscape of Kolašin, Nikšić, and surrounding districts, describing the role of local captains, military frontiers, and Muslim communities that flourished under Ottoman administration.
The book also chronicles the turbulence of the nineteenth century, when war, shifting borders, and nationalist movements transformed the region and led to the displacement of large numbers of Muslims. Drawing on historical sources and family records, Mušović documents the migrations that followed these upheavals and the emergence of a far-flung diaspora.
What elevates this work beyond a conventional family history is its exploration of how communities survive dislocation. The Mušović story mirrors the experiences of countless Muslim families who were compelled to leave ancestral homelands yet remained determined to preserve faith, identity, and collective memory. In this respect, the book becomes a reflection on the wider Muslim experience in the modern era.
Of particular interest to readers in Australia and New Zealand are the South Pacific connections that appear throughout the narrative. Members of the extended Mušović family eventually established themselves in numerous countries, including New Zealand, where they became part of the country’s growing Muslim population.
Hajji Avdo Musovich anglicised the spelling of his surname and became a prominent member of the New Zealand Muslim Association for over three decades. These experiences intersect with the broader story of Balkan Muslim migration to New Zealand during the late twentieth century, adding an important dimension to the history of Islam in this part of the world.
For New Zealand readers especially, the volume offers a valuable reminder that the country’s Muslim community has been shaped by many different migration streams. While the histories of South Asian, Middle Eastern, and Fijian Muslims are relatively well known, the contribution of Bosniak and Sandžak Muslims has often received less attention. This book helps to fill that gap by documenting one family’s journey from the mountains and frontier towns of the Balkans to communities scattered across the globe, including the South Pacific.
The work is richly illustrated and impressively documented, preserving photographs, memories, and historical materials that might otherwise have been lost to time. At nearly five hundred pages, it is an ambitious undertaking, but one that rewards readers interested in Muslim history, migration, and diaspora studies.
Ultimately, Mušovići – Od Begova I Kapetana do Zbjegova I Svjetskih Metropola is more than a family chronicle. It is a testament to resilience, continuity, and the enduring capacity of Muslim communities to adapt and flourish in new lands.
For readers interested in the diverse origins of Muslims in Australia and New Zealand, it provides a fascinating and often moving account of a shared historical journey.
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