Jakup Kardović

Jakup Kardović or Kadrović or Agović (1869—1945) was an Islamic cleric and commander of a detachment of the Muslim militia of Rožaje during the Second World War. In November 1941, Kardović distinguished himself during the Battle for Novi Pazar, when he fought against the Chetniks.

During World War II
Mula Jakup belonged to a group of notable Muslims from Sandžak. This group advocated using extreme force against Serbs who opposed their feudal obligation (imposed after the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia) to give a quarter of their income to their newly appointed Muslim landlords.

In November 1941, Kardović participated in the Battle for Novi Pazar when the Chetniks tried to capture Novi Pazar. Together with forces of Koničanin and Biko Drešović, his forces attacked the rear flanks of the Chetniks and caused their dismay and retreat.

The defenders' success in the battle was celebrated in Novi Pazar, as people waved Albanian flags and shouted glorifying Greater Albania. Armed bands killed dozens of Serbs in Novi Pazar in only a couple of hours. Drešović's men carried decapitated heads stuck on the bayonets of their rifles and threw them in the garbage. To prevent further killings, Mulla Jakub proposed to imprison all Serbs older than 18 years. Ahmetović accepted this proposal with the intention to use imprisoned Serbs as hostages in the future negotiations with Chetniks.

The occupying Axis forces rewarded Jakup for the actions he undertook with Adem Kurtagić and Šefko Bećiragić, when all Orthodox villages were burnt and their population massacred. During one night, they killed 17 members of Bulatović family in Bjela Crkva and 16 members of Beloica family from Bukovica.

On February 3, 1944 the units of the Muslim militia under command of Mula Jakup and also Biko Drešević, Sinan Salković and Faik Bahtijarević attacked villages around Kolašin. They were supported by Balli Kombëtar forces from Drenica. Mullah Jakup belonged to group of notable Muslims who were actively opposed to the establishment of a relationship between Muslim and Orthodox people of the region.

After World War II
After the end of the Second World War, Kardović was sentenced to death and executed as a war criminal by the new authorities of Yugoslavia. The Bosniak Cultural Community organized a commemorative manifestation in honor of Kardović on June 2, 2013, the International Scientific conference "Mullah Jakub Kardović".