Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Item
Title
Oral history interview with Abdulah Polovina [Sound Recording 01]
Date(s)
- 2019-01-07 (Creation)
Extent
WAV; 01:35:13
Name of creator
Biographical history
Abdulah Polovina was born Admir Polovina in Bosnia, in 1973. When he was five years old, his parents separated, and he grew up near Sarajevo with his mother. He attended a madrassa in Bosnia, and changed his name to Abdulah in honor of one of his teachers, who was later killed during the Yugoslav Wars. He served in the Bosnian army during the wars. He married in 1994, and he and his wife, Hatidza Polovina, later had five children. In 2001, the family emigrated to the United States and settled in Seattle, Washington. Abdulah Polovina earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Washington, and in 2015, he earned a master's degree from Seattle University's School of Theology and Ministry, where he was the first Muslim student. That same year, he and his family moved to Portland, Oregon, and in 2018, he began serving as imam at a mosque at the Islamic Bosniaks Educational and Cultural Organization.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
Session 1. This oral history interview with Abdulah Polovina was conducted by Elizabeth Mehren and Sankar Raman on January 7, 2019. The interview was recorded for The Immigrant Story, an organization that documents and archives the stories of immigrants and refugees in the United States.
In this interview, Polvina discusses his experiences as a Muslim in Bosnia during the Yugoslav Wars. He talks about the history of Muslims, and of genocide against Muslims, in the region, and about politics in Yugoslavia leading up to the wars. He speaks at length about his Islamic faith, about his early life and education in Bosnia, and about changing his name to Abdulah. He talks about his marriage to his wife, Hatidza, about being separated while he served in the war, and about his reasons for leaving Bosnia for Seattle, Washington, in 2001. He talks about his experience as the first Muslim student at Seattle University's School of Theology and Ministry, and about his experience serving as imam at a mosque in Portland, Oregon. He closes the interview by talking about the Portland Muslim community, and reflecting on the experiences of Bosnian Muslims during the war.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and The Immigrant Story. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
Physical access
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Mehren, Elizabeth (Contributor)
- Raman, Sankar (Contributor)