Alija Izetbegovic was born in 1925 in northwest Bosnia – a corner of Europe with a predominately Muslim population but a regime that censured the practice of Islam. As a founding member of the Mladi Muslimani (Young Muslims) at the Sarajevo Gymnasium and then as a law student at Sarajevo University, Izetbegovic took up the rights of Muslims to practice their faith. He became fluent in foreign languages (German, French and English) in order to understand more about the history and struggle of Muslims throughout the world.