In 1970, Izetbegovic published a manifesto entitled the Islamic Declaration, expressing his views on relationships between Islam, state and society. The authorities interpreted the declaration as a call for introduction of fundamentalist Sharia law in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and banned the publication. In it, he tried to reconcile Western-style progress with Islamic tradition. The work issued a call for "Islamic renewal" without mentioning Yugoslavia specifically. However, he and his supporters were accused by the Communist authorities of reviving the "Young Muslims" organization and of a conspiracy to set up an "Islamically pure" Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Alija Izetbegovic was a Bosnian politician, activist, lawyer, author, and philosopher who in 1992 became the first President of the newly-independent Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He died in October 2003 of heart disease complicated by injuries suffered from a fall at home. An ICTY investigation of Izetbegovic was in progress, but ended with his death. Following his death there was an initiative to rename a part of the main street of Sarajevo from Ulica Marsala Tita (Marshal Tito Street) and the Sarajevo International Airport in his honor. Following objections from politicians from Republika Srpska, the international community, and UN envoy Paddy Ashdown, both initiatives failed. On 11 August 2006, Izetbegovic's grave at the Kovaci cemetery in Sarajevo was badly damaged by a bomb. The identity of the bomber or bombers has not been determined.