Asaf Duraković

Asaf Duraković (16 May 1940 – 16 December 2020) was a Bosnian medical doctor. He is also known for his poetry and verses.

Duraković was born in Stolac, Bosnia and Herzegovina and educated at the University of Zagreb in Zagreb, Croatia where he earned both master's and doctoral degrees. During this time he worked at the Ruđer Bošković Institute. Afterwards he continued with post-doctoral work at Oxford University. In 1968 he migrated to Canada, where he attended McMaster University in Hamilton.[1] He worked at the University of Toronto, the University of Washington, and University of Rochester (UofR). He has been associated with the Croatian Literary Journal.[2] Durakovic is the one of the co-founders of Croatian Islamic Centre in Etobicoke, Toronto. Construction was over on June 23, 1973. Its mosque is the oldest in Toronto. The minaret is Ottoman-style and it is the oldest minaret in Ontario.[3]

In 1990, Duraković was one of the founders of the Croatian Muslim Democratic Party, formed in Zagreb.

Dr. Duraković, is a retired Colonel in the US Army Reserve. He worked at the VA hospital in Wilmington, DE.

Dr. Duraković also founded the World Life Institute,[4] an international non-profit humanitarian organization based in Orleans County, New York. In addition, other World Life organizations inspired by Dr. Duraković have been established worldwide. World Life organizations can be found in Canada, Croatia and Denmark,[5] Great Britain and South Africa.