Muhamed Sefket - Effendi Kurt, a mufti of Tuzla, saved thousands of Tuzla Serbs from the Ustasha slaughter on Christmas Eve before the Orthodox Christmas in 1942. 

Together with prominent Muslims, he intervened with the Ustasha authorities, who intended to take revenge for the death of their soldiers near Doboj by burning a church in Tuzla, full of Orthodox believers, on Christmas Eve 1942.

The Independent State of Croatia (NDH), a Nazi puppet state, had a secret Ustasha committee for the extermination of Jews and Serbs, who intended to plant explosives and blow up the church with its worshipers and expel the remaining Serbs from the town of Tuzla.

Effendi Kurt was authorized to ask the German authorities to prevent this act planned by the Ustasha. Effendi succeeded in his intention, and the Germans stuck warning posters all over Tuzla.

The Germans prevented the crime from taking place and said that no one should threaten other people's lives and confiscate property, and this was supported by some prominent Croats from Tuzla who did not support this kind of action by the Ustasha authorities.

After that, Effendi Kurt went to Zagreb to ask the head of state, Ante Pavelic, for the same guarantees. He did not receive it, but one of his ministers in the government did guarantee that no harm would be done.

Efendi Kurt succeeded in his intention and the Serbs from Tuzla survived Christmas Eve, despite different plans of the NDH.

Later, historians contextualized this event from a certain time distance and wrote about Effendi's act of courage because he himself put his life in danger.