Muslims make the largest religious community in Bosnia and Herzegovina (52%) (the other two large groups being Eastern Orthodox Christians (31%), almost all of whom identify as Serbs, and Roman Catholics (16%), almost all of whom identify as Croats).[3] Another estimate done by PEW Research states that 50% of the population is Muslim, 35% Orthodox and only 9% Catholic.[4]
Almost all of Bosnian Muslims identify as Bosniaks; until 1993, Bosnians of Muslim culture or origin (regardless of religious practice) were defined by Yugoslav authorities as Muslimani (Muslims) in an ethno-national sense (hence the capital M), though some people of Bosniak or Muslim backgrounds identified their nationality (in an ethnic sense rather than strictly in terms of citizenship) as "Yugoslav" prior to the early 1990s. A small minority of non-Bosniak Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina include Albanians, Roma and Turks.
Albeit traditionally adherent to Sunni Islam of the Hanafi school of jurisprudence, a 2012 survey found 54% of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Muslims to consider themselves just Muslims, while 38% told that they are Sunni Muslims.[5] There is also a small Sufi community, located primarily in Central Bosnia.[6] A small Shia Muslim community is also present in Bosnia.[7] Almost all Muslim congregations in Bosnia and Herzegovina refer to the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina as their religious organisation.
Islam was first introduced to the Balkans on a large scale by the Ottomans in the mid-to-late 15th century who gained control of most of Bosnia in 1463, and seized Herzegovina in the 1480s. Over the next century, the Bosnians – composed of native Christians and Slavic tribes living in the Bosnian kingdom under the name of Bošnjani[9] – were converted to Islam in great numbers during the Islamization of Bosnia under Ottoman rule. During the Ottoman era the name Bošnjanin was definitely transformed into the current Bošnjak ('Bosniak'), with the suffix -ak replacing the traditional -anin. By the early 1600s, approximately two thirds of the population of Bosnia were Muslim.[10] Bosnia and Herzegovina remained a province in the Ottoman Empire and gained autonomy after the Bosnian uprising in 1831. Large numbers of mosques were built all over the province. Most mosques erected during the Ottoman era were of relatively modest construction, often with a single minaret and central prayer hall with few adjoining foyers.
After the 1878 Congress of Berlin, Bosnia and Herzegovina came under the control of Austria-Hungary. In 1908, Austria-Hungary formally annexed the region. Unlike post-Reconquista Spain, the Austro-Hungarian authorities made no attempt to force convert the citizens of this newly-acquired territory as the December Constitution guaranteed freedom of religion, and so Bosnia and Herzegovina remained Muslim.
Bosnia, along with Albania and Kosovo were the only parts of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans where large percentages of people converted to Islam, and remained there after independence. In other areas of the former Ottoman Empire where Muslims formed the majority or started to form the majority, those Muslims were either expelled, assimilated/Christianized, massacred, or fled elsewhere (Muhajirs).[citation needed]
The post-war period
Many Islamic religious buildings were damaged or destroyed in the Bosnian War during the 90s, with up to 80% of well-over 4000 different buildings,[11] and several mosques were rebuilt with the aid of funds from Saudi Arabia and other countries from the Middle and far East.
Historically, Bosnian Muslims had always practiced a form of Islam that is strongly influenced by Sufism. Since the Bosnian War, however, some remnants of groups of foreign fighters from the Middle East fighting on the side of Bosnian Army, remained for some time and attempted to spread Wahhabism among locals. With very limited success these foreigners only created friction between local Muslim population, steeped in their own traditional practice of the faith, and without any previous contact with this strain in Islam, and themselves.[12]
Although these communities were relatively small and peaceful, restricted to a certain number of villages around central and northern Bosnia, the issue was highly politicized by local nationalists and officials, as well as officials and diplomats from countries like Croatia, Czech Republic and Serbia, to the point of outright fiction.[13][14] Security Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the time, Dragan Mektić of SDS, reacted strongly on such falsehoods by pointing on seriousness of such conspiratorial claims, and warned on possibility of further dangerous politicization and even acts of violence with an aim of labeling Bosnian Muslims as radicals.[13][15]
Demographics
How often do Bosnian Muslims pray according to the PEW Research Center[4]
Several times a day (27%)
Once a day (6%)
A few times a week or once a week (22%)
A few times a month or seldom (28%)
Never (14%)
Don't know/Refused (3%)
In the 2013 census the declared religious affiliation of the population was: Islam (1,790,454 people) and Muslim (22,068 people). Islam has 1.8 million adherents, making up about 51% of the population in Bosnia and Herzegovina. PEW survey says that there are 52% Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[4]
The municipalities of Bužim (99.7%) and Teočak (99.7%) have the highest share of Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
For a majority of Bosniaks that identify themselves as Muslims, religion often serves as a community linkage, and religious practice is confined to occasional visits to the mosque (especially during Ramadan and the two Eids) and significant rites of passage such as aqiqah, marriage, and death.[citation needed] Headscarves for women, or the hijab, is worn only by a minority of Bosniak women, or otherwise mostly for religious purpose (such as the çarşaf for prayer and going to the mosque).
Religious leaders from the three major faiths claim that observance is increasing among younger people as an expression of increased identification with their ethnic heritage, in large part due to the national religious revival that occurred as a result of the Bosnian war.[18]
Leaders from the three main religious communities observed that they enjoy greater support from their believers after the end of Bosnian war.[18] On the other hand, however, the violence and misery caused by religious conflict has led a small number of Bosnians to reject religion altogether. This atheist community faces discrimination, and is frequently verbally attacked by religious leaders as "corrupt people without morals". According to the latest census, openly-declared atheists make up 0.79% of Bosnia's population.[19]
^Shatzmiller, Maya (2002). Islam and Bosnia: Conflict Resolution and Foreign Policy in Multi-Ethnic States. Queens University School of Policy. p. 100.
^ ab"Bosnia War Victims Slam Croatia President's Terror Claims". www.balkaninsight.com. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2019. Bosnia's Security Minister Dragan Mektic even told local news site Klix on Tuesday that there was a possibility that a terrorist act might be staged by "para-secret-service agencies" close to certain politicians in order to legitimize false claims of increased Islamic radicalism in Bosnia.
Bougarel, Xavier; Clayer, Nathalie, eds. (2001). Le Nouvel Islam Balkanique. Les Musulmans, acteurs du post-communisme, 1990-2000 (in French). Paris: Maisonneuve et Larose. ISBN2-7068-1493-4.
Popović, Alexandre (1986). L'Islam balkanique: les musulmans du sud-est européen dans la période post-ottomane. Balkanologische Veröffentlichungen (in French). Vol. 11. Berlin: Osteuropa-Institut an der Freien Universität Berlin. ISBN9783447025980. OCLC15614864.
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