Why did the Bosniaks Embrace Islam, Unlike the Serbs and Croats?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31436/alitqan.v9i1.283Keywords:
Bosniaks, Islam, Patarens, Bogomilism, Serbs, Croats.Abstract
Abstract: This article discusses the reasons, why, unlike their Serb and Croat neighbors, the Bosniaks embraced Islam. Though somewhat gradual, the process was both collective and earnest, amounting to a phenomenon rarely witnessed in the latter periods of Islamic civilization in general, and the expansion of the Ottoman Caliphate in particular. Different scholars have provided different perspectives on the enduring mystery. However, as religion has been politicized and nationalized in the Balkan region, and politics and nationalism have become intertwined with religion, the task of reconciling conflicting perspectives and establishing the truth has become increasingly complex. This article posits that, besides, several secondary socio-political and economic factors, religion was the primary driver behind the conversion of the Bosniaks. The unique faith and rituals of the Patarens in Bosnia, along with their Bosnian Church, had a notable impact on a large number of Bosniaks, including those in positions of power and authority. The Bosniaks were distinguished by their inclination towards openness, inquisitiveness, and pursuit of truth, unlike the Serbs and Croats who often let ethno-nationalism and faith-based chauvinism shape their religious and socio-cultural choices. A research methodology that integrates descriptive, interpretative, and analytical historical methods is employed in the entire work.
Downloads
References
Adamska, Anna. (2016). Intersections: Mediaeval East Central Europe from the Perspective of Literacy and Communication. In: Medieval East Central Europe in a Comparative Perspective, edited by Gerhard Jaritz and Katalin Szende. London: Routledge. pp. 223-238.
Petranović, Božidar. (1867). Bogomili Crkva Bosanska i Krstjani (Bogomils the Bosnian Chruch and Krstjans). Zadar: n.p.
Obolensky, Dmitri. (1972). The Bogomils, A Study in Balkan Neo-Manichaeism. Twickenham: Anthony C. Hall.
Haveric, Dzavid. (2008). Islamisation of Bosnia. Saarbrucken: VDM Verlag Dr. Muller.
Franjo Rački, Bogomili i Patareni (Bogomils and Patarens), (Zagreb: Jugoslovenska Akademija Znanosti i Umjetnosti, 1869).
Gic Serry, The Edict of Thessalonica, https://faithandheritage.com/2017/07/the-edict-of-thessalonica/, accessed on May 3, 2024.
Gorčin Dizdar, The Standing Stones of Medieval Bosnia: Heresy, Dualism and Symbols in Pre-Ottoman Balkans, PhD Dissertation, York University, Toronto, Ontario, 2016.
Handžic Adem, Studije o Bosni, Historijski Prilozi iz Osmansko-Turskog Perioda (Studies on Bosnia, Historical Expositions from the Ottoman-Turkish Period), (Istanbul: Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture, 1994).
Janko Lavrin, The Bogomils and Bogomilism, The Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 8, No. 23 (Dec., 1929), pp. 269-283.
John Fine, The Bosnian Church, A New Interpretation, A Study of the Bosnian Church and Its Place in State and Society from the 13th to the 15th Centuries, (Boulder: East European Quarterly, 1975).
Linus Pierpont Brockett, The Bogomils of Bulgaria and Bosnia, (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1879).
Mark Mazower, The Balkans: A Short History, (New York: the Modern Library, 2000).
Matthew Spinka, A History of Christianity in the Balkans, (Claremont: Archon Books, 1968).
Mehmed Handžić, Islamizacija Bosne i Hercegovine (Islamization of Bosnia and Hercegovina), (Sarajevo: Islamska Dionička Štamparija, 1940).
Mehmet Maksudoglu, Osmanli History, 1289-1922, Based on Osmanli Sources, (Kuala Lumpur: International Islamic University Malaysia, 1999).
Miodrag Petrović, Zakonopravilo Svetoga Save o Muhamedovom Učenju (Zakonopravilo of Saint Sava on the Teachings of Muhammad), (Beograd: National Library of Serbia, 1997).
Mustafa Imamovic, Historija Bošnjaka (History of Bosniaks), (Sarajevo: “Preporod”, 1997).
Noel Malcolm, Bosnia A Short History, (New York: New York University Press, 1994).
Pawel Cholewicki, “The Role of the Franciscans in the Kingdom of Bosnia during the Reign of King Stjepan Tomaš (1443–1461)”, inside: Annual of Medieval Studies at CEU, edited by Ildikó Csepregi, (Budapest: Central European University, 2019), vol. 25 pp. 107-120.
Safvet-beg Bašagić, Kratka Uputa u Prošlost Bosne i Hercegovine (A Brief Introduction to the History of Bosnia and Herzegovina), (Sarajevo: Vlastita Naklada, 1900).
Salih Sidki Muvekkit-Hadžihuseinović, Povijest Bosne (History of Bosnia), translation into Bosnian by a group of translators, (Sarajevo: El-Kalem, 1998).
Spahic Omer, Islamophobia and Islamic Moderation, (Kuala Lumpur: Dar Al Wahi, 2022).
Tajib Okić, “Bosanski Kristjani (Bogumili) Prema Nekim Neobjavljenim Osmanskim Izvorima (Bosnian Krstjani (Bogomils) According to Some Unpublished Ottoman Sources),” inside: Anali Gazi Husrev-Begove Biblioteke, 12 (21-22), 2003, pp. 143–166.
Tertullian’s Prescription against Hereticks, (Oxford: The Theatre, 1722).
The Church History of Eusebius, (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998).
The Code of Stephan Dušan: Tsar and Autocrat of the Serbs and Greeks, translated from the old Serbian with notes by Malcolm Burr, inside: the Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 28, No. 70 (Nov., 1949), pp. 198-217, published by: the Modern Humanities Research Association and University College London, School of Slavonic and East European Studies.
The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians, (n.p.: Kindle Edition, 2022).
The Epistles of St. Ignatius Bishop of Antioch, (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1910).
Thomas Walker Arnold, The Preaching of Islam: A History of the Propagation of the Muslim Faith, (Westminster: A. Constable and co., 1896).
Vedad Biščević, Bosanski Namjesnici Osmanskog Doba, 1463-1878 (Bosnian Governors of the Ottoman Era, 1463-1878), (Sarajevo: Connectum, 2006).
Voyeslav Yanich and C. Patrick Hankey, Lives of the Serbian Saints, (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1921).
William K. Boyd, The Ecclesiastical Edicts of the Theodosian Code, (New York: The Columbia University Press, 1905).
