Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Muslims of Bosnia
While Muslim immigrants have only recently become a fixture in many European
cities, Bosnia-Herzegovina is one place where Muslims have continuously been an
integral part of the cultural tapestry for centuries.
During the more than 400 years that Bosnia was part of the Ottoman Empire, the
Muslim Turks did not forcibly convert their subjects (unlike some Catholic despots
at the time). However, it was advantageous for non-Turks to adopt Islam (for lower
taxes and better business opportunities), so many Slavs living here became Muslims.
Infact,within150yearsofthestartofOttomanrule,halfofthepopulationofBosnia-
Herzegovina was Muslim.
The Ottomans became increasingly intolerant of other faiths as time went on, and
uprisings by Catholics and Orthodox Christians eventually led to the end of Ottoman
domination in the late 19th century. But even after the Ottomans left, many people
in this region continued practicing Islam, as their families had been doing for centur-
ies.Thesepeopleconstitute anethnicgroupcalled“Bosniaks,” andmanyofthemare
stillpracticingMuslimstoday(followingtheSunnibranchoftheMuslimfaith).Most
Bosniaks are Slavs—of the same ethnic stock as Croats and Serbs—and look pretty
much the same as their neighbors; however, some Bosniaks have ancestors who mar-
ried into Turkish families, and they may have some Turkish features.
The actions of a small but attention-grabbing faction of Muslim extremists have
burdened Islam with a bad reputation in the Western world. But judging Islam based
onOsama binLadenandal-Qaeda isabitlikejudgingChristianity basedontheOslo
gunman and the Ku Klux Klan. Visiting Mostar is a unique opportunity to get a taste
ofafullyMuslim society,madeabitlessintimidating because itwearsamore-famil-
iar European face.
Here's an admittedly basic and simplistic outline (written by a non-Muslim) de-
signed to help travelers from the Christian West understand a very rich but often mis-
understood culture that's worthy of respect:
