Bosnian Muslims: A Search for Identity

British Society for Middle Eastern Studies

Bosnian Muslims: A Search for IdentityAuthor(s): Alexander LopasicSource: Bulletin (British Society for Middle Eastern Studies), Vol. 8, No. 2 (1981), pp. 115-125Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/194542 .

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BOSNIAN MUSLIMS : A SEARCH FOR IDENTITY

Alexander Lopasic

Editor's Note: What follows is the text of a paper read at a session of the Eighth Annual Conference of the Society held at

Trevelyan College, University of Durham, '8-11 July 1981. The theme of the session was 'Minorities: The Problem of Identity'.

The classification of minorities in the Middle East according to

religion and language is a pattern which can be applied in part to the case of the Bosnian Muslims whose main identifying characteristic is their faith.

This faith is historically related to the period of Ottoman rule during which Islam was introduced into Bosnia and Herzegovina. The religious differentiation was strengthened by the millet

system also introduced at that time. The millet system is a natural consequence of the Ottoman Muslim state, where nationality as such was not recognized. What was recognized was religion and

religious affiliation, and the Christians (primarily Orthodox), Muslims and Jews became members of the autonomous communities, severally designated millet (strictly translated 'nation') which were administered by their own religious leaders, selected by the members but subject to the approval of the Sultan and confirmed

by the imperial berat. The autonomy was based on local customs, reinforced later by special decrees. It included control of

property, judiciary, marriage, dowry system, education,etc.1 The millet system was stratified and the Muslim millet enjoyed the

highest position in the pyramid, as it was the only millet with a

religion identical with that of the Ottoman ruling elite. The millet system succeeded in preserving local autonomy, customs and traditions, but perpetuated the division and separation of the different religious and ethnic groups, as large-scale Islamization was never pursued. It never contributed toward the building of one Ottoman society, which had serious consequences in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The millet system, on the other hand, was also responsible for the emphasis on religious exclusiveness which has been so characteristic of Balkan societies until the present day. Thus, religion remained the main denominator of an ethnic group, much more than language, racial characteristics or occupation. The millet formed not only a community, but also a world of its own, viewing others with a certain reservation, if not suspicion. In sociological terms the millet represents a

good example of a closed community separated from others by its own laws and strongly cultivated identity.2

One element which helped the creation of that identity was the local folklore, which manifested itself in tales, stories, poetry, customs and individuals whose life and actions became symbols of such identity. It helped the adjustment of Islam to Bosnian conditions to such an extent that, much later, when the Ottomans had to abandon Bojsnia and Herzegovina, Muslim identity in these areas survived successfully until the present day.

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A few words must be said about the Bosnian past, which shows that the tendency towards separate identity can be clearly related to geographical isolation, exemplified by the very mountainous

country lacking roads or other means of transport until the present day. It is, too, an inland area, separated from the trade routes of the Adriatic Sea.

Since its early beginnings at the end of the twelfth century the Bosnian Medieval State was involved in fighting various outside

enemies, such as the kings of Hungary and Serbia, the Catholic Church, and the powerful neighbouring nobility. It was the so-called 'Bosnian Church' which gave Bosnia its particular identity. This was originally a religious movement, teaching the dualistic character of Christianity, manifested through the conflict between God, the personification of good, and the material world, symbolized by evil, which included the church hierarchy and its luxury. It started in Bulgaria sometime during the tenth

century, eventually reaching Bosnia where, for reasons of particular social and political conditions as well as isolation, it developed into a kind of national church, which became an important element of Bosnian identity.3 This religious exclusiveness, characteristic of Bosnian society, continued to exist among the Bosnian Muslims after the arrival of the Ottomans in the second half of the fifteenth century. A large number of Bogumils accepted Islam and the idea of separateness survived. Others who were converted were drawn from the local aristocracy and kin-group elders, who always tried to preserve their independence from the central government or outside powers.4

The majority of the converts were of the local population, and those Muslims who came from outside as soldiers, administrators or

clergy identified themselves with the local Bosnian Muslims in a

relatively short time. Even if they were Sunni Muslims, like the

majority of the Muslims in the empire, they tried fairly early to

distinguish themselves from other such Muslims in the Ottoman state. Ottomans introduced early words like Bosnak or the Bosnakga-Bosnian language emphasizing that separateness. This separateness found its further expression in the Bosnian literature of the Ottoman period. Mehmed Usk0fi Bosnevi (Havayi)(1601-1650?) wrote that Bosnian is similar to Latin, the language of the Bible, and therefore it is a suitable language in which to write books. His

poetry has a strongly theological background and is the first known

attempt to write 'the Bosnian language', albeit with the use of Ottoman letters (Arabica). He even produced a Bosnian-Ottoman

dictionary in verse, and dedicated it to Sultan Mehmed IV.

Other important writers using 'the Bosnian language' were Hasan Efendi Kalmi and Mulla Mustafa Baseski (d.1803). The former was the follower of the famous Sheikh Muslih al-Din from Uzice and was a member of the Kadiriyya order. He wrote religious poetry and died 1680 or 1690. The latter described 'the Bosnian language' as richer than Ottoman Turkish or Arabic and produced a historical chronicle of Bosnia in the second half of the seventeenth century. This tradition was followed up to the nineteenth century.

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'The Bosnian language' preserved many archaic elements such as the use of the Ikavski dialect which has still survived in Eastern Bosnia (populated largely by Muslims), Dalmatia and the Croatian littoral. Another archaic element was the use of 'Bosancica', a

special cursive script used by the Muslim aristocracy, both men and women. Bosancica is a much simplified form of the Cyrillic script used on stone monuments and for everyday use. It disap- peared after the Ottoman arrival but survived in poetry and private

correspondence of the Muslim nobility until the nineteenth century.6 Other archaic elements have survived in various Muslim customs and institutions: cult of patron saint, customs related to Christmas, St George or St Elias, patrons of cattle and shepherds, old wedding customs, marriage by capture, belief in demons and witches 'and the role of godfather in the purely Muslim custom of circumcision, exchange of godparents between Muslims and Christians, and so on,

The preservation of old customs proves that the majority of the Muslims were converts who accepted Islam in Ottoman times. There

were, however, Muslims of non-Bosnian origin who settled in Bosnia

particularly after the loss of Hungary and Slavonia in 1699. The area around the river Una has a population of which one-fifth came from outside. In due course, they became assimilated, introducing some oriental customs and cultural elements.8

A sign of the presence of these outsiders in Bosnia is the occurrence of dark oriental physical types in the towns, the Muslim

peasant population showing the highest percentage of blond and

blue-eyed people in Bosnia and Herzegovina (67 per cent), as well as the smallest percentage of dark ones (12 per cent).9 This is a further proof that they were the old Slavonic population which was converted to Islam. One should emphasize, however, that, in addition to preserving a number of archaic Slavonic, even

pre-Slavonic, customs and institutions, they also introduced a number of new ones which contributed to the development of their Muslim, yet archaic, identity. I will briefly mention the institution of the Ottoman Military Frontier, counterpart of the Austrian one in the sixteenth century, and known in Ottoman documents as Serhat (serhadd).1O

The frontier was in the hands of a special hereditary military aristocracy called the 'captains' (kapudans in the documents), and the provinces, of which there were thirty-nine in the eighteenth century, were called captaincies. Captains enjoyed special privileges and a high social status. All official positions, from

captain downwards, were inherited, passing either from father to son or to a near relative. Such officials were mostly Bosnian

Muslims, using in their correspondence with their Austrian

counterparts the 'Bosnian language' written in Bosancica. This contributed toward the creation of a distinct social group aware of its importance and combining the best Ottoman and pre-Ottoman military traditions. In the eighteenth century some of them became a'yan, representing Muslims of individual townships, centres of the Muslim way of life. By the nineteenth century they were

very independent and formed the backbone of revolt against the

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reforms introduced by the Sultan. They demanded a special status for Bosnia within the Ottoman empire. The frontier was particularly celebrated in the Bosnian Muslim poetry dedicated to those wars, as were some of the famous protagonists from there, whether real or invented (e.g. Aliya Dzerzelez, brothers Hrnjica, Mustay Bey from Lika or Salih Pasha Malkoq). The poetry emphasized much more their heroic elements and their Bosnian identity than the Ottoman or even Muslim ones.

The situation changed completely in 1878 when Austria, a Catholic power and old opponent of the Ottomans, took over Bosnia after 400 years of Ottoman-Muslim rule. For the Muslims it meant a complete change, and they were afraid of losing the privileged position they had previously enjoyed. The Bosnian landed aristocracy, the backbone of the Bosnian Muslim elite, was at loggerheads with the Sultan's reforms, and they rebelled against the Ottoman administration and the army, which was withdrawn from Bosnia. The same rebels, on the other hand, resisted the Austrian army of 72,000 men and 112 guns which crossed the river Sava from four points, led by military bands, on 29 July 1878. They entered Sarajevo on 19 August, and the mopping-up operations against the remaining 20,000 rebels in Herzegovina and elsewhere ended by October. However, local Muslims, irregular Ottoman troops and guerillas put up a resistance on a number of occasions, led by a

popular leader, Hadshi Loyo, who was caught and condemned to death, but pardoned and sentenced to five years of fortress captivity. Even though the resistance lasted only two months the Austrian army had to double its original force in order to beat the

guerillas, who successfully used the difficult terrain and lack of communications to their advantage. Total Austrian casualties amounted to 5000, including 1000 dead. The occupation of Bosnia shows very clearly the difficulties to be surmounted by a regular army in order to beat a determined guerilla force.1l

The Austrian period is of particular interest as the Muslims

applied varied tactics in order to preserve their position. The Austrian administration, on the other hand, moved very carefully, not wanting to upset the existing balance between three different

religious groups. This was made even more important since Bosnia remained until 1908 at least nominally under the Sultan's

jurisdiction.

According to the official census of 1871 there were in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1,242,000 inhabitants, out of whom 619,000 were Muslim, 453,000 Orthodox, and 157,000 Catholics. In addition there were 14,000 Jews and Gypsies. The first Austrian estimate of 1879 shows 1,150,000 inhabitants, of whom only 448,000 were Muslim (38-75 per cent), 498,000 Orthodox (42 per cent) and 209,000

Catholics (18*50 per cent).12

Even though the number of Muslims went down due to emigration or

departure of officials and soldiers, nearly 40 per cent of the total

population remained Muslim. This made the Austrian administration treat them with a certain care. Of considerable importance is the

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period of administration under the minister Benjamin Kallay between 1882 and 1903, the greatest endeavours of which can be summarized as the preservation of the social status quo between the three

groups, and the attempt to create 'the Bosnian nation' to keep that balance. It was, to some extent, the continuation of the already existing Bosnjak identity, supported, for example, by a journal entitled Bosnjak, which was published in Sarajevo between 1891-1910 and edited by the Muslim writer Mehmed Bey Kapetanovic-Ljubusak. His slogan was: 'From Trebinje to Brod there are neither Serbs nor Croats [but only Bosnjaks]' ('Od Trebinja do brodskijeh vrata nije bilo ni Srba ni Hrvata').

A special grammar of the Bosnian language for secondary schools came out in 1890, and it presented the Bosnian dialect written

phonetically, contrary to the Croat of the time. (Phonetic writing of Croat came later.) Kallay tried to keep both Serbs and Croats and their nationalistic aspirations in Bosnia under control. The

attempt was not successful, and from 1893 he tried to appeal to the Croats without antagonizing the other two groups too much. Kallay was more successful in creating a modern administration, building road, railways, modern factories, and even the first tourist hotels. Bosnia could be crossed without molestation by outlaws or difficulty caused by lack of roads. The Kallay administration affected also another important institution, the army, as four Bosnian regiments were established which also served abroad in Vienna, Budapest and Trieste. The Bosnian troops, wearing the fez and having chaplains of all three denominations, made a good impression wherever they served. In the first World War the Bosnians fought with great elan and courage on all fronts, particularly against the Italians, both in the Dolomites and Albania.13

Bosnia was treated as a crown land and administered by both Austria and Hungary, which meant that a lot of money and energy was invested in it. At the top stood the Emperor, to whom, ultimately, the administration and the army were responsible. All the ultimate decisions had to be made by him, which meant that the petitions made by the Muslim leaders had to be sent to the Emperor thus exercising certain pressure on Kallay and hissuccessors. As early as November 1878 fifty-eight Muslim dignitaries approached the first Austrian administrator and commander of the occupation forces, General Filipovic, suggesting recognition of the Muslim religious hierarchy. This was pursued with some tactical successes, like the recognition of the Re'is-el-Clema and his council in 1882, creation of the new Waqf Administration in 1894 and the autonomous Administration of Muslim Affairs in 1909.

The first Bosnian parliament of 1910 was divided strictly according to religious denomination. The Upper House consisted of

twenty dignitaries, including Re'is-el-Olema, the Administrator of the Waqf and three Muftis. The Lower House had seventy-two members and was divided between three religious groups and further subdivided into ta> classes. Out of seventy-two members thirty- one were Orthodox, ..wenty-four Muslim and sixteen Catholic. The

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President of the Parliament was appointed by the Emperor. Even the town council of Sarajevo followed the pattern of religious representation, consisting of five Muslims, six Orthodox, three Catholic and four Jewish.

It is interesting that the Austrian administration looked for advice outside, and information about Egypt, Tunisia and Muslims in

Imperial Russia was sought and compared.

Both sides were interested in preserving the status quo, though Austria was aware of the difficult problem of the tenants, who were

mostly Christian and who demanded a fair solution. There were 5,833 Muslim landowners -- with their families they represented 2.63 per cent of the total population -- who controlled 88,867 tenant families and 22,655 half-tenant families, of whom 74 per cent were

Orthodox, 21 per cent Catholic, and only 4 per cent Muslim. Tenants

represented 40.15 per cent of the total population and half-tenants 10-23 per cent. As the Austrian administration did not want to

upset the balance and disturb the leading position of the landed

aristocracy, those who rebelled against the Sultan, it started to

buy the tenants off, but only 22,116 tenant households were released from their position.16

At the same time the development of political parties took place, again following religious identity, and two Muslim parties developed. One was called the 'Muslim National Organization' (Muslimanska Narodna Organizacija), and this supported the interests of the Muslim landed aristocracy. The other, the 'Croatian Muslim National

Party' (Hrvatska Muslimanska Narodna Stranks), favoured a Crotian- Muslim alliance. Some of its representatives, as late as 1941, ranged their supporters on the side of the Ustasha Movement of Ante Pavelich and his Independent Croat State. Later, the two Muslim

parties agreed to unite their forces and formed the'Muslim United

Organization' (Muslimanska Ujedinjena Organizacija), out of which one group of Muslims joined the Serbian nationalist movement.

The balance of forces and preservation of Muslim separate identity -- even though smaller groups would support Serb or Croat

political interests and parties -- became the basis of the nation from 1918, when the Austrian administration was replaced first by the newly created kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and, from 1929, by the kingdom of Yugoslavia. Muslims created.their own

party, the J.M.O. (Jugoslavenska Muslimanska Organizacija), in 1919, and with 110,000 votes won twenty-four seats in the first S.H.S.

parliament. The popular leader of the party was Mehmed Spaho who, from 1919, played an important role in Yugoslav political life.

Originally President of the Sarajevo Chamber of Commerce and later Minister of Forestry and Mineral resources and,from 1935 until his death in 1939, Minister of Transport, he represented a new type of

professional politician and patron of many Muslim supporters. He

enjoyed the reputation of an able tactician and champion of Muslim interests. It was said that a special train called 'Mad Sarajlija' (Ludi Sarajlija) would wait for Mehmed Spaho to take him quickly to

Belgrade to support some of the important decisions of the ruling

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party, which often depended on Muslim support.

At the beginning, however, the Muslims did not fare well, as a considerable percentage of the land owned by the Muslim nobility was expropriated,17 and many landed proprietors left their land and moved to the towns, losing much of their influence and power. Already, toward the end of the Austrian rule, some of the Muslims had sold their land and moved to Turkey proper or Macedonia, Thrace or even Arabia, in order to avoid living under Christian rule. Between 1882 and 1911 57,059 of them left,and the economic

power of many well-known families broke down. In Herzegovina alone more than 600 families lost their properties and position. 18 In the period between 1900 and 1941 we can see considerable .changes in the economic and social structure of the Bosnian Muslims. Muslim craftsmen, who had always played an important role, continued their crafts in the towns, living in special quarters. Muslims started to enter other professions or continued their trading interests outside Bosnia in cities like Zagreb or Belgrade. Some became lawyers, doctors, engineers and even writers. Few went into the army. Attempts to abandon the veil and introduce women's education failed before the First World War because of the conservative pressure. However, these reforms were adopted in 1926, and they allowed women to engage in trade and 'respectable' professions. In 1926 a law was passed permitting the wearing of a hat instead of the fez. At first, Yugoslav law permitted a Muslim to marry up to four wives (a very rare phenomenon in Bosnia), but in 1923 a special tax was

imposed, and the permission of the first wife was required before other wives could be taken. From the beginning Yugoslavia recognized the authority of the Sheriat tribunal in matters of Muslim jurisdiction over marriage, inheritance and the like.19

This state of affairs continued until the collapse of

Yugoslavia in April 1941 and the occupation of the country by Germans and Italians as well as the creation of the Independent State of Croatia under the ultra-nationalistic and fanatical Ustasha movement, led by Dr Ante Pavelich. The new state, which included Bosnia and Herzegovina, was a multinational creation with only a small Croat majority (about 51 per cent), which induced Pavelich and his followers to attract Muslims into their ranks. Thus, Muslims, who numbered 12 per cent of the population (717,000) of the new state, became again an important balancing element in

political manoeuvrings. The old followers of the Croat Muslim National Party were mobilized to attract Muslims in support of the new state, for which activity they would receive in return the

position of privileged minority. Some Croats were considered to have been converted to Islam in the fifteenth century, but, even if a number of the original converts were Catholics, it had, with some

exceptions, little meaning for people who had been practising Muslims for generations. In a short time, however, the Muslims found themselves in a very precarious position, as Bosnia became a battlefield for three different political movements, through which the Muslims suffered many casualties. Their authorities protested against the persecution of Serbs while others joined the Muslim

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units of the Ustasha Militia, wearing the fez, or the Croatian army. Some, however, joined the newly created partisan units operating in Bosnia. The Muslim population was bitterly disappointed with this state of affairs and with the Pavelich regime and felt very exposed and vulnerable. Attempts to create its own militia had little success, and there was concern as to what the outcome was going to be. As always in difficult situations (1878, 1908 or 1918), they tried to find guidance from Turkey, which, being neutral, started

transmitting news in Serbo-Croat, using Muslims from Bosnia as

speakers. The importance of Radio Ankara in this respect was later confirmed by German documents, which described the Muslims as being influenced by Turkey and as being opportunists.

In 1943 a rather unusual development took place which complicated the position of the Muslims. In the spring of the same year Heinrich Himmler ordered the recruitment of a special SS Division, later called the 'HandEar' division, consisting of Bosnian Muslims. He tried to combine the Bosnian-Herzegovinian self-consciousness and the old traditions of the Imperial Austrian Bosnian regiments, which had fought with great distinction, with certain circles in the international Muslim movement which sympathized with National Socialism. This represents also a special chapter among many strange undertakings of the Waffen-SS in occupied Europe. The tradition of the old Military Frontier was here given a new dimension and direction, by which Muslims were supposed to fight a common battle against a common enemy. Bosnians, so Himmler

thought, represented a link between fighting Islam and fighting National-Socialism. In practical terms, however, the Germans were

making use of the widespread Muslim demands for autonomy, which was offered here by the SS. A number of Muslims deserted the Ustasha and the Croatian army and found refuge in the recruiting centre of the division.

Even the former Great Mufti of Jerusalem, Husseini, was mobilized and sent to visit Zagreb, Sarajevo and other Muslim centres to launch the creation of the 'Handzar' division. The main desire of the Muslims was to escape the control of the

Independent State and realize their own autonomy. The division

proved a disappointment in this respect, as it served in France and Germany and later in northern Bosnia against the local

population, consisting of Serbs and Croats, and not in Eastern Bosnia, where it was supposed to function. In the end, part of the division withdrew from Bosnia and part deserted or fled to the

partisans who, by now, had extensive control of the Bosnian area.20

After the end of the Second World War and the creation of Socialist Yugoslavia the Muslim religious community was recognized, along with its rights to conduct its own religious affairs and

religious schools. Two assemblies were created, one the Ulema

Medzlis, the other the Waqf Assembly,the former being responsible for the selection of the Re'is-el-Olema and four members of the Medzlis. In 1950 a law forbidding the wearing of the veil was

passed with little opposition.

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An interesting development took place after 1961, when Muslims were allowed to declare themselves as ethnic Muslims, this being a recognition of Muslim separateness and ethnicity. In 1964 the government declared that Muslims had a right of self-determination, and so could become what de facto they had claimed to be for a long time. There is no doubt that the experiences of the Second World War, in which Bosnia suffered particularly badly from national aspirations and counter-aspirations, as well as the Muslims' core position in the Yugoslav state, contributed greatly toward such recognition. Bosnian Muslims passed from consciously cultivating their own identity deriving from the millet system to emerging as a separate nationality.21

Islam was the mechanism effecting sanctification of their

identity, and was a constant reminder of their origin. The case of the Bosnian Muslims shows again how important religious affiliation is in creating separate identity. Change threatened their existence, but it was change that preserved them in the end.

NOTES 1. On the classification of minorities see A.H.Hourani,Minorities

in the Arab World (London, 1947), especially Chapters 1 and 2. 2. See H.Mol (ed.), Identity and Religion (London-Beverly Hills,

1978) and M.Mol, Identity and the Sacred (Oxford, 1976). 3. For a good survey of the 'Bosnian Church', see A.Schmaus, 'Der

Neumanich&ismus auf dem Balkan', in Saeculum, 2 (1951), pp.271-299. A classic on the subject is F.Racki, Bogumili i Patareni (Belgrade, 1931).

4. On the complicated issue of Islamization and the relevant literature see A.Lopasic 'Islamization of the Balkans: Some General Considerations', in J.M.Scarce (ed.), Islam in the Balkans (Edinburgh, 1979), pp.49-53.

5. M.Handzic, Knjizevni rad Bosansko-Hercegovackih Muslimana (Sarajevo, 1933), pp.40, 81-90.

6. C.Truhelka, Bosancica (Sarajevo), 1889. 7. A.Hangi, Zivot i Obicaji Muhamedanaca u Bosni i Hercegovini

(Mostar, 1900), pp.137-140, 161-162, 189; D.Nedeljkovic (ed.), Narodi Jugoslavije (Srpska Akademija Nauka, Pos. Izdanja 385, Etnografski Institut 13, Belgrade, 1965), pp.203-211; E.Schneweiss, Serbo-Kroatische Volkskunde (Berlin, 1961), pp.25, 56-57,155.

8. M.Filipovic, 'Die Serbokroatische Mohammedaner', in Tribus (Stuttgart), 9 (1960), pp.55-60.

9. N.Zupanic, 'Bosanci', in Narodna Enciklopedija I (Belgrade, 1926), p.234.

10. A.Lopasic, 'Quelques institutions musulmanes dans les Balkans', in proceedings of Quatrieme Congres Internationale des Etudes du Sud-Est Europeen (Ankara, 1979) (in press).

11. A.Wagner, 'Die Okkupation Bosniens und der Herzegovina 1878' in F.Wiener (ed), (Partisanenkampf am Balkan (Vienna, 1976),

pp.23-33; M.Zelenika, 'Okupacija 1878, Bosna i Hercegovina', in Enciklopedija Jugoslavije, 2 (1961), pp.51-52.

12. S.Ceric, Muslimani Srpsko-Hrvatskog jezika, (Sarajevo, 1968), p.90; D.Pejanovic, Stanovnistvo Bosne i Hercegovine (Pos.Izdanja Srpske Akademije Nauka 229, N.S. Knjiga 12), Belgrade, 1955, pp.35-46.

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13. P.Blaskovic, Sa Bosnjacima u Svjetskom Ratu (Belgrade, 1939), 14. J.von Asboth, Bosnien und Herzegowina(Vienna, 1988); E.Bauer,

Zwischen Halbmond und Doppeladler: 40 Jahre 8sterreichische

Verwaltung in Bosnien und Herzegowina (Vienna, 1971),

pp.121-130. 15. F.Hauptmann (ed.), Borba Muslimana Bosne i Hercegovine, za

vjersku vakufsko-mearifsku autonomiju (Sarajevo, 1967),

pp.121, 134. 16. E.Bauer, op.cit., pp.78-79, 152. 17. Altogether 1,286,227 ha belonging to the Muslim landed

aristocracy was expropriated and given to 249,580 families. Due to these changes 130,000 families with 560,000 ha were freed from their tenant relationship. For agrarian changes after 1918 see O.von Franges, Die sozial konomische Struktur der jugoslawischen Landwirtschaft

(Berlin, 1937), p.159; O.von Franges, 'Bosanski Agrar', in Hrvatska Enciklopedija 3, p.167; C.Mitrinovic, Nasi Muslimani

Belgrade), 1926, pp.64-74. 18. H.Kspidzic, 'Pripremanje Ustavnog perioda u Bosni i

Hercegovini (1908-1910)', in Godisnjak Istorijskog Drustva Bosne i Hercegovine (1959), pp.121-166 and a separate list on emigration between 1883-1911. Compare with figures between 1883-1903 in F.Hauptmann, op.cit., pp.266f. For the Muslim view on emigration (Pokret Muhadzira) see C.Mitrinovic, op.cit., p.50-53, 64.

19. M.Begovic, 0 polozaju i duznostima Muslimanke prema islamskoj nauci u duhu danjasnjeg vremena (Belgrade, 1931); M.Begovitch, De 1'evolution du droit musulman en Yougoslavia (Algiers, 1930); F.Kruszelnicki, Postupak pred serijatskim sudovima u Bosni i Hercegovini (Zagreb), 1917.

20. On the Handzar division see L.Hory and M.Broszat, Der Kroatische Ustaschastaat 1941-1945 (Stuttgart, 1965),

pp.154-161. 21. A.Humo, 'Moslems in a Socialist Society', in Review, 1 (1969),

pp.20-29; R.Donia and W.G.Lockwood, 'The Bosnian Muslims: Class, Ethnicity, and Political Behaviour in a European State', in J.Suad and B.Pillsbury (edd.): Muslim-Christian Conflicts, Economic, Political and Social Origins (Boulder-Folkstone), 1978. THE MUSLIM POPULATION IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 1879-1971.

1897: 446,613 Muslims (38.75% of the total population)

1910: 612,137 " (32.25% " " "" )

1921: 588,247 " (31.12% " " .. )

1931: 718,080 " (30.90%" " " )

1948: 788,403 " (30.70% " " " ) 71,978 declared themselves as Muslim Serbs and 25,324 as Muslim Croats.

1953: 891,800 Muslims (32.30% of the total population)

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15,477 declared themselves as Muslim Croats and 35,228 as Muslim Serbs. This gives a total of 942,505 Muslims.

1971: 1,482,430 Muslims (39.60% of the total population)

The fluctuations in numbers is related to emigration and different ethnic affiliation. Since 1961 Muslims have been treated as a separate ethnic group and since 1971 a separate nationality.

The figures are based on the available statistical material.

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Documents

Bosnian Muslims: A Search for Identity