Bringa-Being Muslim the Bosnian way Flashcards
Understand the difference among the generations in terms of ‘national’ identities.
a. Older generation (50’s and 60’s) - national identity was as yugoslav, didn’t need to identify themselves as “croat, serb, or muslim”
b. Younger generation (80’s) - national identity is whatever your nationality is (croat, serb, muslim,), most children knew their nationality, but some got it wrong or had to be instructed by their peers
Understand the importance of household and loyalty.
a. Household- is people you are living with
b. Loyalty- is beingsocialized with the people in the neighborhood’s social network
Understand the origins, significance and character of the Muslim narod.
a. Tito supported the rights of the Bosnian Muslims to claim a status equal to that of Bosnian-Herzegovinian Catholics and Orthodox Christians
b. Held status as Croat and Serb respectively
c. Tito symbolized muslim identity, Muslim was defined historically as secular rather than religious terms
Which gender were the key performers of Muslim ritual in the villages?
Female
How historically have Serbs and Croats viewed Muslims in Bosnia.
a. Like they do not belong; were not as accepting
With which three religious traditions to Bosnian families generally identify?
a. Roman Catholic Croat
b. Sunni Muslim
c. Orthodox Serb
How were names important?
Your name tells people who you are (muslim, catholic, serb): first and last names are important indicators, some people changed names if they changed religious beliefs so as to stay within the same culture
What is a millet, and how was it constructed?
a. Administrative scheme, membership in a “nation” was determined by religious affiliation and not for example, by a shared language, defined common territory, a perceived common history or ethnicity
b. Originally meant a religious community and came to mean a “nation”
c. Constructed by religious figures in administrative positions
How do the West and socialists differ in their conception of nationality?
a. West - define nationality in terms of people who share certain cultural traits, past and usually a territory; overlap between nation, state and citizenship; group overlapping with the nation that defines the state or minority people within the nation-state
b. Socialists - ethnic group who aspires to be or who has obtained its own state
Understand how the ‘nations of Yugoslavia’ were organized.
a. Was organized by state, Croats, & Serbs
b. 6 “nations of Yugoslavia”, split along the largest ethnic groups boarders
Recognize the dilemma of Bosnia in terms of not being a narod’s homeland.
Bosnia was a conglomerate of Croats, Serbs, and Muslims due to conquest and conversion, therefore it wasn’t a narod’s homeland -> there was no “Bosnian” nationality
What disadvantage did the Muslims of Bosnia face in not defining themselves so strongly in terms of blood and descent?
Muslims focused on a shared environment, cultural practices, a shared sentiment, and common experiences as opposed to a myth of origins. In a socio-political climate where collective cultural identities based on “common blood” claims become the only valid claim, the Muslim’s claim to nationality status on a different basis has been seen as illegitimate -> not natural, all psychological
Their claim to nationality was seen as illegitimate
Understand the debate around the definition of Bosnjak.
a. synonym for Bosnian Muslim have become a neat ethno-national category its neighbors and international community can deal with and understand
1. Bosnjak = reviving “Bosnianhood”, a national name for everyone in Bosnia
2. Bosnjak = “those whom we today call Muslims”
a. ends the question of if Muslims are Croats or Serbs
b. establish the Muslims with a more obvious continuous historical link to Bosnia as a state and territory
3. Insist on the continued use of Muslim as a “nationality” and “national identity”
4. Current use: Bosnjak = used mainly in contrast to “Serb” and “Croat” and as a synonym for Bosnian Muslim
