Between East and West: Muslim intellectuals in Search of a Model for the Muslim womenʼs emancipation in Bosnia and Herzegovina at the beginning of the 20th century

After introduction of the Austro-Hungarian rule to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878, Bosnian Muslims became very concerned about preserving their Islamic identity under the rule of Christians. They were particularly disturbed by the modernization processes which have changed the social practices of the inhabitants of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of which was the entering of Muslim female children into the secular education system and public sphere. This paper deals with the way that the Muslim intellectual circles viewed the emancipation of Muslim women: respectively, how they – to a certain extent – accepted European influences and how they supplemented them with Ottoman practices, having in mind that the modernization process was also evident in the Ottoman society, especially in the second half of the 19th century. The article analyzes the views of the leading Muslim intellectuals on the models for the emancipation of Muslim women in Bosnia and Herzegovina presented in Muslim journals at the beginning of the 20th century.

* Tekst powstał w ramach projektu OPUS 13, finansowanego przez Narodowe Centrum Nauki w Krakowie, pt. „Pomiędzy dwoma zjazdami w Pradze. Związki między Słowianami w Europie Środkowej i Południowo-Wschodniej w latach 1848–1908” (2017/25/B/HS3/00240, kierownik: prof. dr hab. Antoni Cetnarowicz).

Tłumaczenie: Tomasz Jacek Lis

“Brothers or the Others”: Slavic Muslims as “Turks” and “Turned-Turks” in the North-Western Balkans

The end of the 18th century, the whole 19th century, and the beginning of the 20th century in the South Slavic region were accompanied by the emergence and strong activity of national movements. The Muslim population from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro appeared as problematic in the processes related to the activities of national movements, as they – on the one hand – represented the “Slavic brothers”, while – on the other hand – represented the loyal subjects of the Ottoman Empire and shared their religion with the enemy, and from that perspective, were characterized as “hateful and evil Turks”. This paper traces the actualization, usage and its continuity of the terms “Turks” and “Turned-Turks” for the stereotypical depiction of the Slavic Muslims in the north-western Balkans.

Tłumaczenie: Tomasz Jacek Lis

The Balkan Front of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 in the publications of the Warsaw daily “Kurjer Warszawski”

The Russo-Turkish war of 1877–1878 is an important element of the international relations in the 19th century, which not only constituted the rivalry between great powers to expand or secure spheres of influence, but also brought about a significant transformation of the political map of the European continent in its south-eastern part. The war, waged under the banner of the “cross against the crescent” slogan, was perceived with optimism by the Balkan nations experiencing Turkish rule, nevertheless they interpreted the Berlin Treaty ending this conflict as an attempt to limit their national goals. These issues, important from the point of view of European politics, were closely followed by the only mass medium of the time – the press. One of the newspapers that commented on the war in the Balkans was the daily newspaper “Kurjer Warszawski” that was being published in Warsaw from 1821, whose editors did not limit themselves to presenting agency reports, but also made successful attempts to critically analyze the situation at that time. Therefore, the newspaper appears to us as an interesting source of information about the events taking place in the Balkans.

The principle of equality proclaimed by the Edict of Gulhane (tur. Gülhane Hatt-ı Şerîf) in 1839 resulted in many changes in the socio-political sphere of the Ottoman society, but also with several legal acts regarding education issued by the Ottoman authorities. The Constitution of the Ottoman Empire from 1876 proclaimed equality between all citizens of the state regardless of ethnicity and religion. Even though, relations between the Albanian and Serbian populations in the Kosovo Vilayet were tense in all aspects of socio-political spheres. The representatives of Albanians, as a majority in the vilayet, defended the status of Islam as a dominant religion and Christianity as a religion of slaves (rayah). As the Ottoman authorities issued many legal acts regarding formal basic education in Islamic primary schools (mekteb) during the second half of the 19th century, tensions and misunderstandings between the Serbian and Albanian populations increased. This paper analyzes relations between Serbs and Albanians in the Vilayet of Kosovo in 1878–1912 in the area of implementation of the right to primary education for both communities as this issue has not been researched in detail until now. Our research is based on interdisciplinary approach to the subject and the use of primary archival sources of the Ottoman and Serbian provenance, as well as the relevant literature.

With the fall of the sultan’s rule in the Balkans, the natural aspiration of the rural population was to take control over the lands belonging to the great Muslim landowners – in the case of Bulgarians and Serbs, the agricultural reforms implemented in 1880 became the fulfilment of these expectations. The comparative method was used to formulate the new conclusions on the property relations in these two South Slavic countries at the end of the 19th century, provide an indication of the characteristics of the Serbian and Bulgarian villages as well as to highlight the common features of both countries. An attempt will be made to define the factors that could have contributed to these differences and similarities.

Bosnian Muslims as viewed by Poles and Czechs at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries (until the outbreak of World War I)

The article presents Poles’ and Czechs’ opinions on Bosnian Muslims at the turn of the 19th and 20th century. Historians would often use the diaries of English, German, French, and Russian travellers while similar sources by the authors from different countries were rarely analyzed. The article focuses above all on the Austro-Hungarian period, its starting point, however, are the times under the weakening Ottoman rule. Under the Habsburg administration, the society of Bosnia and Herzegovina was being modernized, and the nationalistic processes were being initiated. Poles and Czechs were present in Bosnia as officials, traders, teachers, etc. The primary sources for this article are their travel diaries.

* Artykuł zrealizowany w ramach projektu finansowanego przez Narodowe Centrum Nauki, pt. Przemiany społeczne wśród wspólnot muzułmańskich w Bośni i Hercegowinie oraz Bułgarii w drugiej połowie XIX i na początku XX wieku. Studia porównawcze (projekt nr 2020/39/B/HS3/0171).

“Until we discard all traces of slavery.” Repetitiveness of the Bulgarian State’s Policy towards the Pomaks

The new Bulgarian state, which reappeared on the map of Europe in 1878, was inhabited by a multiethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural population. The unification of the national structure was treated as an important task being faced by the authorities in Sofia. Part of this demographic mosaic were Pomaks – Bulgarian-speaking Muslims whose number in the country increased after the Balkan War. Compared to the policies of other Balkan countries, Bulgaria had a relatively tolerant attitude towards Muslims, who were mostly Turks. The Pomaks were perceived by the state as Bulgarians who had cut themselves off from their ancestors. This attitude led to repeated waves of state repression throughout the 20th century, including the period of socialism. The article attempts to trace actions taken by the Bulgarian state to separate Pomaks from the Muslim tradition, which – although unsuccessful – left serious wounds in the historical memory of both Christians and Muslims.

Tłumaczenie: Krzysztof Popek

Yugoslavian Islamic Religious Community/Islamic Community in the documents of the State/Federal Commission for Religious Affairs in 1945–1971

In Yugoslavia, Muslims were the third largest religious group after Orthodox Christians and Catholics. However, this group was not only composed of the Islamised Slavs from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), but also Albanians, Turks, and others. After the communists took power in the country, one of the new government’s priorities was to establish relations with this minority. The body that coordinated state policy towards religion, collected materials, and analysed the present religious situation in the country was the State/Federal Commission for Religious Affairs (D/SKVP) existing in the period from 1945 to 1971. Analysis of the documents from D/SKVP helps us to identify the elements of state politics towards Islamic Religious Community/Islamic Community in Yugoslavia. Throughout the discussed period (1945–1971), IVZ/IZ was the most conciliatory from the large religious associations in Yugoslavia in relation towards the authorities. It is confirmed by a relatively small number of documents related to Muslims and gathered in D/SKVP reaching only a few percent of total amount of materials. The leaders of IVZ/IZ became more assertive in relations with the authorities since the mid-1960’s when the government implemented liberalisation of religious politics. In Yugoslavia a kind of religious revival took place which was manifested, among others, in rebirth of religious structures and, to a large extent, their turn towards nationalism.

The Socio-Economic Consequences of the Forced Assimilation of Bulgarian Muslims in the Second Half of the 20th Century

In research on the forced assimilation in communist Bulgaria, the attention is most frequently paid to the effects of this process in the context of violating fundamental human and civil rights. However, researchers often overlook the socio-economic consequences of the actions taken at that time. The forced assimilation of Bulgarian Muslims, who chose to leave Bulgaria, resulted in a huge economic loss. The unexpected staff shortage has caused problems for the Bulgarian economy on a massive scale. The change in the organization of work has created tensions in the inter-ethnic relations. The aim of this article is to answer the question – did the economic and social consequences of the so-called Revival Process in Bulgaria led to the collapse of Todor Zhivkov’s regime in the late 1980s?

* Artykuł powstał dzięki kwerendom przeprowadzonym w Belgradzie oraz na Uniwersytecie Stanford, realizowanym w ramach działań Uniwersytetu Śląskiego „Inicjatywa Doskonałości Badawczej”, programów „Swoboda badań” (I edycja z 2021 r.) i „Mobilność-Nauka” (I edycja z 2022 r.).

The 1983 Sarajevo Trial and the socio-political situation in Yugoslavia of the 1980s

The text presents the trial of the Muslim intellectuals that took place in Sarajevo in 1983. They were put on trial due to the political pressure of the League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovina and then sentenced to harsh and long imprisonment. The article presents activity of the sentenced intellectuals, social attitudes of the republic’s citizens, and general decay among the communist leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina, widely considered to be the most dogmatic in comparison to the other Yugoslav republics.