Срби муслимани Srbi muslimani | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| c. 4,500 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Serbia: 4,238[1] Bosnia and Herzegovina: 94[2] Slovenia: 53[3] Turkey: unknown number | |
| Languages | |
| Serbian | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Bosniaks,Goranis,Torbeši,Pomaks |
| Part of a series on |
| Serbs |
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Related nations OtherSouth Slavs |
Serb Muslims (Serbian:Срби муслимани,romanized: Srbi muslimani) orSerbMohammedans (Срби мухамеданци,Srbi muhamedanci), historically referred to asČitaci (Serbian Cyrillic:Читаци) are ethnicSerbs who areMuslims (adherents ofIslam) by their religious affiliation.[4]
The term Čitaci has several particular uses:
SinceSerbs were, and still are, predominantlyEastern Orthodox Christians, their first significant historical encounter withIslam occurred in the second half of the 14th century, and was marked by theTurkish invasion and conquest of Serbian lands (starting in 1371 and ending by the beginning of the 16th century). That interval was marked by the first wave ofIslamization among Serbs. In some regions, a substantial minority left Christianity and converted to Islam, willingly or by necessity, under the influence of the Ottoman authorities. The most notable Muslim of Serb ethnicity wasMehmed-paša Sokolović (1506-1579),Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (1565-1579), who was an ethnicSerb by birth, and so wasOmar Pasha Latas.
Muslims joined theSerbian Army in World War I. The majority were Muslims who had a Serb identity, declaring asSerbs.[5] Among notable soldiers wereMustafa Golubić, Avdo Hasanbegović, Šukrija Kurtović, Ibrahim Hadžimerović,Fehim Musakadić, Hamid Kukić, Rešid Kurtagić, who all fought as Serbian volunteer officers at theSalonica front.[6] Among the most active in the group of Muslims who were engaged in Yugoslav propaganda on Austro-Hungarian Muslim POWs were A. Hasanbegović, Azis Sarić, F. Musakadić, Alija Džemidžić, R. Kurtagić, Asim Šeremeta, Hamid Kukić and Ibrahim Hadžiomerović.[7]
Gajret (known as theSerbian Muslim Cultural Society after 1929) was a cultural society established in 1903 that promotedSerbian identity among the Slavic Muslims ofAustria-Hungary (today'sBosnia and Herzegovina).[8] The organization viewed that theMuslims were Serbs lacking ethnic consciousness.[9] The view that Muslims were Serbs is probably the oldest of the three ethnic theories among theBosnian Muslims themselves.[10] It was dismantled by theIndependent State of Croatia duringWorld War II.[11] Some members, non-Communists, joined or collaborated with theYugoslav Partisans, while others joined theChetniks.
DuringWorld War II in Yugoslavia, a few Muslims joined theChetniks. They espoused a Serb ethnic identity. The most notable of these wasIsmet Popovac, who commanded the Muslim National Military Organization (Muslimanska narodna vojna organizacija, MNVO). The resolution of MNVO states that "Muslims are an integral part ofSerbdom".[12] World War I veteranFehim Musakadić also joined the Chetniks.[13]
Before the1971 census, those of Slavic Muslim background in Yugoslavia could only legally declare themselves as Serb Muslims,Croat Muslims, or ethnically-undecided Muslims.[14] The overwhelming majority chose the option "undetermined".[15] After 1971,Slavs of Muslim ancestry were recognized as an ethnic group in their own right.
Some prominent Muslims in Yugoslavia openly declared as Serbs, such as the writerMeša Selimović.[16]
During early talks of thepartition of Bosnia and Herzegovina,Ejup Ganić remarked that the Bosniaks "are Islamized Serbs", and should thus join the Serb side, he said it at a time when the SDA shifted in favour of siding with the Serbs and continuing the struggle against the Croats.[17]
Serb nationalists usually insisted thatBosniaks wereSerbs that had abandoned their faith.[18]Serbian historiography emphasizes the Orthodox Serbian origin of theBosniaks who are interpreted as relinquishing ties to the ethno-religious heritage after converting to Islam and later denying it by refusing to accept a Serbian identity.[19][20]
According to data from the 2022 Serbian census, of those who declared as ethnic Serbs, 0.08% (4,238) declared Islam as their religion.[1]
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Promoting that policy, in the 1948 census the Bosnian Muslims were permitted to declare themselves as Serb- Muslims, Croat- Muslims, or nationally "undetermined" Muslims, revealing the stance of Communist leaders that held that Muslims ...
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