Greater Bosnia (Bosnian:Velika Bosna) is anirredentist concept seeking the enlargement ofBosnia and Herzegovina. It is more popular among ethnicBosniaks, asBosnian Croats more commonly support the creation ofa separate Croat entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina or integration intoCroatia whileBosnian Serbs prefer to side witha possible secession ofRepublika Srpska or its merger withSerbia. Bosniak irredentism often endorses the annexation of the region ofSandžak, where a Bosniak community lives.[1]
Džafer Kulenović, leader of theYugoslav Muslim Organization, supported the creation of a Greater Bosnia including Sandžak sponsored by theIndependent State of Croatia duringWorld War II.[2]
Franjo Tuđman, the firstpresident of Croatia, accusedAlija Izetbegović, the firstchairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, of conspiring to create a Greater Bosnia along withTurkey and to create anIslamic fundamentalist state with the help of 500,000 ethnicTurks that were to come to Bosnia and which would expand its influence to Sandžak andKosovo. Tuđman was opposed to maintaining Bosnia's borders at the time and advocated fora partition of the country along ethnic lines.[3]