Bosniak Students in Vienna and Their Contribution to Cultural Renewal and Political Organization of Bosniaks at the Beginning of the 20th Century

Abstract

UDK
378.18 -057(=497.6)(436 Beč)”19”
32.019.5: 316.728-057(=497.6)(436 Beč)”19”

The arrival of Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina marked a turning point in the historical development of the Bosniaks. The transition from the Ottoman cultural sphere into the world of Western European culture and social norms, alongside serious challenges, also offered new opportunities for cultural, educational, and intellectual development. Although fear and uncertainty initially prevailed among Bosniaks regarding the preservation of religious and national identity, hope gradually emerged along with awareness of the opportunities provided by modernization. A particularly significant role in this process was played by Bosniak students in Vienna, who, through education and contact with European institutions, developed ideas of cultural renewal and political organization among Bosniaks. They recognized the opportunity to integrate their community into contemporary European social currents, thereby laying the foundations for intellectual and political activism. By the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the first generation of Bosniak students and intellectuals educated in the spirit of European thought emerged. Their engagement in the political and cultural life of Bosnia and Herzegovina initiated important processes of socio-cultural transformation among the Bosniaks.