THE TRADITIONAL RELIGION OF MUSLIMS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

(A brief retrospection on the Islamic modernist critique of the traditional religion of Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Abstract

In this paper, the author is discussing various phenomena of the so-called ‘traditional religion’ of BH Muslims. In the first part of the paper, the focus is on the essential orthodox views established by the official theology, in order for the auhtor to reflect on the ‘traditional religion’, or, in other words, the practising of different religious amalgams in combination with what is considered to be the ‘official’ or the ‘true’ religion. The author often points to the phenomena of ‘reconciling’ the (previous) syncretic tradition and the official (current) theology by the public or the folk. In the second, viz. the main part of the paper, the author refers to the methods the scholars applied when theoretically elaborating various phenomena in terms of the ‘traditional Islam’ in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The so-called ‘non-Islamic’ customs present in the religious practice of BH Muslims have been interpreted in various ways. These customs were often attributed to the Bogumil origins and uniqueness of BH Muslims, and they were also, very often, criticised by the authorities, viz. The Islamic Community from Sarajevo. A special tribute has been given to some authors, such as Husein ef. Đozo, who held a rationalistic and enlightening view on these customs, sometimes even trying to transcend them.