From Ummatic Muslims to State-centered Bosniacs
Journal: American Journal of Islam and Society
Year: 2025

This paper explores the evolution of the national identity of Bosnian Muslims throughout the 20th century, from an Ummatic-centric focus on their Islamic identity (using the ethnonym “Muslims”) to a state-centered, secularized, and “modernized” identity, adopting the ethnonym “Bosniacs.” This shift is framed as necessary for the biological, religious, and cultural preservation of Bosnian Muslims. The study builds on Bosnian sociologist Sacir Filandra’s typology of the Bosniac national renaissanc