View source for Bosniaks

{{short description|South Slavic ethnic group}}
{{distinguish|Bosnians}}
{{other uses}}
{{redirect|Bosnian Muslims}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}

{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Bosniaks
| native_name      = '''''{{linktext|lang=bs|Bošnjaci}}'''''
| image            = Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992–1998).svg
| caption          = Flag of the [[Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina]], today used as an [[ethnic flag]].
| population       = {{circa}} '''2.5 million'''<ref group="note">Addition of higher and lower population estimates given below</ref>
| popplace         = [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] 1,769,592<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.popis2013.ba/popis2013/doc/Popis2013prvoIzdanje.pdf |title=Popis stanovništva, domaćinstava i stanova u Bosni i Hercegovini, 2013. Rezultati popisa |trans-title=Cenzus of population, households and dwellings in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2013. Final results |access-date=2017-05-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630143615/http://www.popis2013.ba/popis2013/doc/Popis2013prvoIzdanje.pdf |archive-date=2016-06-30 }}</ref>
| tablehdr         = ''Significant [[Bosniak diaspora]] in'':
| region1          = [[Turkey]]
| pop1             = {{circa}} 115,000, by ancestry {{circa}} 2,000,000
| ref1             = <ref name="Türkiye'deki Kürtlerin sayısı!">{{cite web|url=https://www.milliyet.com.tr/cadde/turkiyedeki-kurtlerin-sayisi-873452|access-date=2006-06-09|title=Türkiye'deki Kürtlerin sayısı! - Magazin Haberleri - Milliyet|archive-date=2021-12-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226173959/https://www.milliyet.com.tr/cadde/turkiyedeki-kurtlerin-sayisi-873452|url-status=live}}</ref>
| region2          = [[United States]]
| pop2             = {{circa}} 100,000
| ref2             = <ref name="The 2000 USA census">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/|title=U.S. Census website|first=U.S. Census|last=Bureau|access-date=2008-06-06|archive-date=2021-07-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709054630/https://www.census.gov/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| region3          = [[Serbia]]
| pop3             = 153,801
| ref3             = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stat.gov.rs/vesti/20230428-konacnirezpopisa/|title=Коначни резултати Пописа становништва, домаћинстава и станова 2022.|website=stat.gov.rs|access-date=2023-10-08|archive-date=2023-06-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608013816/https://www.stat.gov.rs/vesti/20230428-konacnirezpopisa/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| region4          = [[Montenegro]]
| pop4             = 58,956
| ref4             = {{lower|<ref name="t819">{{cite web | title=Popis stanovništva, domaćinstava i stanova, 2023. godine | url=https://www.monstat.org/uploads/files/popis%202021/saopstenja/SAOPSTENJE_Popis%20stanovnistva%202023%20II_cg.pdf | access-date=2024-10-15}}</ref>}}
| region5          = [[Canada]]
| pop5             = {{circa}} 50,000
| ref5             = {{lower|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bosniak.org/about-bosniaks/|title=About Bosniaks|date=December 2020 |access-date=1 January 2023|archive-date=4 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204052510/https://bosniak.org/about-bosniaks/|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
| region6          = [[Kosovo]]
| pop6             = 27,533
| ref6             = {{lower|<ref>{{citation|title=Kosovo Census 2011 |publisher=ask.rks-gov.net}}</ref>}}
| region7          = [[Croatia]]
| pop7             = 24,131
| ref7             = {{lower|<ref>{{Croatian Census 2021|E}}</ref>}}
| region8          = [[Slovenia]]
| pop8             = 21,542
| ref8             = {{lower|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stat.si/popis2002/en/rezultati/rezultati_red.asp?ter=SLO&st=15|title=Statistični urad RS - Popis 2002|access-date=1 May 2016|archive-date=30 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170530131402/http://www.stat.si/popis2002/en/rezultati/rezultati_red.asp?ter=SLO&st=15|url-status=live}}</ref>}}
| region9          = [[Denmark]]
| pop9             = 21,000
| ref9             = {{lower|<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.folkedrab.dk/sw52060.asp?usepf=true |title=Kilde: "Ældre bosniske flygtninge søger hjem" |publisher=Folkedrab.dk |access-date=2012-01-05 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325153158/http://www.folkedrab.dk/sw52060.asp?usepf=true |archive-date=2012-03-25 }}</ref>}}
| region10         = [[North Macedonia]]
| pop10            = 17,018
| ref10            = {{lower|<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stat.gov.mk/pdf/kniga_13.pdf |title=Macedonian Census 2002 |access-date=2012-01-05 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070708073549/http://www.stat.gov.mk/pdf/kniga_13.pdf |archive-date=2007-07-08 }}</ref>}}
| region11         = [[Australia]]
| pop11            = 14,620
| ref11            = <ref>{{cite web|url= https://mojabih.oslobodjenje.ba/mb/kolumne/zasto-je-tesko-procijeniti-broj-bosanaca-i-hercegovaca-u-australiji-1321|title= Zašto je teško procijeniti broj Bosanaca i Hercegovaca u Australiji?|date= 17 September 2019|access-date= 17 September 2019|archive-date= 6 November 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231106061158/https://mojabih.oslobodjenje.ba/mb/kolumne/zasto-je-tesko-procijeniti-broj-bosanaca-i-hercegovaca-u-australiji-1321|url-status= live}}</ref>
| languages        = [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]]
| religions        = Predominantly [[Sunni Islam]]<ref name="Cambridge University Press">{{cite book|author1=Aziz Al-Azmeh|author2=Effie Fokas|title=Islam in Europe: Diversity, Identity and Influence|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uoSUovCrjLwC&pg=PA97|date=15 November 2007|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-46782-7|page=97}}</ref><br/>
| related          = Other [[South Slavs]],<br /> especially [[Bosnian Serbs]], [[Bosnian Croats]]
}}
{{Bosniaks}}

The '''Bosniaks''' ({{langx|bs|Bošnjaci}}, [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]]: Бошњаци, {{IPA|sh|boʃɲǎːtsi|pron}}; {{small|singular masculine:}} {{lang|bs|Bošnjak}} {{IPA-sh|bǒʃɲaːk|}}, {{small|feminine:}} {{lang|bs|Bošnjakinja}}) are a [[South Slavs|South Slavic]] [[ethnic group]] native to the [[Southeast Europe]]an [[historical region]] of [[Bosnia (region)|Bosnia]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321085272|title=Historical Construction and Development of Bosniak Nation|language=en|access-date=2019-07-26}}</ref> which is today part of [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], who share a common Bosnian [[Cultural heritage|ancestry]], [[Culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina|culture]], [[History of Bosnia and Herzegovina|history]] and [[Bosnian language|language]]. Predominantly adhering to [[Sunni Islam]], they primarily live in Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Kosovo as well as in Austria, Germany, Turkey and Sweden. They also constitute a significant [[diaspora]] with several communities across Europe, the Americas and Oceania.

Bosniaks are typically characterized by their historic ties to the [[Bosnia (region)|Bosnian historical region]], adherence to [[Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Islam]] since the 15th and 16th centuries, [[Culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina|culture]], and the [[Bosnian language]]. [[English speakers]] frequently refer to Bosniaks as '''Bosnian [[Muslims (ethnic group)|Muslims]]'''<ref group="note">This term is considered inaccurate since not all Bosniaks profess [[Islam]] or practice the religion. Partly because of this, since the dissolution of Yugoslavia, ''Bosniak'' has replaced ''Muslim'' as an official ethnic term in part to avoid confusion with the religious term "Muslim" as an adherent of Islam. Additionally, Bosniaks are native to [[Montenegro]], [[Serbia]] including [[Kosovo]], and [[Croatia]], whilst Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovina may be practised by non-Bosniaks, such as the [[Turks of Bosnia and Herzegovina]].{{citation |date= 2016 |orig-date= 2007 |chapter-url= https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bosnia-and-herzegovina/ |chapter= Bosnia and Herzegovina: People |title= The World Factbook |publisher= American [[American Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] |issn= 1553-8133 |access-date= 2016-04-13 |archive-date= 2021-01-24 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210124195757/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bosnia-and-herzegovina/ |url-status= live }}</ref> or simply as [[Bosnians]], though the latter term can also  denote all inhabitants of Bosnia and Herzegovina (regardless of ethnic identity) or apply to [[citizenship|citizens]] of the country.

== Etymology ==
{{main|Name of Bosnia}}

According to the ''Bosniak'' entry in the [[Oxford English Dictionary]], the first preserved use of "Bosniak" in English was by English diplomat and historian [[Paul Rycaut]] in 1680 as ''Bosnack'', cognate with post-classical Latin ''Bosniacus'' (1682 or earlier), French ''Bosniaque'' (1695 or earlier) or German ''Bosniak'' (1737 or earlier).<ref name=OED>{{cite book |chapter-url= http://oed.com/search?searchType=dictionary&q={{urlencode:Bosniak}} |chapter= Bosniak |title= Oxford English Dictionary |publisher= Oxford University Press |edition=3rd |date=September 2005 |isbn=<!-- 0198611862 --> |ref=Reference-OED-Bosniak|title-link= Oxford English Dictionary }}</ref> The modern spelling is contained in the 1836 ''[[Penny Cyclopaedia]]'' V. 231/1: "''The inhabitants of Bosnia are composed of Bosniaks, a race of Sclavonian origin''".<ref name="Charles Knight 1836 231">{{cite book |author= Charles Knight |year= 1836 |title= The Penny Cyclopaedia |publisher=The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge |volume=V |page=231 |location= London |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=C6YrAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA231 }}</ref> In the Slavic languages, ''-ak'' is a common [[suffix]] appended to words to create a masculine noun, for instance also found in the ethnonym of [[Polish people|Poles]] (''Polak'') and [[Slovaks]] (''Slovák''). As such, "Bosniak" is etymologically equivalent to its non-ethnic counterpart "Bosnian" (which entered English around the same time via the Middle French, ''Bosnien''): a native of Bosnia.<ref name=OED2>{{cite book |chapter-url= http://oed.com/search?searchType=dictionary&q=Bosnian |chapter= Bosnian |title=Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |edition= 3rd |date=September 2005 |isbn=<!-- 0198611862 --> |ref=Reference-OED-Bosnian|title-link= Oxford English Dictionary }}</ref>

From the perspective of Bosniaks, ''bosanstvo'' (Bosnianhood) and ''bošnjaštvo'' (Bosniakhood) are closely and mutually interconnected, as Bosniaks connect their identity with Bosnia and Herzegovina.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AP7QCteb0o0C&pg=PA229|title=Immigrants in American History: Arrival, Adaptation, and Integration |author=Matjaž Klemenčič |chapter=Bosniaks (Muslims) and Bosniak Americans, 1870–1940|editor=Elliott Robert Barkan|year=2013|page=229|publisher= ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781598842197}}</ref>
 	
The earliest attestation to a Bosnian [[ethnonym]] emerged with the historical term ''"[[Bošnjani]]n"'' (Latin: ''Bosniensis'') which denoted the people of the [[History of Bosnia and Herzegovina (958–1463)|medieval Bosnian Kingdom]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KQkXAQAAIAAJ&q=called+the+bosnjani|title=''Myths and boundaries in south-eastern Europe''|author=Pål Kolstø |year=2005|publisher=Hurst & Co. |isbn=9781850657675}}, p. 120; ''..medieval Bosnia was a country of one people, of the single Bosnian people called the Bošnjani, who belonged to three confessions''.</ref> By the 15th century,<ref name=OED/> the suffix ''-(n)in'' had been replaced by ''-ak'' to create the current form ''Bošnjak'' (Bosniak), first attested in the diplomacy of Bosnian king [[Tvrtko II of Bosnia|Tvrtko II]] who in 1440 dispatched a delegation (''Apparatu virisque insignis'') to the Polish king of Hungary, [[Władysław Warneńczyk]] (1440–1444), asserting a common Slavic ancestry and language between the ''Bosniak'' and Pole.<ref>{{cite book|title=Poviest Bosne do propasti kraljevstva|url=https://archive.org/details/poviestbosnedop01klaigoog|author=Vjekoslav Klaić|publisher=Troškom piščevim|page=[https://archive.org/details/poviestbosnedop01klaigoog/page/n275 278]|year=1882|author-link = Vjekoslav Klaić}}; ''Bošnjakom isti pradjedovi bili, koji i Poljakom (the ancestors of the Bosniak, same as those of the Pole)''</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Jędrzej Moraczewski|title=Dzieje Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej|publisher=Nakładem i drukiem N. Kamieńskiego, 1844|volume=II|page=259|location=[[Poznań]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=el9IAAAAYAAJ&q=Bo%C5%9Bniacy|year=1844}}</ref><ref>Muhamed Hadžijahić – ''Od tradicije do identiteta: geneza nacionalnog pitanja bosanskih Muslimana'', 1974, p. 7; "Kralj Stjepan Tvrtković poslao je odmah ovome kralju "sjajno poslanstvo odličnih muževa", veli Vladislavov biograf pa nastavlja: "Ovi su, ispričavši porijeklo svoga plemena isticali, da su Bošnjacima bili isti pradjedovi kao i Poljacima te da im je zajednički jezik kojim govore i da se radi te srodnosti jezika i porijekla njihov kralj Tvrtko II živo raduje, što je Vladislav – kako se je pronio glas – sretan u svojim pothvatima"</ref> The [[Miroslav Krleža Lexicographical Institute]] thus defines ''Bosniak'' as "the name for the subjects of the Bosnian rulers in the pre-Ottoman era, subjects of the Sultans during the Ottoman era, and the current name for the most numerous of the three constituent peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosniak, as well as the older term ''Bošnjanin'' (in Lat. ''Bosnensis''), is originally a name defining the inhabitants of the medieval Bosnian state".<ref>Hrvatska enciklopedija (LZMK) – [http://www.enciklopedija.hr/Natuknica.aspx?ID=8952 Bošnjaci] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170114084114/http://www.enciklopedija.hr/Natuknica.aspx?ID=8952 |date=2017-01-14 }} {{blockquote|Bošnjaci, naziv za podanike bosanskih vladara u predosmansko doba, podanike sultana u osmansko doba, odnosno današnji naziv za najbrojniji od triju konstitutivnih naroda u BiH. Bošnjak, kao i stariji naziv Bošnjanin (u lat. vrelima Bosnensis), prvotno je ime koje označuje pripadništvo srednjovjekovnoj bosanskoj državi.}}</ref>

Linguists have most commonly proposed the [[toponym]] [[Bosnia (region)|Bosnia]] to be derived from the eponymous river ''[[Bosna (river)|Bosna]]''; believed to be a pre-Slavic [[hydronym]] in origin<ref name="Indira Šabić 2014 165–167">{{cite book|author=Indira Šabić|year=2014|title=Onomastička analiza bosanskohercegovačkih srednjovjekovnih administrativnih tekstova i stećaka|publisher=Sveučilište Josipa Jurja Strossmayera|pages=165–167|location=[[Osijek]]|url=http://web.ffos.hr/poslijediplomski/dat/s_128/File/Doktorska_teza_-_Indira_Sabic_-_finalna_verzija.pdf|access-date=2015-03-17|archive-date=2017-01-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170114084107/http://web.ffos.hr/poslijediplomski/dat/s_128/File/Doktorska_teza_-_Indira_Sabic_-_finalna_verzija.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Džavid Haverić|title=History of the Bosnian Muslim Community in Australia: Settlement Experience in Victoria|publisher=Institute for Community, Ethnicity and Policy Alternatives, ICEPA, Victoria University|page=17|url=http://vuir.vu.edu.au/2006/1/Dzavid_Haveric.pdf|year=2009|access-date=2015-03-16|archive-date=2015-03-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330021741/http://vuir.vu.edu.au/2006/1/Dzavid_Haveric.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and possibly mentioned for the first time during the 1st century AD by Roman historian [[Marcus Velleius Paterculus]] under the name ''Bathinus flumen''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Salmedin Mesihović|title=Ilirike |publisher=Filozofski fakultet u Sarajevu|page=80|location=[[Sarajevo]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cK83AwAAQBAJ |year=2014|isbn=9789958031106}}</ref> Another basic source associated with the hydronym ''Bathinus'' is the [[Salona|Salonitan]] inscription of the governor of Dalmatia, [[Publius Cornelius Dolabella (consul 10)|Publius Cornelius Dolabella]], where it is stated that the ''Bathinum'' river divides the [[Breuci]] from the [[Osseriates]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Salmedin Mesihović|title=AEVVM DOLABELLAE – DOLABELINO DOBA|publisher=Centar za balkanološka ispitivanja, Akademija nauka i umjetnosti|volume=XXXIX|page=10|location=[[Sarajevo]]|url=https://www.academia.edu/3613510|year=2010|access-date=2018-07-21|archive-date=2022-08-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808151855/https://www.academia.edu/3613510|url-status=live}}</ref>
 	
Some scholars also connect the Roman road station ''Ad Basante'', first attested in the 5th century ''[[Tabula Peutingeriana]]'', to Bosnia.<ref name="William Miller 1921 464">{{cite book|author= William Miller|title=Essays on the Latin Orient|page=464|location= Cambridge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0wpEBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA464|year=1921|isbn=9781107455535|author-link=William Miller (historian)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Denis Bašić|title=The roots of the religious, ethnic, and national identity of the Bosnian-Herzegovinan Muslims|publisher=University of Washington|year=2009|page=56|isbn=9781109124637|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RivPTByg2rMC&q=denis+basic+ad+basante&pg=PA56}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> According to the English medievalist [[William Miller (historian)|William Miller]] in the work ''Essays on the Latin Orient'' (1921), the Slavic settlers in Bosnia "adapted the Latin designation [...] Basante, to their own idiom by calling the stream Bosna and themselves Bosniaks [...]".<ref name="William Miller 1921 464"/>
 	
According to philologist Anton Mayer the name ''Bosna'' could essentially be derived from [[Illyrian language|Illyrian]] ''Bass-an-as(-ā)'' which would be a diversion of the Proto-Indo-European root *''bhoĝ''-, meaning "the running water".<ref name="Indira Šabić 2014 165">{{cite book|author=Indira Šabić|title=Onomastička analiza bosanskohercegovačkih srednjovjekovnih administrativnih tekstova i stećaka|publisher=Sveučilište Josipa Jurja Strossmayera|page=165|location=[[Osijek]]|url=http://web.ffos.hr/poslijediplomski/dat/s_128/File/Doktorska_teza_-_Indira_Sabic_-_finalna_verzija.pdf|year=2014|access-date=2015-03-17|archive-date=2017-01-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170114084107/http://web.ffos.hr/poslijediplomski/dat/s_128/File/Doktorska_teza_-_Indira_Sabic_-_finalna_verzija.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Croatian linguist, and one of the world's foremost onomastics experts, [[Petar Skok]] expressed an opinion that the chronological transformation of this hydronym from the Roman times to its final [[Slavicization]] occurred in the following order; *''Bassanus''> *''Bassenus''> *''Bassinus''> *''Bosina''> ''Bosьna''> ''Bosna''.<ref name="Indira Šabić 2014 165"/>
 	
Other theories involve the rare [[Latin]] term ''Bosina'', meaning boundary, and possible Slavic and Thracian origins.<ref name="Indira Šabić 2014 165–167"/><ref name="Muhsin Rizvić 1996 6">{{cite book|author=Muhsin Rizvić|title=Bosna i Bošnjaci: Jezik i pismo|publisher=Preporod|page=6|location=[[Sarajevo]]|url=http://www.muhsinrizvic.ba/sadrzaj/MRizvic-Bosna_i_Bosnjaci_%20jezik_i_pismo.pdf|year=1996|access-date=2015-03-11|archive-date=2017-10-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011121500/http://www.muhsinrizvic.ba/sadrzaj/MRizvic-Bosna_i_Bosnjaci_%20jezik_i_pismo.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Theories that advocates the link of the name Bosnia, and thus of the Bosniaks with the [[Early Slavs]] of northern Europe has initially been proposed by the 19th century historians [[Joachim Lelewel]] and [[Johann Kaspar Zeuss]], who considered the name of Bosnia to be derived from a Slavic ethnonym, [[Buzhans]] (Latin: ''Busani''), mentioned in the [[Primary Chronicle]] and by the [[Bavarian Geographer|Geographus Bavarus]] in his ''Description of cities and lands north of the Danube''. According to both Lelewel and Zeuss Buzhans settled in Bosnia.<ref>{{cite book|title=Géographie du moyen âge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5WdBAAAAYAAJ|author=Joachim Lelewel|volume=3-4|publisher=Ve et J. Pilleit|page=43|year=1852|author-link = Joachim Lelewel}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Die Deutschen und die Nachbarstämme|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_cx4QAAAAYAAJ_2|author=Johann Kaspar Zeuss|publisher=Ignaz Joseph Lentner|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_cx4QAAAAYAAJ_2/page/n531 615]|year=1837|author-link = Johann Kaspar Zeuss}}</ref> The theory of Slavic origin of the name Bosnia and its possible connection with the Slavic tribe of Buzhans, came also to be advocated by the 20th and 21st century Yugoslav and Bosnian historians such as [[Marko Vego]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Postanak srednjovjekovne bosanske države|url=https://www.scribd.com/document/66934376/Marko-Vego-Postanak-srednjovjekovne-bosanske-dr%C5%BEave|author=Marko Vego|publisher="Svjetlost", OOUR Izdavačka djelatnost|pages=20–21|year=1982|author-link=Marko Vego|access-date=2018-09-29|archive-date=2019-03-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324234814/https://www.scribd.com/document/66934376/Marko-Vego-Postanak-srednjovjekovne-bosanske-dr%C5%BEave|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Muhamed Hadžijahić]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Povijest Bosne u IX i X stoljeću|url=https://www.scribd.com/document/284043671/Muhamed-Had%C5%BEijahi%C4%87-Povijest-Bosne-u-IX-i-X-stolje%C4%87u|author=Muhamed Hadžijahić|page=113 & 164–165|year=2004|access-date=2018-09-29|archive-date=2021-03-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311200723/https://www.scribd.com/document/284043671/Muhamed-Had%C5%BEijahi%C4%87-Povijest-Bosne-u-IX-i-X-stolje%C4%87u|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Mustafa Imamović]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Historija Bošnjaka|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/123749059/Historija-Bosnjaka-Mustafa-Imamovic|author=Mustafa Imamović|publisher=Preporod|pages=24–25|access-date=2018-09-29|archive-date=2016-06-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624143013/https://www.scribd.com/doc/123749059/Historija-Bosnjaka-Mustafa-Imamovic|url-status=live}}</ref>    
 			
For the duration of [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman rule]], the word Bosniak came to refer to all inhabitants of Bosnia; the use of the term "Bosniak" at that time did not have a national meaning, but a regional one. When [[Austria-Hungary]] occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878, national identification was still a foreign concept to Bosnian Muslims.{{sfn|Bougarel|2017|p=10}} The inhabitants of Bosnia called themselves various names: from Bosniak, in the full spectrum of the word's meaning with a foundation as a territorial designation, through a series of regional and confessional names, all the way to modern-day national ones. In this regard, Christian Bosnians had not described themselves as either Serbs or Croats prior to the 19th century, and in particular before the Austrian occupation in 1878, when the current tri-ethnic reality of Bosnia and Herzegovina was configured based on religious affiliation.<ref>{{harvnb|Donia|Fine|1994|p=73}}: "Moreover, the translation of one's religious denomination to Serb or Croat nationality also had no relevance to the area's population, since Bosnians before the nineteenth century had not described themselves as either Serbs or Croats"</ref> Social anthropologist Tone Bringa develops that "Neither Bosniak, nor Croat, nor Serb identities can be fully understood with reference only to [[Islam]] or [[Christianity]] respectively, but have to be considered in a specific Bosnian context that has resulted in a shared history and locality among Bosnians of Islamic as well as Christian backgrounds."<ref name=shatzmiller>{{cite book|last=Shatzmiller|first=Maya|title=Islam and Bosnia: Conflict Resolution and Foreign Policy in Multi-Ethnic States|year=2002|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press|isbn=978-0-7735-2413-2|page=32}}</ref>

== Origins ==
{{See also|Early history of Bosnia and Herzegovina}}

The [[Early Slavs]], a people from northeastern Europe, settled the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina (and neighboring regions) after the sixth century (amid the [[Migration Period]]), and were composed of small tribal units drawn from a single Slavic confederation known to the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]] as the ''[[Sclaveni]]'' (whilst the related ''[[Antes people|Antes]]'', roughly speaking, colonized the eastern portions of the Balkans).{{sfn|Donia|Fine|1994|p=?}}<ref>Hupchick, Dennis P. ''The Balkans from Constantinople to Communism'', pp. 28–30. Palgrave Macmillan (2004)</ref>

Recent Anglophone scholarship has tended to downplay the role of migrations. For example Timothy Gregory conjectures that "It is now generally agreed that the people who lived in the Balkans after the Slavic "invasions" were probably for the most part the same as those who had lived there earlier, although the creation of new political groups and arrival of small numbers of immigrants caused people to look at themselves as distinct from their neighbours, including the Byzantines."<ref>T. E. Gregory, ''A History of Byzantium''. Wiley- Blackwell, 2010. p. 169</ref> However, the archaeological evidence paints a picture of widespread depopulation, perhaps a tactical re-settlement of Byzantine populations from provincial hinterlands to Coastal towns after 620 CE.<ref>The Beginning of the Middle Ages in the Balkans. Millenium, 2010. Florin Curta. "The archaeological evidence is incontrovertible: during the seventh century, the Balkans, especially the central and northern areas seem to have experienced something of a demographic collapse, with large tracts of land left without any inhabitants. The first open, rural settlements in the Balkans in more than 150 years appeared in the north, along the valley of the river Danube, and were most likely in the borderlands of the Avar qaganate and its sphere of influence."</ref>

In former Yugoslav historiography, a second migration of "Serb" and "Croat" tribes (variously placed in the 7th to 9th century) is viewed as that of elites imposing themselves on a more numerous and 'amorphous' Slavic populace,{{sfn|Donia|Fine|1994|p=?}}{{sfn|Fine|1991|p=?}}<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gbUlnaHlHS0C&pg=PA404|title=Empires and Barbarians: The Fall of Rome and the Birth of Europe|author=Heather, Peter |year=2010 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=9780199752720}}, pp. 404–406</ref> however such a paradigm needs to be clarified empirically.

Eighth century sources mention early Slavophone polities, such as the ''[[Guduscani]]'' in northern Dalmatia, the principality of [[Slavs in Lower Pannonia]], and that of Serbs (''Sorabos'') who were 'said to hold much of Dalmatia'.<ref>The Origin of the Royal Frankish Annal's Information about the Serbs in Dalmatia.Tibor Zivkovic. УДК: 94(=163.41)(497.13)"08"(093)</ref>

The earliest reference to Bosnia as such is the ''De Administrando Imperio'', written by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus (r. 913–959). At the end of chapter 32 ("Of the Serbs and of the country they now dwell in"), after a detailed  political history,  Porphyrogenitus asserts that the prince of Serbia has always submitted himself to Rome, in preference to Rome's regional rivals, the Bulgarians. He then gives two lists of ''kastra oikoumena'' (inhabited cities), the first being those "''en tē baptismenē serbia''" (in baptized Serbia; six listed), the second being "''εἱς τὸ χορίον Βόσονα, τὸ Κάτερα καί τὸ Δεσνήκ'' / ''eis to chorion Bosona, to Katera kai to Desnēk''" (in the territory of Bosona, [the cities of] Katera and Desnik).<ref>''De administrando imperio''. Constantine Porphyrogenitus. Washington, 1993; repr. of 1967 edition, Dumbarton Oaks Texts #1, pp. 160 & 161. Online at https://archive.org/details/porphyrogenitus-1967-dai/page/161/mode/2up</ref>

To Tibor Zivkovic, this suggests that from a tenth century Byzantine viewpoint, Bosnia was a territory within the principality of Serbia.<ref>On the Beginnings of Bosnia in the Middle Ages. Tibor Zivkovic. Spomenica akademika Marka Šunjića (1927 – 1998), Sarajevo 2010, 161-180</ref> The implicit distinction made by Porphyrogenitus between "baptised Serbia" and the territory of Bosona is noteworthy.

Subsequently, Bosnia might have been nominally vassaled to various rulers from Croatia and Duklja, but by the end of the twelfth century it came to form an independent unit under an autonomous ruler, [[Ban Kulin]], who called himself Bosnian.{{sfn|Fine|1991|p=53}}

In the 14th century a Bosnian kingdom centered on the river Bosna emerged. Its people, when not using local (county, regional) names, called themselves Bosnians.<ref name="lrb.co.uk"/>{{sfn|Pinson|1994|p=19}}

Following the conquest of Bosnia by the [[Ottoman Empire]] in the mid-15th century, there was a rapid and extensive wave of conversion from Christianity to Islam, and by the early 1600s roughly two thirds of Bosnians were Muslim.{{sfn|Malcolm|1996|p=71}}<ref>{{cite book |title= Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire |author1=Gábor Ágoston |author2=Alan Masters |year=2009 |page=146 |publisher= Infobase Publishing |isbn=9781438110257 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=QjzYdCxumFcC&pg=PA146 }}</ref> In addition, a smaller number of converts from outside Bosnia were in time assimilated into the common Bosniak unit. These included [[Croats]] (mainly from [[Turkish Croatia]]), the Muslims of [[Slavonia]] who fled to Bosnia  following the [[Austro-Turkish War (1683–1699)|Austro-Turkish war]]), Serbian and Montenegrin [[Muhacir]]s (in [[Sandžak]] particularly Islamicized descendants of the [[Old Herzegovina|Old Herzegovinian]] and highlander tribes from [[Brda, Montenegro|Brda region]], such as [[Rovčani]], [[Moračani]], [[Drobnjaci]] and [[Kuči]]), and slavicized [[Vlachs]],<ref name="Imamović, Mustafa 1997">{{cite book |url= https://www.scribd.com/doc/138592157/Historija-Bosnjaka-Mustafa-Imamovic#scribd |title= ''Historija Bošnjaka: Osmanska država i islamska civilizacija'' |author= Imamović, Mustafa |year= 1997 |publisher= Bošnjačka zajednica kulture Preporod, Matični odbor |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170224125702/https://www.scribd.com/doc/138592157/Historija-Bosnjaka-Mustafa-Imamovic#scribd |archive-date= 2017-02-24 }}, pp. 199.</ref> [[Albanians]]<ref name="Imamović, Mustafa 1997"/> and German [[Saxons]].<ref name="Imamović, Mustafa 1997"/>

=== Genetics ===
{{See also|Genetic studies on Bosniaks}}

[[File:PLOS 3.PNG|thumb|right|Genetic structure of Bosnians within European context according to three genetic systems: Autosomal DNA (A), Y-DNA (B) and mtDNA (C) per Kushniarevich et al. (2015)]]

According to 2013 [[Autosome|autosomal]] [[Identity by descent|IBD]] survey "of recent genealogical ancestry over the past 3,000 years at a continental scale", the speakers of [[Serbo-Croatian language]] share a very high number of common ancestors dated to the [[migration period]] approximately 1,500 years ago with [[Poland]] and [[Romania]]-[[Bulgaria]] cluster among others in [[Eastern Europe]]. It is concluded to be caused by the [[Huns|Hunnic]] and Slavic expansion, which was a "relatively small population that expanded over a large geographic area", particularly "the expansion of the Slavic populations into regions of low population density beginning in the sixth century" and that it is "highly coincident with the modern distribution of Slavic languages".<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Ralph P |title=The Geography of Recent Genetic Ancestry across Europe |journal=[[PLOS Biology]] |volume=11 |issue=5 |year=2013 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001555 |ref={{harvid|Ralph et al.|2013}} |pages=e105090 |pmid=23667324 |pmc=3646727 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The 2015 IBD analysis found that the South Slavs have lower proximity to [[Greeks]] than with [[East Slavs]] and [[West Slavs]], and "even patterns of IBD sharing among East-West Slavs–'inter-Slavic' populations ([[Hungarians]], [[Romanians]] and [[Gagauz people|Gagauz]])–and South Slavs, i.e. across an area of assumed historic movements of people including Slavs". The slight peak of shared IBD segments between South and East-West Slavs suggests a shared "Slavonic-time ancestry".<ref name="Kushniarevich">{{cite journal |last1=Kushniarevich |first1=A |last2=Utevska |first2=O |last3=Chuhryaeva |first3=M |display-authors=etal |year=2015| title=Genetic Heritage of the Balto-Slavic Speaking Populations: A Synthesis of Autosomal, Mitochondrial and Y-Chromosomal Data |journal=[[PLOS ONE]] |volume=10 |issue=9 |at=e0135820 |pmid=26332464 |pmc=4558026 |bibcode=2015PLoSO..1035820K |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0135820 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

An [[Autosome|autosomal]] analysis study of 90 samples showed that Western Balkan populations had a genetic uniformity, intermediate between South Europe and Eastern Europe, in line with their geographic location. According to the same study, Bosnians (together with Croatians) are by autosomal DNA closest to East European populations and overlap mostly with [[Hungarians]].<ref name="Kovacevic e105090">{{Cite journal|last1=Kovacevic|first1=Lejla |last2=Tambets|first2=Kristiina|last3=Ilumäe|first3=Anne-Mai|last4=Kushniarevich|first4=Alena|last5=Yunusbayev|first5=Bayazit|last6=Solnik|first6=Anu|last7=Bego|first7=Tamer|last8=Primorac|first8=Dragan|last9=Skaro |first9=Vedrana|date=2014-08-22|title=Standing at the Gateway to Europe - The Genetic Structure of Western Balkan Populations Based on Autosomal and Haploid Markers|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=9|issue=8|pages=e105090 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0105090 |issn=1932-6203|pmc=4141785|pmid=25148043|bibcode=2014PLoSO...9j5090K|doi-access=free}}</ref> In the 2015 analysis, Bosnians formed a western South Slavic cluster with the Croatians and Slovenians in comparison to eastern cluster formed by Macedonians and Bulgarians with Serbians in the middle. The western cluster (Bosnians included) has an inclination toward Hungarians, [[Czechs]], and [[Slovaks]], while the eastern cluster toward Romanians and some extent Greeks.<ref name="Kushniarevich"/> Based on analysis of [[Identity by descent|IBD]] sharing, Middle Eastern populations most likely did not contribute to genetics in Islamicized populations in the Western Balkans, including Bosniaks, as these share similar patterns with neighboring Christian populations.<ref name="Kovacevic e105090"/>

Y-DNA studies on Bosniaks (in Bosnia and Herzegovina) show close affinity to other neighboring [[South Slavs]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Novembre |first1=J |last2=Johnson |first2=T |last3=Bryc |first3=K |display-authors=etal |date=November 2008| title=Genes mirror geography within Europe |journal=Nature |volume=456 |issue=7218| pages=98–101 |doi=10.1038/nature07331 |pmid=18758442 |pmc=2735096 |bibcode=2008Natur.456...98N}}</ref> [[Y-DNA]] results show notable frequencies of [[Haplogroup I-M438|I2]] with 43.50% (especially its subclade I2-CTS10228+), [[R-M17|R1a]] with 15.30% (mostly its two subclades R1a-CTS1211+ and R1a-M458+), [[E-V13]] with 12.90% and [[J-M410]] with 8.70%. Y-DNA studies done for the majority Bosniak populated city of [[Zenica]] and [[Tuzla Canton]], shows however a drastic increase of the two major haplogroups I2 and R1a. Haplogroup I2 scores 52.20% in Zenica (Peričić et al., 2005) and 47% in Tuzla Canton (Dogan et al., 2016), while R1a increases up to 24.60% and 23% in respective region.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Peričić |first1=M |last2=Barać Lauc |first2=L |last3=Martinović |first3=I |display-authors=etal |year=2005 |title=High-Resolution Phylogenetic Analysis of Southeastern Europe Traces Major Episodes of Paternal Gene Flow Among Slavic Populations |url=http://svetlost.org/podaci/y_hromozom_beograd_i_balkan.pdf |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=22 |issue=10 |page=1966 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msi185 |pmid=15944443 |access-date=2019-04-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808162236/http://svetlost.org/podaci/y_hromozom_beograd_i_balkan.pdf |archive-date=2017-08-08 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dogan |first1=S |last2=Babic |first2=N |last3=Gurkan |first3=C |display-authors=etal |year=2016| title=Y-chromosomal haplogroup distribution in the Tuzla Canton of Bosnia and Herzegovina: A concordance study using four different in silico assignment algorithms based on Y-STR data |journal=Journal HOMO of Comparative Human Biology |volume=67 |issue=6 |pages=471–483 |doi=10.1016/j.jchb.2016.10.003 |pmid=27908490}}</ref> Haplogroup I2a-CTS10228, which is the most common haplogroup among Bosniaks and other neighbouring South Slavic populations, was found in one archeogenetic sample (Sungir 6) (~900 YBP) near Vladimir, western [[Russia]] which belonged to the I-CTS10228>S17250>Y5596>Z16971>Y5595>A16681 subclade.<ref name=pmid28982795>{{cite journal |doi=10.1126/science.aao1807 |pmid=28982795 |title=Ancient genomes show social and reproductive behavior of early Upper Paleolithic foragers |journal=Science |volume=358 |issue=6363 |pages=659–662 |year=2017 |last1=Sikora |first1=Martin |last2=Seguin-Orlando |first2=Andaine |last3=Sousa |first3=Vitor C |last4=Albrechtsen |first4=Anders |last5=Korneliussen |first5=Thorfinn |last6=Ko |first6=Amy |last7=Rasmussen |first7=Simon |last8=Dupanloup |first8=Isabelle |last9=Nigst |first9=Philip R |last10=Bosch |first10=Marjolein D |last11=Renaud |first11=Gabriel |last12=Allentoft |first12=Morten E |last13=Margaryan |first13=Ashot |last14=Vasilyev |first14=Sergey V |last15=Veselovskaya |first15=Elizaveta V |last16=Borutskaya |first16=Svetlana B |last17=Deviese |first17=Thibaut |last18=Comeskey |first18=Dan |last19=Higham |first19=Tom |last20=Manica |first20=Andrea |last21=Foley |first21=Robert |last22=Meltzer |first22=David J |last23=Nielsen |first23=Rasmus |last24=Excoffier |first24=Laurent |last25=Mirazon Lahr |first25=Marta |last26=Orlando |first26=Ludovic |last27=Willerslev |first27=Eske |bibcode=2017Sci...358..659S |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.yfull.com/tree/I-A16681/|title=I-A16681 YTree v8.06.01|date=27 June 2020|publisher=YFull.com|access-date=17 July 2020|archive-date=18 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718153707/https://www.yfull.com/tree/I-A16681/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was also found in skeletal remains with artifacts, indicating leaders, of [[Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin|Hungarian conquerors]] of the [[Carpathian Basin]] from the 9th century, part of Western Eurasian-Slavic component of the Hungarians.<ref name="Fóthi">{{cite journal |last1=Török |first1=Tibor |last2=Zink |first2=Albert |last3=Raskó |first3=István |last4=Pálfi |first4=György |last5=Kustár |first5=Ágnes |last6=Pap |first6=Ildikó |last7=Fóthi |first7=Erzsébet |last8=Nagy |first8=István |last9=Bihari |first9=Péter |date=2018-10-18 |title=Mitogenomic data indicate admixture components of Central-Inner Asian and Srubnaya origin in the conquering Hungarians |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=13 |issue=10 |at=e0205920 |bibcode=2018PLoSO..1305920N |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0205920 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=6193700 |pmid=30335830|doi-access=free }}</ref> According to Fóthi ''et al.'' (2020), the distribution of ancestral subclades like of I-CTS10228 among contemporary carriers indicates a rapid expansion from [[Lesser Poland|Southeastern Poland]], is mainly related to the Slavs, and the "largest demographic explosion occurred in the Balkans".<ref name="Fóthi"/> [[Principal component analysis]] of Y-chromosomal haplogroup frequencies among the three ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks, showed that Bosnian Serbs and Bosniaks are by Y-DNA closer to each other than either of them is to Bosnian Croats.<ref>{{cite journal | year=2005 | last1=Marjanović | first1=D | last2=Fornarino | first2=S | last3=Montagna | first3=S | last4=Primorac |first4=D | last5=Hadžiselimović | first5=R | last6=Vidović | first6=S | last7=Pojskić | first7=N | last8=Battaglia | first8=V | last9=Achilli | first9=A | last10=Drobnić | first10=K. | last11=Andjelinović | first11=S. |last12=Torroni | first12=A. | last13=Santachiara-Benerecetti | first13=A. S. | last14=Semino | first14=O. | display-authors=3| title=The peopling of modern Bosnia-Herzegovina: Y-chromosome haplogroups in the three main ethnic groups | volume=69 | issue=Pt 6 | pages=757–63 | doi=10.1111/j.1529-8817.2005.00190.x | journal=Annals of Human Genetics | pmid=16266413| s2cid=36632274 }}</ref>

In addition, [[mtDNA]] studies shows that the Bosnian population partly share similarities with other Southern European populations (especially with mtDNA haplogroups such as pre-HV (today known as [[Haplogroup R0 (mtDNA)|mtDNA haplogroup R0]]), HV2 and U1), but are for the mostly featured by a huge combination of mtDNA subclusters that indicates a consanguinity with Central and Eastern Europeans, such as modern [[Germans|German]], [[West Slavs|West Slavic]], [[East Slavs|East Slavic]] and [[Finno-Ugric peoples|Finno-Ugric]] populations. There is especially the observed similarity between Bosnian, [[Russians|Russian]] and [[Finns|Finnish]] samples (with mtDNA subclusters such as U5b1, Z, H-16354, H-16263, U5b-16192-16311 and U5a-16114A). The huge differentiation between Bosnian and Slovene samples of mtDNA subclusters that are also observed in Central and Eastern Europe, may suggests a broader genetic heterogeneity among the Slavs that settled the Western Balkans during the early Middle Ages.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Malyarchuk | first1 = B.A. | last2 = Grzybowski | first2 = T. | last3 = Derenko | first3 = M. V. | display-authors = etal   | year = 2003 | title = Mitochondrial DNA Variability in Bosnians and Slovenes | journal = Annals of Human Genetics | volume = 67| issue = 5| pages = 412–425 | doi= 10.1046/j.1469-1809.2003.00042.x| pmid= 12940915| s2cid = 2105448 }}</ref> The 2019 study of ethnic groups of Tuzla Canton of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs) found "close gene similarity among maternal gene pools of the ethnic groups of Tuzla Canton", which is "suggesting similar effects of the paternal and maternal gene flows on genetic structure of the three main ethnic groups of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina".<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Ahmić | first1 = A. | last2 = Hadžiselimović | first2 = R. | last3 = Silajdžić | first3 = E. | last4= Mujkić | first4= I. | last5= Pojskić | first5= N. | display-authors = etal | date = June 2019 | title = MtDNA variations in three main ethnic groups in Tuzla Canton of Bosnia and Herzegovina | journal = Genetics & Applications | volume = 3 | issue = 1 | pages = 13–23 | doi= 10.31383/ga.vol3iss1pp14-23| doi-access = free }}</ref>

== Identity ==

[[File:The Bosniak institute located in Sarajevo.jpg|thumb|upright|right|The [[Bosniak Institute]] located in the city of [[Sarajevo]].]]

Bosniaks are generally defined as the [[South Slavic peoples|South Slavic]] nation on the territory of the former [[Yugoslavia]] whose members identify themselves with Bosnia and Herzegovina as their ethnic state and are part of such a common nation, and of whom a majority are [[Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Muslim]] by religion. Nevertheless, leaders and intellectuals of the Bosniak community may have various perceptions of what it means to be Bosniak. Some may point to an Islamic heritage, while others stress the purely secular and national character of the Bosniak identity and its connection with Bosnian territory and history.<ref>{{cite book|title=Religion and the Cold War: A Global Perspective |editor=Philip Emil Muehlenbeck|page=183|publisher=Vanderbilt University Press|year=2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ytEC2bOstFUC|isbn=9780826518521}}</ref> Moreover, individuals outside Bosnia and Herzegovina may hold their own personal interpretations as well. Some people, such as Montenegrin Abdul Kurpejović, recognize an Islamic component in the Bosniak identity but see it as referring exclusively to the Slavic Muslims in Bosnia.<ref name=Dimitrovova>Dimitrovova, Bohdana. [http://www.seep.ceu.hu/issue22/dimitrovova.pdf "Bosniak or Muslim? Dilemma of one Nation with two Names."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090916110649/http://www.seep.ceu.hu/issue22/dimitrovova.pdf |date=2009-09-16}}. ''Southeast European Politics'', Vol. II, No. 2. October 2001.</ref> Still others consider all Slavic Muslims in the former Yugoslavia (i.e. including the [[Gorani (Kosovo)|Gorani]]) to be Bosniaks.<ref name=Bajrami>Bajrami, Kerim. [http://nasagora.info/reagovanje.html "Reagovanje na članak: Uz 90 godina od slavne Bitke za Čanakkale."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060325232808/http://nasagora.info/reagovanje.html |date=2006-03-25}} ''Našagora.info''.</ref>

Although the official policy of the [[Austria-Hungary|Austrian-Hungarian]] government in Bosnia and Herzegovina was the promotion of the Bosniak identity, only a small number of Muslim notables accepted the idea of Bosniak nationhood.{{sfn|Bougarel|2017|p=15}}

In [[Yugoslavia]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2wd30pXJxpYC&pg=PA476|title=The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World 2nd. ed.|editor=J. Krieger |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2001|page=476|isbn=9780195117394}}</ref> there was no official recognition of a special Bosnian Muslim ethnicity.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3-qjT00IDIQC&pg=PA65|title=Ambivalent Peace: External Peacebuilding, Threatened Identity and Reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina|last=Kostic|first=Roland|year=2007|publisher=Uppsala University; Report No. 78, Department of Peace and Conflict Research and the Programme for Holocaust and Genocide Studies|page=65|isbn=9789150619508}}</ref> The Constitution of Yugoslavia was amended in 1968 to introduce a [[Muslims (ethnic group)|Muslim]] national group for Serbo-Croatian speaking Muslims; effectively recognizing a constitutive nation. Prior to this, the great majority of Bosnian Muslims had declared either ''Ethnically Undecided Muslim'' or – to a lesser extent – ''Undecided Yugoslav'' in censuses pertaining to Yugoslavia as the other available options were ''Serb-Muslim'' and ''[[Croat Muslims|Croat-Muslim]]''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Religion and the Cold War: A Global Perspective|editor=Philip Emil Muehlenbeck|page=184|publisher=Vanderbilt University Press|year=2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ytEC2bOstFUC|isbn=9780826518521}}</ref> Although it achieved recognition as a distinct nation by an alternative name, the use of ''Muslim'' as an ethnic designation was opposed early on as it sought to label Bosniaks a religious group instead of an ethnic one.

During the World War II, Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of the [[Independent State of Croatia]] (NDH), and majority of Bosnian Muslims considered themselves to be ethnic Croats.{{sfn|Redžić|2005|p=45}}

Even in the early 1990s, a vast majority of Bosnian Muslims considered themselves to be ethnic [[Muslims (ethnic group)|Muslims]], rather than Bosniaks. According to a poll from 1990, only 1.8% of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina supported the idea of Bosniak national identity, while 17% considered that the name encompasses all of the inhabitants of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their main political party, the [[Party of Democratic Action]], rejected the idea of Bosniak identity and managed to expel those that promoted it. The supporters of the Bosniak nationhood established their own political party, the [[Muslim Bosniak Organisation]], and received only 1.1% of the votes during the 1990 general election.{{sfn|Bougarel|2009|p=125}}

On 27 September 1993, however, after the leading political, cultural, and religious representatives of Bosnian Muslims held an assembly and at the same time when they rejected the [[Peace plans proposed before and during the Bosnian War#Owen–Stoltenberg plan|Owen–Stoltenberg peace plan]] adopted the Bosniak name deciding to "return to our people their historical and national name of Bosniaks, to tie ourselves in this way for our country of Bosnia and its state-legal tradition, for our Bosnian language and all spiritual tradition of our history". The main reasons for the SDA to adopt the Bosniak identity, only three years after expelling the supporters of the idea from their party ranks, however, was due to reasons of foreign policy. One of the leading SDA figures [[Džemaludin Latić]], the editor of the official gazette of the party, commented the decision stating that: "In Europe, he who doesn't have a national name, doesn't have a country" and that "we must be Bosniaks, that what we are, in order to survive in our country". The decision to adopt the Bosniak identity was largely influenced by the change of opinion of the former communist intellectuals such as [[Atif Purivatra]], [[Alija Isaković]] and those who were a part of the pan-Islamists such as [[Rusmir Mahmutćehajić]] (who was a staunch opponent of Bosniak identity), all of whom saw the changing of the name to Bosniak as a way to connect the Bosnian Muslims to the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina.{{sfn|Bougarel|2009|p=128}}

In other ex-Yugoslav countries with significant Slavic Muslim populations, adoption of the Bosniak name has been less consistent. The effects of this phenomenon can best be seen in the censuses. For instance, the 2003 Montenegrin census recorded 48,184 people who registered as Bosniaks and 28,714 who registered as Muslim by nationality. Although Montenegro's Slavic Muslims form one ethnic community with a shared culture and history, this community is divided on whether to register as Bosniaks (''i.e.'' adopt Bosniak national identity) or as Muslims by nationality.<ref name=Dimitrovova/> Similarly, the 2002 Slovenian census recorded 8,062 people who registered as Bosnians, presumably highlighting (in large part) the decision of many secular Bosniaks to primarily identify themselves in that way (a situation somewhat comparable to the ''[[Yugoslavs|Yugoslav]]'' option during the [[History of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1945–1992)|socialist period]]). However, such people comprise a minority (even in countries such as [[Montenegro]] where it is a significant political issue) while the great majority of Slavic Muslims in the [[former Yugoslavia]] have adopted the Bosniak national name.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto; text-align: right;""
|colspan="14" align=center style="background:#778899; color:white"|''' Muslims in [[SFR Yugoslavia]]'''
|-
! Republic || 1971 || 1981 || 1991
|-
| [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] || 1,482,430 (39.6%) || 1,630,033 (39.5%) || 1,902,956 (43.5%)
|-
| [[Serbia]] || 154,364 (1.8%) || 215,166 (2.3%) || 246,411 (2.5%)
|-
| [[Montenegro]] || 70,236 (13.3%) || 78,080 (13.4%) || 89,614 (14.6%)
|-
| [[Croatia]] || 18,457 (0.4%) || 23,740 (0.5%) || 43,469 (0.9%)
|-
| [[Republic of Macedonia|Macedonia]] || 1,248 (0.1%) || 39,512 (2.1%) || 35,256 (1.7%)
|-
| [[Slovenia]] || 3,197 (0.2%) || 13,425 (0.7%) || 26,867 (1.4%)
|-
! [[SFRY|Yugoslavia]] || 1,729,932 (8.4%) || 1,999,957 (8.9%) || 2,344,573 (10.0%)
|}

=== Relation to Croat and Serb nationalism ===
{{seealso|Bosniaks of Croatia|Bosniaks of Serbia|Croat Muslims|Serb Muslims}}
As a melting ground for confrontations between different religions, national mythologies, and concepts of statehood, much of the [[historiography]] of [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] has since the 19th century been the subject of competing Serb and Croat nationalist claims part of wider Serbian and Croatian hegemonic aspirations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, inherently interwoven into the complex nature of the [[Bosnian War]] at the end of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/beingmuslimbosni00brin|url-access=registration|title=Being Muslim the Bosnian Way|first=Tone|last=Bringa|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1995|page=[https://archive.org/details/beingmuslimbosni00brin/page/13 13]|isbn=978-0691001753}}</ref>
As [[Andras Riedlmayer]]s's research for the Hague Tribunal demonstrates: ''What happened in Bosnia is not just genocide, the willful destruction of the essential foundations of one particular community or group of people within a society'' ''[....]'' ''What happened in Bosnia is also described as sociocide, the murdering of a progressive, complex, and enlightened society in order that a regressive, simple, and bigoted society could replace it.''<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vm_0jGbX72EC&pg=PA129|title= Understanding Evil: Lessons from Bosnia|first=Keith|last=Doubt|publisher=Fordham University Press|year=2006|pages=129–30|isbn= 9780823227006}}</ref>

According to Mitja Velikonja, Bosnia and Herzegovina constitutes "a historical entity which has its own identity and its own history".{{sfn|Velikonja|2003|p=8}} Robert Donia claims that as Serbia and Croatia only occupied parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina briefly in the Middle Ages, neither have any serious historical claims to Bosnia.{{sfn|Donia|Fine|1994|p=8}} Moreover, Donia states that although Bosnia did interact with its Serb and Croat neighbors over the centuries, it had a very different history and culture from them.{{sfn|Donia|Fine|1994|p=7}} 12th-century Byzantine historian [[John Kinnamos]] reported that Bosnia was not subordinated to the Grand Count of Serbia; rather the Bosnians ''had their own distinct way of life and government''.{{sfn|Donia|Fine|1994|p=16}} The expert on medieval Balkan history [[John Van Antwerp Fine Jr.|John V.A. Fine]] reports that the [[Bošnjani|Bosnians]] (''Bošnjani'') have been a distinct people since at least the 10th century.<ref name="lrb.co.uk">{{cite news|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v16/n08/john-fine/what-is-a-bosnian|title=What is a Bosnian?|author=John VA Fine|publisher=London Review of Books; Vol.16 No.8. 28 April 1994|pages=9–10|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20140113024138/http://www.lrb.co.uk/v16/n08/john-fine/what-is-a-bosnian|archive-date=13 January 2014|newspaper=London Review of Books|date=1994-04-28}}</ref>

It is noted that writers on nationalism in Yugoslavia or the Bosnian War tend to ignore or overlook the Bosnian Muslim ideology and activity and see them as victims of other nationalisms and not nationalistic themselves.{{sfn|Hamourtziadou|2002}}

== History ==
{{main|History of the Bosniaks}}
{{see also|History of Bosnia and Herzegovina}}

=== Middle Ages ===
{{main|Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Middle Ages}}
{{see also|Early history of Bosnia and Herzegovina}}

==== Arrival of the Slavs ====

The western Balkans had been reconquered from "[[Barbarians in the Byzantine Empire|barbarians]]" by Byzantine Emperor [[Justinian]] (r. 527–565). [[Sclaveni]] (Slavs) raided the western Balkans, including Bosnia, in the 6th century.{{sfn|Fine|1991|p=32}} The ''[[De Administrando Imperio]]'' (DAI; ca. 960) mentions Bosnia ({{lang|el|Βοσωνα}}/Bosona) as a "small/little land" (or "small country",{{sfn|Kaimakamova|Salamon|2007|p=244}} {{lang|el|χοριον Βοσωνα}}/horion Bosona) part of Byzantium,{{sfn|Kaimakamova|Salamon|2007|p=244}} having been settled by Slavic groups along with the [[Bosna (river)|river Bosna]], [[Zahumlje]] and [[Travunija]] (both with territory in modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina); This is the first mention of a Bosnian entity; it was not a national entity, but a geographical one, mentioned strictly as an integral part of Byzantium.{{sfn|Kaimakamova|Salamon|2007|p=244}} Some scholars assert that the inclusion of Bosnia in Serbia merely reflect the status in DAI's time.{{sfn|Basic|2009|p=123}} In the Early Middle Ages, Fine, Jr. believes that what is today western Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of [[Duchy of Croatia|Croatia]], while the rest was divided between Croatia and [[Principality of Serbia (early medieval)|Serbia]].{{sfn|Fine|1991|p=53}}

After the death of Serbian ruler [[Časlav]] (r. ca. 927–960), Bosnia seems to have broken away from the Serbian state and became politically independent.{{sfn|Bulić|2013|p=157}} Bulgaria briefly subjugated Bosnia at the turn of the 10th century, after which it became part of the Byzantine Empire.{{sfn|Bulić|2013|p=157}} In the 11th century, Bosnia was part of the Serbian state of [[Duklja]].{{sfn|Bulić|2013|p=157}}{{sfn|Fine|1991|p=202}}

In 1137, the Kingdom of Hungary annexed most of the [[Bosnia (region)|Bosnia region]], then briefly lost it in 1167 to Byzantium before regaining her in the 1180s. Prior to 1180 (the reign of [[Ban Kulin]]) parts of Bosnia were briefly found in Serb or Croat units.{{sfn|Donia|Fine|1994|pp=14–16}} Anto Babić notes that "Bosnia is mentioned on several occasions as a land of equal importance and on the same footing as all other [South Slavic] lands of this area."<ref>Anto Babić, Iz istorije srednjovjekovne Bosne, (Sarajevo:Svjetlost,1972), p. 64.</ref>

==== Banate of Bosnia and the Bosnian Church ====
{{main|Banate of Bosnia|Bosnian Church}}

[[File:BiH, Radimlja necropolis 2.jpg|thumb|right|[[Stećci|Medieval monumental tombstones (''Stećci'')]] that lie scattered across Bosnia and Herzegovina are historically associated with the Bosnian Church movement]]

Christian missions emanating from Rome and Constantinople had since the ninth century pushed into the Balkans and firmly established Catholicism in Croatia, while Orthodoxy came to prevail in Bulgaria, Macedonia, and eventually most of Serbia. Bosnia, lying in between, remained a no-man's land due to its mountainous terrain and poor communications. By the twelfth century most Bosnians were probably influenced by a nominal form of Catholicism characterized by a widespread illiteracy and, not least, lack of knowledge in Latin amongst Bosnian clergymen. Around this period, Bosnian independence from [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungarian overlordship]] was effected during the reign (1180–1204) of [[Kulin Ban]] whose rule marked the start of a religiopolitical controversy involving the native [[Bosnian Church]]. The Hungarians, frustrated by Bosnia's assertion of independence, successfully denigrated its patchy Christianity as [[heresy]]; in turn rendering a pretext to reassert their authority in Bosnia. Hungarian efforts to gain the loyalty and cooperation of the Bosnians by attempting to establish religious jurisdiction over Bosnia failed however, inciting the Hungarians to persuade the papacy to declare a crusade: finally invading Bosnia and warring there between 1235 and 1241. Experiencing various gradual success against stubborn Bosnian resistance, the Hungarians eventually withdrew weakened by a [[Mongols|Mongol]] attack on Hungary. On the request of the Hungarians, Bosnia was subordinated to a Hungarian archbishop by the pope, though rejected by the Bosnians, the Hungarian-appointed bishop was driven out of Bosnia. The Bosnians, rejecting ties with international Catholicism came to consolidate their own independent church, known as the [[Bosnian Church]], condemned as heretical by both the [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] churches. Though scholars have traditionally claimed the church to be of a [[Dualistic cosmology|dualist]], or neo-[[Manichaean]] or [[Bogomil]] nature (characterized by the rejection of an omnipotent God, the Trinity, church buildings, the cross, the cult of saints, and religious art), some, such as John Fine, have stressed domestic evidence indicating the retention of basic Catholic theology throughout the Middle Ages.{{sfn|Pinson|1994|pp=4–8}} Most scholars agree that adherents of the church referred to themselves by a number of names; ''dobri Bošnjani'' or ''Bošnjani'' ("good Bosnians" or simply "Bosnians"), ''Krstjani'' (Christians), ''dobri mužje'' (good men), ''dobri ljudi'' (good people) and ''boni homines'' (following the example of a dualist group in Italy). Catholic sources refer to them as ''patarini'' ([[Cathars|patarenes]]), while the Serbs called them ''Babuni'' (after Babuna Mountain), the Serb term for Bogomils. The Ottomans referred to them as ''kristianlar'' while the Orthodox and Catholics were called ''gebir'' or ''kafir'', meaning "unbeliever".{{sfn|Velikonja|2003|pp=39-30}}

==== Expansion and the Bosnian Kingdom ====
{{main|Kingdom of Bosnia}}

[[File:Medieval Bosnian State Expansion-en.svg|thumb|right|Territorial evolution of the [[Bosnian Kingdom]]]]

The Bosnian state was significantly strengthened under the rule (ca. 1318–1353) of ban [[Stephen II, Ban of Bosnia|Stephen II of Bosnia]] who patched up Bosnia's relations with the Hungarian kingdom and expanded the Bosnian state, in turn incorporating Catholic and Orthodox domains to the west and south; the latter following the conquer of [[Zahumlje]] (roughly modern-day Herzegovina) from the Serbian [[Nemanjić dynasty]]. In the 1340s, [[Franciscan]] missions were launched against alleged "heresy" in Bosnia; prior to this, there had been no Catholics – or at least no Catholic clergy or organization – in Bosnia proper for nearly a century. By the year 1347, Stephen II was the first Bosnian ruler to accept Catholicism, which from then on came to be – at least nominally – the religion of all of Bosnia's medieval rulers, except for possibly [[Stephen Ostoja of Bosnia]] (1398–1404, 1409–18) who continued to maintain close relations with the Bosnian Church. The Bosnian nobility would subsequently often undertake nominal oaths to quell "heretical movements" – in reality, however, the Bosnian state was characterized by a religious plurality and tolerance up until the Ottoman invasion of Bosnia in 1463.{{sfn|Pinson|1994|pp=6–8}}

By the 1370s, the Banate of Bosnia had evolved into the powerful [[Kingdom of Bosnia]] following the coronation of [[Tvrtko I of Bosnia]] as the first Bosnian king in 1377, further expanding into neighboring Serb and Croat dominions. However, even with the emergence of a kingdom, no concrete Bosnian identity emerged; religious plurality, independent-minded nobility, and a rugged, mountainous terrain precluded cultural and political unity. As Noel Malcolm stated: "All that one can sensibly say about the ethnic identity of the Bosnians is this: they were the Slavs who lived in Bosnia."{{sfn|Malcolm|1996|p=12}}

=== Islamization and Ottoman Empire ===
{{see also|History of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1463–1878)|Ottoman conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Islamization of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnian uprising}}

{{Quote box
| quote = [[File:Stjepan Tomašević.jpg|thumb|150px|left|[[Stephen Tomašević of Bosnia]], in front of Christ, by [[Jacopo Bellini]] in c. 1460.]]"[...] Equally, I am begging you; [...] If Bosnians would know that they will not be alone in this war, braver they shall struggle, and neither the Turks would have the courage to attack on my lands...; My father predicted to your predecessor, [[Nicholas V]], and the Venetians the fall of Constantinople. He was not believed. [...] Now I prophesy about myself. If you trust and aid me I shall be saved; if not, I shall perish and many will be ruined with me."
| source = - Excerpts from [[Stephen Tomašević of Bosnia|Stephen Tomašević's]] letter to [[Pope Pius II]].<ref name="Klaić">{{citation|title=Povijest Hrvata od najstarijih vremena do svršetka XIX stoljeća|last=Klaić|author-link=Vjekoslav Klaić|first=Vjekoslav|publisher=Nakladni zavod Matice hrvatske|isbn=|year=1972}}</ref><ref>The Commentaries of Pius II, Smith College, 1955, pp. 740–741</ref>
| align = left
| width = 32em
| bgcolor = #ffc999
}}Upon his father's death in 1461, [[Stephen Tomašević of Bosnia|Stephen Tomašević]] succeeded to the throne of Bosnia, a kingdom whose existence was being increasingly threatened by the Ottomans. In the same year, Stephen Tomašević made an alliance with the Hungarians and asked [[Pope Pius II]] for help in the face of an impending Ottoman invasion. In 1463, after a dispute over the tribute paid annually by the Bosnian Kingdom to the Ottomans, he sent for help from the [[Republic of Venice|Venetians]]. However, no help ever arrived to Bosnia from [[Christendom]];<ref>Miller, Timothy S.; Nesbitt, John W. (1995), Peace and war in Byzantium: essays in honor of George T. Dennis, S.J, Catholic University of America Press, pp. 189–191</ref> King [[Matthias Corvinus|Matthias Corvinus of Hungary]], [[Skenderbeg]] of Albania and the [[Republic of Ragusa|Ragusans]] all failed to carry out their promises,<ref>Ljubez, Bruno (2009), Jajce Grad: prilog povijesti posljednje bosanske prijestolnice (in Croatian), HKD Napredak, pp. 148–150</ref> while the Venetians flatly refused the king's pleas.<ref>Babinger, Franz (1992). Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time. USA: Princeton University Press. pp. 163, 222–224.</ref>

The Croatian [[Humanism|humanist]] and poet [[Marko Marulić]], known as the ''Father of the Croatian Renaissance,''<ref>Marulianum Center for study of [[Marko Marulić]] and his literary activity. – Retrieved on 28 November 2008</ref> wrote ''Molitva suprotiva Turkom'' (Prayer against the Turks) – a poem in 172 doubly rhymed [[Dodecasyllable|dodecasyllablic]] stanzas of anti-Turkish theme, written between 1493 and 1500, where he, among others, included Bosnians as the one of peoples who resisted the Ottomans.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rUNFoWRQ4bAC&q=marko+marulic+bosnjaci&pg=PA103|title=Collectivistic religions: Religion, Choice, and Identity in Late Modernity|author=Slavica Jakelić|year=2010|publisher=Ashgate Publishing Company |isbn=9781409492498}}, p. 103.</ref>
The rise of Ottoman rule in the Balkans modified the religious picture of Bosnia and Herzegovina as the Ottomans brought with them a new religion, [[Islam]]. Throughout the entire Balkans people were sporadically converting in small numbers; Bosnia, by contrast, experienced a rapid and extensive conversion of the local population to Islam, and by the early 1600s approximately two thirds of the population of Bosnia were Muslim.{{sfn|Malcolm|1996|p=71}} Slovenian observer [[Benedikt Kuripečič]] compiled the first reports of the religious communities in the 1530s. According to the records for 1528 and 1529, there were a total of 42,319 Christian and 26,666 Muslim households in the ''[[sanjak]]s'' (Ottoman administrative units) of [[Sanjak of Bosnia|Bosnia]], [[Sanjak of Zvornik|Zvornik]] and [[Sanjak of Herzegovina|Herzegovina]]. In a 1624 report on Bosnia (excluding Herzegovina) by [[Pjetër Mazreku|Peter Masarechi]], an early-seventeenth-century [[apostolic visitor]] of the Roman Catholic Church to Bosnia, the population figures are given as 450,000 Muslims, 150,000 Catholics and 75,000 Orthodox Christians.{{sfn|Velikonja|2003|p=56}} Generally, historians agree that the Islamization of the Bosnian population was not the result of violent methods of conversions but was, for the most part, peaceful and voluntary.{{sfn|Velikonja|2003|p=66}} Scholars have long debated the reasons that made this collective acceptance of Islam possible among the Bosnians, although the religious dynamic of medieval Bosnia is frequently cited.<ref name="ReferenceB">Mustafa Imamović – ''Historija Bošnjaka''</ref> Peter Masarechi, saw four basic reasons to explain the more intensive Islamization in Bosnia: the 'heretical past' of the Bosnians, which had left them confessionally weak and capable of transferring their allegiance to Islam; the example of many Bosnians who had attained high office through the [[devşirme]], and as powerful men were in a position to encourage their relatives and associates to convert; a desire to escape from the burdens of taxation and other services levied on non-Muslim citizens; and finally, an equally strong desire to escape the [[Proselytism|proselytizing]] importunities of Franciscan monks among the Orthodox population.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ltRWy32dG7oC&pg=PA580 |title= The Poetics of Slavdom: The Mythopoeic Foundations of Yugoslavia, Vol. 2 |author=Zlatar, Zdenko |year=2007 |publisher= [[Peter Lang (publisher)|Peter Lang]] |isbn= 9780820481357 }}, p. 580</ref> Ottoman records show that on many occasions [[devşirme]] practise was voluntary in Bosnia. For examples, 1603-4 levies from Bosnia and Albania implies that there were attempts of such youths and their families to include themselves amongst those selected. It also shows that the levy took an entire year to be completed. Of the groups sent from Bosnia, unusually, 410 children were Muslims, and only 82 were Christians. This was due to the so-called ‘special permission’ granted in response to the request by [[Mehmed II]] to [[Bosnia Eyalet|Bosnia]], which was the only area Muslim boys were taken from. These children were called "poturoğulları" (Bosnian Muslim boys conscripted for the janissary army). They were taken only into service under [[Bostanci-başi|bostancıbaşı]], in the [[Topkapı Palace|palace gardens]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yılmaz |first=Gülay |date=2015-12-01 |title=The Devshirme System and the Levied Children of Bursa in 1603-4 |url=https://belleten.gov.tr/doi/10.37879/belleten.2015.901 |journal=Belleten |language=tr |volume=79 |issue=286 |pages=901–930 |doi=10.37879/belleten.2015.901 |issn=0041-4255}}</ref>

Always on purely religious grounds, it is also said, by the orientalist [[Thomas Walker Arnold]] for instance, that because of the major heresy in the region at the time, oppressed by the Catholics and against whom [[Pope John XXII]] even launched a [[crusade]] in 1325, the people were more receptive to the Ottoman Turks. In fact, in the tradition of Bosnian Christians, there were several practices that resembled Islam; for instance; praying five times a day (reciting the [[Lord's Prayer]]).<ref>Arnold (1913) p. 198—200</ref>
In time, hesitant steps were made toward acceptance of Islam. At first, this Islamisation was more or less nominal. In reality, it was an attempt at reconciling the two faiths. It was a lengthy and halting progress towards the final abandoning of their beliefs. For centuries, they were not considered full-fledged Muslims, and they even paid taxes like Christians.<ref>Miloš Mladenović, ''The Osmanli Conquest and the Islamization of Bosnia'', in Slavic and East-European Studies, III/4, Winter 1958–1959, pp. 219-226.</ref> This process of Islamisation was not yet finished in the 17th century, as is witnessed by a keen English observer, [[Paul Rycaut]], who states in ''The Present State of the Ottoman Empire'' in 1670: "But those of this Sect who strangely mix Christianity and Mahometanism together, are many of the Souldiers who live on the confines of Serbia and Bosnia; reading the gospel in the Sclavonian tongue…; besides which, they are curious to learn the mysteries of the Alchoran [Quran], and the Law of Arabick tongue. [...] The Potures [Muslims] of Bosna are of this Sect, but pay taxes as Christians do; they abhor Images and the sign of the Cross; they circumcise, bringing the Authority of Christ's example for it."<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KKMuTmW98DEC&q=bosnia|title=''The history of the present state of the Ottoman Empire''|author=Paul Rycaut|year=1686|author-link=Paul Rycaut}}, pp. 248.</ref>

[[File:Mostar,_Stari_Most_at_night.jpg|thumb|left|[[Stari Most]] is a 16th-century [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] [[bridge]] in the city of [[Mostar]] designed by Turkish architect Mimar Sinan]]
[[File:Folk group Costume Dress, Bosnia Herzegovina.jpg|thumb|Bosnian women dressed in traditional costumes in which one can see how the Ottoman influence has been assimilated into their clothing.]]
Many children of Christian parents were separated from their families and raised to be members of the [[Janissary]] Corps (this practice was known as the [[devsirme|devşirme]] system, 'devşirmek' meaning 'to gather' or 'to recruit'). Owing to their education (for they were taught arts, science, maths, poetry, literature and many of the languages spoken in the Ottoman Empire), Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian became one of the diplomatic languages at the Porte. The Ottoman period that followed was characterized by a change in the landscape through a gradual modification of the settlements with the introduction of bazaars, military garrisons and mosques. Converting to Islam brought considerable advantages, including access to Ottoman trade networks, bureaucratic positions and the army. As a result, many Bosnians were appointed to serve as [[beylerbey]]s, [[sanjak-bey]]s, [[mullah]]s, [[qadi]]s, [[pasha]]s, [[mufti]]s, janissary commanders, writers, and so forth in [[Istanbul]], [[Jerusalem]] and [[Medina]]. Among these were important historical figures were: prince [[Ishak Bey Kraloğlu|Sigismund of Bosnia]] (later Ishak Bey Kraloğlu), [[Hersekzade Ahmed Pasha]], [[Isa-Beg Isaković|Isa-beg Ishaković]], [[Gazi Husrev-beg]], [[Damat Ibrahim Pasha]], [[Ferhad Pasha Sokolović]], [[Lala Mustafa Pasha]] and [[Sarı Süleyman Pasha]]. At least seven viziers were of Bosnian origin, of which the most renowned was [[Sokollu Mehmed Pasha]] (who served as [[Grand Vizier]] under three sultans: [[Suleiman the Magnificent]], [[Selim II]], and [[Murad III]]<ref name="Imamović, Mustafa 1996">Imamović, Mustafa (1996). Historija Bošnjaka. Sarajevo: BZK Preporod. {{ISBN|9958-815-00-1}}</ref>). The Ottoman rule also saw many architectural investments in Bosnia and the creation and development of many new cities including [[Sarajevo]] and [[Mostar]]. This is mostly because of the high esteem the Bosnians held in the eyes of the Sultans and the Turks. Bosnia became also a strategic base from which the Ottomans launched their armies northward and westward on campaigns of conquest and pillage. The Turks regarded Bosnia as a "bastion of Islam" and its inhabitants served as frontier guards (''serhatlije'').{{sfn|Velikonja|2003|p=56}} The presence of Bosnians in the Ottoman Empire had an important social and political effect on the country: it created a class of powerful state officials and their descendants which came into conflict with the feudal-military [[Sipahi|spahis]] and gradually encroached upon their land, hastening the movement away from the feudal tenure towards private estates and tax-farmers, creating a unique situation in Bosnia where the rulers were native inhabitants converted to Islam.<ref>Prof. Giacobelli, Francesco, ''Arthur J. Evans in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1875 revolt'', Pp. 27-28, Anno Accademico 2011 / 2012, Università degli Studi di Padova</ref> Although geographically located in Europe, Bosnia was perceived as culturally distant. Because of the strong Islamic character of the country during the Ottoman period, Bosnia was perceived as more oriental than the Orient itself, an 'authentic East within Europe'.<ref>N. Berber, op. cit., p. 53</ref> The English archeologist [[Arthur Evans]], who traveled through Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1870s, claimed that "Bosnia remains the chosen land of Mahometan [Muslim] [[Conservatism]] [...] fanaticism has struck its deepest roots among her renegade population, and reflects itself even in the dress."<ref>Prof. Giacobelli, Francesco, Arthur J. Evans in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1875 revolt, Pp. 121–122, Anno Accademico 2011 / 2012, Università degli Studi di Padova.</ref><ref>A. Evans, op. cit., p. 89-90</ref>

Ottoman rule affected the ethnic and religious makeup of Bosnia and Herzegovina in additional ways. A large number of Bosnian Catholics retreated to the still unconquered Catholic regions of Croatia, [[Dalmatia]], and [[Slovenia]], at the time controlled by [[Habsburg monarchy]] and the [[Republic of Venice]], respectively. To fill up depopulated areas of northern and western [[Eyalet of Bosnia]], the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] encouraged the migration of large numbers of hardy settlers with military skills from [[Serbia]] and [[Herzegovina]]. Many of these settlers were [[Vlachs]], members of a nomadic pre-Slav [[Balkan]] population that had acquired a Latinate language and specialized in stock breeding, horse raising, long-distance trade, and fighting. Most were members of the [[Serbian Orthodox church]]. Before the [[Ottoman conquest of Bosnia|Ottoman conquest]], that church had very few members in the Bosnian lands outside Herzegovina and the eastern strip of the [[Drina]] valley; there is no definite evidence of any Orthodox church buildings in central, northern, or western Bosnia before 1463. With time most of the Vlach population adopted a Serb identity.{{sfn|Donia|Fine|1994|p=38}}{{sfn|Malcolm|1996}}{{sfn|Velikonja|2003|p=74}}

The [[Ottoman military reform efforts]], that called for further expansion of the centrally controlled army (''nizam''), new taxes and more Ottoman bureaucracy would have important consequences in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These reforms weakened the special status and privileges of the Bosnian aristocracy and the formation of a modern army endangered the privileges of the Bosnian Muslim military men and of local lords, both were demanding greater independence from the Constantinople.<ref>Prof. Giacobelli, Francesco, Arthur J. Evans in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1875 revolt, Pp. 68-69, Anno Accademico 2011 / 2012, Università degli Studi di Padova</ref> [[Barbara Jelavich]] states: "The Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina [...] were becoming increasingly disillusioned with the Ottoman government. The centralizing reforms cut directly into their privileges and seemed to offer no compensating benefits. [...]"<ref>B. Jelavich, op. cit., p. 350.{{full citation needed|date=December 2022}}</ref>

==== Bosnian nationalism ====
{{see also|Bosnian nationalism}}

National consciousness developed in Bosnia and Herzegovina among the three ethnic groups in the 19th century, with emergent national identities being influenced by the [[millet system]] in place in Ottoman society (where 'religion and nationality were closely intertwined and often synonyms'). During Ottoman rule, there was a clear distinction between Muslims and non-Muslims. There were different tax categories and clothes, but only in the late 18th- and early 19th century "the differentiations develop into ethnic and national forms of identification", according to Soeren Keil. The bordering countries of Serbia and Croatia consequently laid claim to Bosnia and Herzegovina; a combination of religion, ethnic identity and the territorial claim was the basis for the three distinct nations.<ref name="Keil2016">{{cite book|author=Soeren Keil|title=Multinational Federalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6igHDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA58|date=15 April 2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-09343-5|pages=58–}}</ref>

However, members of the 19th century [[Illyrian movement]], most notably franciscan [[Ivan Franjo Jukić]], whose Bosnianhood is apparent from his very [[pen name]] "Slavophile Bosnian" (''Slavoljub Bošnjak''),<ref>Kruševac, Todor, "Ivan Frano Jukić," in Godišnjak ''Istoriskog društva'', (Sarajevo, 1956), p. 171-184</ref> emphasized Bosnians alongside Serbs and Croats as one of the "tribes" that constitute the "Illyrian nation".<ref name=okey>{{Cite book|last=Okey | first=Robin | title=Taming Balkan Nationalism: The Habsburg 'Civilizing Mission' in Bosnia 1878–1914 |url=https://archive.org/details/tamingbalkannati00okey_093 |url-access=limited |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2007 |page=[https://archive.org/details/tamingbalkannati00okey_093/page/n30 14] |isbn=978-0-19-921391-7}}</ref>
 
Influenced by the ideas of the [[French Revolution]] and [[Illyrian Movement]], some Bosnian Franciscans supported the freedom, brotherhood, and unity of all South Slavs, while at the same time stressing a unique Bosnian identity as separate from the Serb and Croat identities. Accordingly, Ivan Franjo Jukić writes in 1851 that "the begs and other Muslim lords call [Slavic-speaking Muslim peasants] ''Poturice'' [the Turkified ones] or ''Ćose'' [the beardless ones], while Christians call them ''Balije'' [a vulgar term that derives from the Ottoman period, and which applied to occasional Bosnian Muslim nomads who lived in mountainous areas. Today it is considered the most derogatory term for Bosniaks]."<ref>Ivan Franjo Jukić, ''Zemljopis i povjestnica Bosne'', pp. 142–143, fn. 4</ref> Sometimes the term [[Turks (term for Muslims)|''Turčin'' (Turk)]] was commonly used to describe the Bosnian and other Slavic Muslims, designating religious, and not ethnic belonging. The Italian diplomat M. A. Pigafetta, wrote in 1585 that Bosnian Christian converts to Islam refused to be identified as "Turks", but as "Muslims".<ref>{{cite book|author=Muhamed Hadžijahić|title=Od tradicije do identiteta – geneza nacionalnog pitanja bosanskih muslimana|publisher=Muslimanska nadklada, Putokaz|page=43|location=Sarajevo|url=http://bs.scribd.com/doc/77645161/Dr-Muhamed-Hadžijahić-Od-Tradicije-Do-Identiteta#scribd|year=1974|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305140708/https://bs.scribd.com/doc/77645161/Dr-Muhamed-Had%C5%BEijahi%C4%87-Od-Tradicije-Do-Identiteta#scribd|archive-date=2016-03-05}}</ref> Klement Božić, an interpreter at the [[Prussia]]n consulate in Bosnia during the 19th century stated that the "Bosnian Christians are calling their Muslim compatriots as 'Turks' and Muslim foreigners as 'Ottomans'; nor will ever a Muslim Bosniak say to an Ottoman, that he is a Turk or call him his brother. [...] A Bosniak Muslim can not tolerate the Ottomans and he [the Ottoman] despises the Bosniak".<ref>{{cite book|author=Muhamed Hadžijahić|title=Od tradicije do identiteta – geneza nacionalnog pitanja bosanskih muslimana|publisher=Muslimanska nadklada, Putokaz|page=243|location=Sarajevo|url=http://bs.scribd.com/doc/77645161/Dr-Muhamed-Hadžijahić-Od-Tradicije-Do-Identiteta#scribd|year=1974|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305140708/https://bs.scribd.com/doc/77645161/Dr-Muhamed-Had%C5%BEijahi%C4%87-Od-Tradicije-Do-Identiteta#scribd|archive-date=2016-03-05}}</ref> [[Conrad Malte-Brun]], a French-Danish geographer, states also in his ''Universal Geography'', in 1829, that the term ''infidel'' is commonly used among the Muslims of Constantinople to depict the Muslims of Bosnia; further he states that Bosnians descended from the warriors of the northern race, and that their barbarism needs to be imputed to an intellectual separation from the rest of the Europe, because of their lack of the enlightenment of Christendom.<ref>{{cite book|author=Conrad Malte-Brun|title=Universal Geography|publisher=Quebec Mechanics' institute|volume=VI|page=215|location=[[Boston]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JIztEHioIYUC&q=bosnians|year=1829|author-link=Conrad Malte-Brun}}</ref> Croatian writer Matija Mažuranić wrote in 1842 that "in Bosnia Christians do not dare to call themselves Bosniaks. Mohammedans consider only themselves Bosniaks and Christians are only the Bosniak serfs (''raya'') or, to use the other word, Vlachs."<ref>Mažuranić, Matija, Pogled u Bosnu ..., pp. 52–53, emphasis in ''Italics'' from {{harvnb|Basic|2009}}</ref> The Muslim city people, craftsmen and artisans, i.e., those who were not serfs but rather free, that is, tax-exempt, also called themselves Bosniaks and their language ''bošnjački'' (Tur. ''boşnakça'').{{sfn|Basic|2009|p=?}} The French diplomat and scholar Massieu de Clerval, who visited Bosnia in 1855, stated in his report that the "Bosnian Greeks [i.e. Orthodox Christians], Muslims and Catholics live together and frequently in very good harmony when foreign influences do not awake fanaticism and the question of religious pride".<ref>M. Massieu de Clerval, "Rapport adresse a Son Excellence Monsieur le Ministre de I'instruction publique sur une mission en Bosnie, accomplie en 1855", ''in Archives des mission scientifique and litteraires'', vol. 5, (Paris, 1855, p. 35); the original inaccessible.</ref>

[[File:Sarajevo 1878..jpg|thumb|left|Illustration of resistance during the siege of Sarajevo in 1878 against the Austro-Hungarian troops.]]

Jukić's pupil and fellow friar [[Antun Knežević]], was one of the main protagonists of the multireligious ''Bošnjak'' (Bosniak) identity as well, and even more vocal then friar Jukić.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ivan Frano Jukić as Slavoljub Bošnjak|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_t9xBAAAAYAAJ|title=Zemljopis i poviestnica Bosne|publisher=Demokratska Zajednica BiH|location=Zagreb|year=1851|access-date=13 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stanak.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=194:antun-kneevi-bonjak-iz-varcara-kratka-povjest-kralja-bosanskih-dobra-knjiga-sarajevo-2009-319-str&catid=37:radovi-prikazi-i-osvrti&Itemid=99|title=Kratka povjest kralja bosanskih|publisher=Dobra knjiga|access-date=13 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021181552/http://www.stanak.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=194:antun-kneevi-bonjak-iz-varcara-kratka-povjest-kralja-bosanskih-dobra-knjiga-sarajevo-2009-319-str&catid=37:radovi-prikazi-i-osvrti&Itemid=99|archive-date=21 October 2013}}</ref> Prior to that it was Franciscan [[Filip Lastrić]] (1700–1783) who first wrote on the commonality of the citizens in the Bosnian ''eyalet'', regardless of their religion. In his work ''Epitome vetustatum provinciae Bosniensis'' (1765), he claimed that all inhabitants of the Bosnian province (''eyalet'') constituted "one people" of the same descent.<ref>Filip Lastrić, Pregled starina Bosanske provincije / comments written by Andrija Zirdum; from the Latin and Italian Ignacije Gavran and Simun Šimić, (Sarajevo, Zagreb: Synopsis, 2003), p. 148-149</ref>{{sfn|Basic|2009|p=323}}

=== Austro-Hungarian Empire ===
{{see also|History of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1878–1918)|Austro-Hungarian campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878|Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnian crisis}}

The conflict rapidly spread and came to involve several Balkan states and Great Powers, which eventually forced the Ottomans to cede administration of the country to [[Austria-Hungary]] through the [[Treaty of Berlin (1878)]].{{sfn|Malcolm|1996|p=?}}
After the [[Herzegovina Uprising (1875–1878)|uprising in Herzegovina]] (1875–78) the population of Bosnian Muslims and Orthodox Christians in Bosnia decreased. The Orthodox Christian population (534,000 in 1870) decreased by 7 percent while Muslims decreased by a third.{{sfn|Pinson|1994|p=81}} The Austrian census in 1879 recorded altogether 449,000 Muslims, 496,485 Orthodox Christians and 209,391 Catholics in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The losses were 245,000 Muslims and 37,500 Orthodox Christians.{{sfn|Pinson|1994|p=81}}
 
[[File:Muhajir.jpg|thumb|right|The loss of almost all Ottoman territories during the late 19th and early 20th century, especially after the Austro-Hungarian annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Balkan Wars, resulted in a large number of Muslim emigrants to [[Turkey]], known as "[[Muhacir]]s".]]

During the 20th century, Bosnian Muslims founded several cultural and welfare associations to promote and preserve their cultural identity. The most prominent associations were ''[[Gajret]]'', ''Merhamet'', ''Narodna Uzdanica'' and later ''Preporod''. The Bosnian Muslim intelligentsia also gathered around the magazine ''Bosnia'' in the 1860s to promote the idea of a unified ''Bosniak nation''. This Bosniak group would remain active for several decades, with the continuity of ideas and the use of the ''Bosniak name''. From 1891 until 1910, they published a Latin-script magazine titled ''Bošnjak'' (Bosniak), which promoted the concept of ''Bosniakism'' (Bošnjaštvo) and openness toward European culture. Since that time the Bosniaks adopted European culture under the broader influence of the Habsburg Monarchy. At the same time they kept the peculiar characteristics of their Bosnian Islamic lifestyle.<ref>Karčić 1999:148-9)</ref> These initial, but important initiatives were followed by a new magazine named ''Behar'' whose founders were [[Safvet-beg Bašagić]] (1870–1934), [[Edhem Mulabdić]] (1862–1954) and [[Osman Nuri Hadžić]] (1869–1937).<ref>Džavid Haverić, ''History of the Bosnian Muslim Community in Australia: Settlement Experience in Victoria'', Institute for Community, Ethnicity and Policy Alternatives, ICEPA, Victoria University, p. 27</ref>

[[File:Archduke Eugen Bosniaks.jpg|thumb|right|Bosniaks formed 31%-50% of [[Bosnian-Herzegovinian Infantry]] of the [[Austro-Hungarian Army]].<ref>Neumayer, Christoph. ''The Emperor's Bosniaks'', {{ISBN|978-3-902526-17-5}}. p. 104.</ref> BHI was commended for their bravery in service of the Austrian emperor in WWI, winning more medals than any other unit.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XkLDVyYZPBYC&pg=PA264| title=The Enemy at the Gate: Habsburgs, Ottomans and the Battle for Europe, p. 264 |first=Andrew |last=Wheatcroft| isbn=9780786744541 | date=2009-04-28 | publisher=Basic Books }}</ref>]]

After the occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878, the Austrian administration of [[Benjamin Kallay]], the Austro-Hungarian governor of Bosnia and Herzegovina, officially endorsed "Bosniakhood" as the basis of a multi-confessional Bosnian nation that would include Christians as well as Muslims. The policy attempted to isolate Bosnia and Herzegovina from its neighbours (Orthodox Serbia and Catholic Croatia, but also the Muslims of the Ottoman Empire) and to negate the concepts of Serbian and Croatian nationhood which had already begun to take ground among the country's Orthodox and Catholic communities, respectively.{{sfn|Velikonja|2003|pp=130-135}}{{sfn|Donia|Fine|1994|p=73}}<ref name=europa>{{Cite book| title=Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States |publisher= [[Routledge]] |year=1999 |page=214 |isbn=978-1-85743-058-5}}</ref> The notion of Bosnian nationhood was, however, was rejected even by Bosnian Muslims{{sfn|Bougarel|2017|p=10}} and fiercely opposed by Serb and Croat nationalists who were instead seeking to claim Bosnian Muslims as their own, a move that was rejected by most of them.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5J_gAU8c9NIC&pg=PA110|title=Central and South-Eastern Europe 2004, Volume 4, p 110|isbn=9781857431865|last1=Publications|first1=Europa|year=2003|publisher=Psychology Press }}</ref>

After Kallay died in 1903, the official policy slowly drifted towards accepting the three-ethnic reality of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ultimately, the failure of Austro-Hungarian ambitions to nurture a Bosniak identity amongst the Catholic and Orthodox led to almost exclusively Bosnian Muslims adhering to it, with 'Bosniakhood' consequently adopted as a Bosnian Muslim ethnic ideology by nationalist figures.<ref>Jack David Eller. ''From culture to ethnicity to conflict: an anthropological perspective on international ethnic conflict''. University of Michigan Press, 1999. Pp. 262.</ref>

In November 1881, upon introducing the [[Bosnian-Herzegovinian Infantry]], the Austro-Hungarian government passed a Military Law (''Wehrgesetz'') imposing an obligation upon all Bosnian Muslims to serve in the [[Austro-Hungarian Army|Imperial Army]], which led to widespread riots in December 1881 and throughout 1882; the Austrians appealed to the [[Mufti]] of [[Sarajevo]], [[Mustafa Hilmi Hadžiomerović]] (born 1816) and he soon issued a [[Fatwa]] "calling on the Bosniaks to obey military Law."{{sfn|Karčić|1995|pp=118–119}} Other important Muslim community leaders such as Mehmed-beg Kapetanović Ljubušak, later Mayor of [[Sarajevo]], also appealed to young Muslim men to serve in the Habsburg military.

In 1903, the [[Gajret]] cultural society was established; it promoted [[Serbs|Serb identity]] among the Slavic Muslims of [[Austria-Hungary]] (today's [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]){{sfn|Allworth|1994|p=125}} and viewed that the [[Serb Muslims|Muslims were Serbs]] lacking ethnic consciousness.{{sfn|Allworth|1994|p=126}} The view that Muslims were Serbs is probably the oldest of three ethnic theories among the [[Bosnian Muslims]] themselves.{{sfn|Allworth|1994|p=116}}
At the outbreak of World War I, Bosnian Muslims were conscripted to serve in the Austro-Hungarian army, some chose to desert rather than fight against fellow Slavs, whilst some Bosniaks attacked Bosnian Serbs in apparent anger after the [[assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand]]. Austro-Hungarian authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina imprisoned and extradited approximately 5,500 prominent Serbs, 700–2,200 of whom died in prison. 460 Serbs were sentenced to death and a predominantly Bosniak<ref>{{harvnb|Tomasevich |2001|p=485}}{{blockquote|The Bosnian wartime militia (Schutzkorps), which became known for its persecution of Serbs, was overwhelmingly Muslim.}}</ref><ref name="Schindler2007">{{cite book|author=John R. Schindler|title=Unholy Terror: Bosnia, Al-Qa'ida, and the Rise of Global Jihad|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c8Xb6x2XYvIC&pg=PA29|year=2007|publisher=Zenith Imprint|isbn=978-1-61673-964-5|page=29}}</ref><ref name="Velikonja 2003 141">{{harvnb|Velikonja|2003|p=141}}</ref> special militia known as the ''[[Schutzkorps]]'' was established and carried out the persecution of Serbs.<ref name="Kröll2008">{{cite book|author=Herbert Kröll|title=Austrian-Greek encounters over the centuries: history, diplomacy, politics, arts, economics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uJRnAAAAMAAJ|access-date=1 September 2013|date=28 February 2008|publisher=Studienverlag|isbn=978-3-7065-4526-6|page=55|quote=...&nbsp;arrested and interned some 5.500 prominent Serbs and sentenced to death some 460 persons, a new Schutzkorps, an auxiliary militia, widened the anti-Serb repression.}}</ref> Neven Anđelić writes ''One can only guess what kind of feeling was dominant in Bosnia at the time. Both animosity and tolerance existed at the same time''.<ref name=andjelic>{{cite book|last=Andjelic |first=Neven |title=Bosnia-Herzegovina: The End of a Legacy |publisher=Frank Cass |year=2003 |pages=13–14, 17 |isbn=978-0-7146-5485-0}}</ref>

=== Yugoslavia and World War II ===
{{see also|History of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1918–1941)|History of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1941–1945)|History of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1945–1992)}}
[[File:Mehmed Spaho portrait.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Mehmed Spaho]] was one of the most important members of the Bosnian Muslim community during the [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes|Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia)]].]]

After World War I, the [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]] (later known as the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]]) was formed. In it, Bosnian Muslims alongside Macedonians and Montenegrins were not acknowledged as a distinct ethnic group.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Klemenčič|first=Matjaž|title=The Former Yugoslavia's Diverse Peoples: A Reference Sourcebook|year=2004|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-294-3|page=113}}</ref> However; the first provisional cabinet included a Muslim.{{sfn|Ramet|2006|p=49}}

Politically, Bosnia and Herzegovina was split into four [[Subdivisions of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia|banovinas]] with Muslims being the minority in each.<ref name=Banac>{{cite book |last=Banac |first=Ivo |title=The National Question in Yugoslavia: Origins, History, Politics |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-8014-9493-2 |page= 376}}</ref> After the [[Cvetković-Maček Agreement]] 13 counties of Bosnia and Herzegovina were incorporated into the [[Banovina of Croatia]] and 38 counties into the projected Serbian portion of Yugoslavia.<ref name=Banac/> In calculating the division, the Muslims were discounted altogether<ref name=Banac/> which prompted the Bosnian Muslims into creating the ''Movement for the Autonomy of Bosnia-Herzegovina''.<ref name=djokic>{{Cite book|last=Djokić |first=Dejan | title=Yugoslavism: Histories of a Failed Idea, 1918–1992 |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |year=2003 |page=104 |isbn=978-1-85065-663-0}}</ref> Moreover, land reforms proclaimed in the February 1919 affected 66.9 per cent of the land in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Given that the old landowning was predominantly Bosnian Muslim, the land reforms were resisted. Violence against Muslims and the enforced seizure of their lands shortly ensued. Bosnian Muslims were offered compensation but it was never fully materialized. The regime sought to pay 255,000,000 dinars in compensation per a period of 40 years with an interest rate of 6%.  Payments began in 1936 and were expected to be completed in 1975; however in 1941 World War Two erupted and only 10% of the projected remittances were made.{{sfn|Ramet|2006|p=49}}

==== World War II period ====
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101III-Mielke-036-23, Waffen-SS, 13. Gebirgs-Div. "Handschar".jpg|thumb|right|Bosnian Muslim soldiers of the [[13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)|SS "Handschar"]] reading a [[Nazi propaganda]] book, ''Islam und Judentum'', in [[German occupation of France during World War II|Nazi-occupied Southern France]] ([[German Federal Archives|Bundesarchiv]], 21 June 1943)]]

During World War II, Bosnian Muslim elite and notables issued resolutions or memorandums in various cities that publicly denounced Croat-Nazi collaborationist measures, laws and violence against Serbs: [[Prijedor]] (23 September), Sarajevo (the [[Resolution of Sarajevo Muslims]] of 12 October), [[Mostar]] (21 October), [[Banja Luka]] (12 November), [[Bijeljina]] (2 December) and [[Tuzla]] (11 December). The resolutions condemned the [[Ustaše]] in Bosnia and Herzegovina, both for their mistreatment of Muslims and for their attempts at turning Muslims and Serbs against one another.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hoare|first=Marko Attila|title=The History of Bosnia: From the Middle Ages to the Present Day|year=2007|publisher=SAQI|isbn=978-0-86356-953-1|page=227}}</ref> One memorandum declared that since the beginning of the Ustaše regime, that Muslims dreaded the lawless activities that some Ustaše, some Croatian government authorities, and various illegal groups perpetrated against the Serbs.<ref>[[#refTomasevich2001|Tomasevich 2001]], p. 492.</ref> A portion of the Bosnian Muslim population however sided with the Ustaše.{{sfn|Tomasevich|2001|p=631}} Muslims composed approximately 12 percent of the civil service and armed forces of the [[Independent State of Croatia]].{{sfn|Velikonja|2003|p=179}} Some of them also participated in [[Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia|Ustaše atrocities]], while Bosnian Muslims in Nazi [[13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)|''Waffen-SS'']] units were responsible for massacres of Serbs in northwest and eastern Bosnia, most notably in [[Vlasenica]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Burg |first1=Steven L. |last2=Shoup |first2=Paul |title=The War in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Ethnic Conflict and International Intervention |date=1999 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |isbn=978-1-5632-4308-0 |page=38 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SopQbK_nAxgC&pg=PA38}}</ref> At this time [[Chetnik war crimes in World War II#Genocide of Muslims and Croats|several massacres]] against Bosnian Muslims were carried out by Serb and Montenegrin [[Chetniks]].{{sfn|Malcolm|1996|p=188}}<ref name=lampe>{{Cite book |last=Lampe |first=John R. |title= Yugoslavia as History |publisher= [[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2000 |pages=206, 209, 210 |isbn=978-0-521-77401-7}}</ref><ref name=glenny>{{Cite book |last=Glenny |first=Misha |title= The Balkans: Nationalism, War & the Great Powers, 1804–1999 |publisher= [[Penguin Books]] |year=2001 |pages=494–495 |isbn=978-0-14-023377-3}}</ref>

It is estimated that 75,000 Muslims died in the war,{{sfn|Malcolm|1996|p=192}} although the number may have been as high as 86,000 or 6.8 percent of their pre-war population.{{sfn|Pinson|1994|p=143}} A number of Muslims joined the [[Yugoslav Partisan]] forces, "making it a truly multi-ethnic force".<ref name=andjelic /> In the entirety of the war, the Yugoslav Partisans of Bosnia and Herzegovina were 23 percent Muslim.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hoare |first=Marko Attila |title=Genocide and Resistance in Hitler's Bosnia: The Partisans and the Chetniks |year=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-726380-8 |page=10}}</ref> Even so, Serb-dominated Yugoslav Partisans would often enter Bosnian Muslim villages, killing Bosnian Muslim intellectuals and other potential opponents.{{sfn|Malcolm|1996|p=157}} In February 1943, the Germans approved the [[13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian)]] and began recruitment.<ref name="Böhler-Gerwarth 2017">{{cite book |author1-last=Bougarel |author1-first=Xavier |author2-last=Korb |author2-first=Alexander |author3-last=Petke |author3-first=Stefan |author4-last=Zaugg |author4-first=Franziska |year=2017 |orig-date=2016 |chapter=Muslim SS units in the Balkans and the Soviet Union |editor1-last=Böhler |editor1-first=Jochen |editor2-last=Gerwarth |editor2-first=Robert |title=The Waffen-SS: A European History |pages=252–283 |location=[[Oxford]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198790556.003.0008 |doi-access=free |isbn=9780198790556 |oclc=970401339 |s2cid=133436194}}</ref>

==== Post-WWII and SFRJ era ====
{{Multiple image
 | align = left
 | image1 = Avdo Humo.jpg 
 | width1 = 61
 | image2 = Hasan brkic cropped.png
 | width2 = 64
 | image3 = Vahida Maglajlic.jpg
 | width3 = 77
 | footer_align = left
 | footer = [[Avdo Humo]], [[Hasan Brkić]], and [[Vahida Maglajlić]] were notable Bosnian Muslims in [[Yugoslav partisans]] and recipients of [[Order of the People's Hero]]}}
During the socialist Yugoslav period, the Muslims continued to be treated as a religious group instead of an ethnic group.<ref name=Banac287>{{cite book |last=Banac |first=Ivo |title=The National Question in Yugoslavia: Origins, History, Politics |year=1988 |pages=287–288 }}</ref> In the 1948 census, Bosnia and Herzegovina's Muslims had three options in the census: "Serb-Muslim", "Croat-Muslim", and "ethnically undeclared Muslim".<ref name=Banac287/> In the 1953 census the category "Yugoslav, ethnically undeclared" was introduced and the overwhelming majority of those who declared themselves as such were Muslims.<ref name=Banac287/> [[Aleksandar Ranković]] and other Serb communist members opposed the recognition of Bosnian Muslim nationality.<ref name="Becirevic2425"/>{{sfn|Ramet|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FTw3lEqi2-oC&q=Ranković+Bosniak+recognition&pg=PA287 286]}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sancaktar |first1=Caner |title=Historical Construction and Development of Bosniak Nation |journal=Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations |date=1 April 2012 |volume=11 |pages=1–17 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321085272 |access-date=28 September 2019}}</ref> Muslim members of the communist party continued in their efforts to get Tito to support their position for recognition.<ref name="Becirevic2425"/> The Bosnian Muslims were recognized as an ethnic group in 1961 but not as a nationality and in 1964 the Fourth Congress of the Bosnian Party assured the Bosnian Muslims the right to [[self-determination]].<ref name=Banac287/> On that occasion, one of the leading communist leaders, [[Rodoljub Čolaković]], stated that "our Muslim brothers" were equal with Serbs and Croats and that they would not be "forced to declare themselves as Serbs and Croats." He guaranteed them "full freedom in their national determination"<ref>Duraković, ''Prokletstvo Muslimana'', Pp. 165.</ref> Following the downfall of Ranković, Tito changed his view and stated that recognition of Muslims and their national identity should occur.<ref name="Becirevic2425"/> In 1968 the move was protested in the [[Socialist Republic of Serbia|Serb republic]] and by [[Serbian nationalism|Serb nationalists]] such as [[Dobrica Ćosić]].<ref name="Becirevic2425">{{cite book |last=Bećirević |first=Edina |title=Genocide on the Drina River |year=2014 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=9780300192582 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N0X4AwAAQBAJ&q=Aleksandar+Rankovic+Albanians&pg=PA17 |pages=24–25}}</ref> In 1971, the Muslims were fully recognized as a nationality and in the census the option "[[Muslims (South-Slavic ethnic group)|Muslims by nationality]]" was added.<ref name=Banac287/>

=== Bosnian War ===
{{Main|Bosnian War}}
{{See also|Srebrenica massacre|Rape in the Bosnian War|Siege of Sarajevo|Ethnic cleansing in the Bosnian War}}
[[File:Sarajevo Red Line 3.jpeg|thumb|left|The [[Sarajevo Red Line]], a memorial event of the [[siege of Sarajevo]]'s 20th anniversary. 11,541 empty chairs symbolized 11,541 victims of the war which, according to [[Research and Documentation Center in Sarajevo|Research and Documentation Center]] were killed during the siege of Sarajevo.<ref>[http://www.city.ba/puls/1172-sarajevska-crvena-linija-11541/ City.ba: ''Sarajevo Red Line – 11541'' – In Bosnian&#91;cited April 04, 2012&#93;] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121221091015/http://www.city.ba/puls/1172-sarajevska-crvena-linija-11541 |date=December 21, 2012 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.e-novine.com/srbija/61616-Crvena-linija-rtve-opsade-Sarajeva.html/ E-News: ''Red Line for the victims of the Siege of Sarajevo'' – In Bosnian&#91;cited April 04, 2012&#93;] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120701163622/http://www.e-novine.com/srbija/61616-Crvena-linija-rtve-opsade-Sarajeva.html |date=July 1, 2012 }}</ref>]]
[[File:Srebrenica massacre memorial gravestones 2009 1.jpg|thumb|right|Gravestones at the [[Srebrenica Genocide Memorial|Potočari genocide memorial]] near Srebrenica. Around 8,000+ Bosniak men and boys were killed by the units of the [[Army of the Republika Srpska]] during the [[Srebrenica massacre]] in July 1995.]]

During the war, the Bosniaks were subject to [[Ethnic cleansing in the Bosnian War|ethnic cleansing]] and  [[Bosnian Genocide|genocide]]. The war caused hundreds of thousands of Bosniaks to flee the nation. The war also caused many drastic demographic changes in Bosnia. Bosniaks were prevalent throughout almost all of Bosnia in 1991, a year before the war officially broke out. As a result of the war, Bosniaks in Bosnia were concentrated mostly in areas that were held by the Bosnian government during the war for independence. Today Bosniaks make up the absolute majority in [[Sarajevo]] and its [[Sarajevo Canton|canton]], most of northwestern Bosnia around [[Bihać]], as well as central Bosnia, [[Brčko District]], [[Goražde]], [[Podrinje]] and parts of Herzegovina.{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}}

At the outset of the Bosnian war, forces of the [[Army of Republika Srpska]] attacked the Bosnian Muslim civilian population in eastern Bosnia. Once towns and villages were securely in their hands, the Bosnian Serb forces – military, police, the paramilitaries and, sometimes, even Bosnian Serb villagers – applied the same pattern: houses and apartments were systematically ransacked or burnt down, civilians were rounded up or captured, and sometimes beaten or killed in the process. Men and women were separated, with many of the men massacred or detained in the camps. The women were kept in various detention centers where they had to live in intolerably unhygienic conditions, where they were mistreated in many ways including being raped repeatedly. Bosnian Serb soldiers or policemen would come to these detention centres, select one or more women, take them out and rape them.<ref name="ICTY: Stanković and Janković judgement">{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/stankovic/cis/en/cis_jankovic_stankovic_en.pdf|title=ICTY: Blagojevic and Jokic judgement|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330081559/http://www.icty.org/x/cases/stankovic/cis/en/cis_jankovic_stankovic_en.pdf|archive-date=2012-03-30}}</ref><ref name="ICTY: Kunarac, Kovač and Vuković judgement">{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/kunarac/acjug/en/kun-aj020612e.pdf|title=ICTY: Kunarac, Kovač and Vuković judgement|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110806020707/http://www.icty.org/x/cases/kunarac/acjug/en/kun-aj020612e.pdf|archive-date=2011-08-06}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=November 2020}}

The Bosnian Serbs had the upper hand due to heavier weaponry (despite less manpower) that was given to them by the Yugoslav People's Army and established control over most areas where Serbs had relative majority but also in areas where they were a significant minority in both rural and urban regions excluding the larger towns of Sarajevo and [[Mostar]]. Bosnian Serb military and political leadership received the most accusations of [[war crimes]] by the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]] (ICTY) many of which have been confirmed after the war in ICTY trials.
Most of the capital [[Sarajevo]] was predominantly held by the Bosniaks. In the 44 months of the siege, terror against Sarajevo residents varied in intensity, but the purpose remained the same: inflict suffering on civilians to force the Bosnian authorities to accept Bosnian Serb demands.<ref name="ICTY: Greatest suffering at least risk">{{cite web |url=http://www.sense-agency.com/en/stream.php?sta=3&pid=9043&kat=3 |title=ICTY: Greatest suffering at least risk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013175021/http://sense-agency.com/en/stream.php?sta=3&pid=9043&kat=3 |archive-date=2007-10-13 }}</ref>
{{Clear}}

== Language ==
{{Main|Bosnian language}}

{{multiple image
 | total_width = 440

 | image1    = Nauk krstjanski za narod slovinski - Divković (1611).jpg
 | caption1  = The ''Nauk karstianski za narod slovinski'' (Christian doctrine for the Slavic people), written by [[Matija Divković]], is regarded as the first Bosnian language printed book, published in [[Venice]] in 1611

 | image2    = Gramatika bosanskog jezika.jpg
 | caption2  = A Bosnian grammar from 1890 written by the unsigned author Frano Vuletić.

 | image3    = Bosnian dictionary by Muhamed Hevaji Uskufi Bosnevi in 1631.jpg
 | caption3  = Bosnian language dictionary ''Magbuli 'arif'' or ''Potur Šahidija'', written by [[Muhamed Hevaji Uskufi Bosnevi]] in 1631 using a [[Arebica|Bosnian variant]] of the Perso-Arabic script.
 }}
  
Most Bosniaks speak the [[Bosnian language]], a [[Slavic languages|South Slavic]] language of the Western [[South Slavs|South Slavic]] subgroup. Standard Bosnian is considered a [[Variety (linguistics)#Standard varieties|variety]] of [[Serbo-Croatian language|Serbo-Croatian]], as [[mutually intelligible]] with the [[Croatian language|Croatian]] and [[Serbian language]]s which are all based on the [[Shtokavian dialect]].<ref>Benjamin W. Fortson IV, ''Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction'', 2nd ed. (2010, Blackwell), pg. 431, "Because of their mutual intelligibility, Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian are usually thought of as constituting one language called Serbo-Croatian."</ref><ref>Václav Blažek, "On the Internal Classification of Indo-European Languages: Survey" [http://www.phil.muni.cz/linguistica/art/blazek/bla-003.pdf retrieved 20 Oct 2010] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204101748/http://www.phil.muni.cz/linguistica/art/blazek/bla-003.pdf |date=2012-02-04 }}, pp. 15–16.</ref> As result, paraphrases such as ''Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB)'' or ''Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (BCS)'' tend to be used in English on occasion.

At the vernacular level, Bosniaks are more linguistically homogeneous than Serbs or Croats who also speak non-standard dialects beside Shtokavian. With respect to lexicon, Bosnian is characterized by its larger number of Ottoman Turkish (as well as Arabic and Persian) loanwords (called ''Orientalisms'') in relation to the other Serbo-Croatian varieties.

The first official dictionary in the Bosnian language was published in 1992.<ref name="Jordan1989">{{cite book|author=Peter Jordan|title=Atlas Ost- und Südosteuropa: Bevölkerung aktuelle Karten zu Ökologie, Bevölkerung und Wirtschaft|volume=2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JtZKAAAAYAAJ|year=1989|publisher=Österreichisches Ost- und Südosteuropa-Institut|isbn=978-3-443-28526-5|page=21}}</ref> [[Church Slavonic language|Church Slavonic]] is attested since at least the [[Kingdom of Bosnia]]; the [[Charter of Ban Kulin]], written in Cyrillic, remains one of the oldest written South Slavic state documents.

The modern Bosnian language principally uses the [[Gaj's Latin Alphabet|Latin alphabet]]. However, Cyrillic (popularly termed [[Bosnian Cyrillic]] or ''Bosančica'') was employed much earlier, as evident in medieval charters and on monumental tombstones (''[[stećci]]'') found scattered throughout the landscape. One of the most important documents is the Charter of Ban Kulin, which is regarded by Bosnian authors as one of the oldest official recorded documents to be written in Bosnian Cyrillic.<ref>{{cite book |title=Sarajevo essays: politics, ideology, and tradition |last= Mahmutćehajić |first= Rusmir |year= 2003 |publisher=State University of New York Press |location=Albany, NY  |isbn=9780791456378 |page=[https://archive.org/details/sarajevoessayspo00mahm/page/n264 252] |url=https://archive.org/details/sarajevoessayspo00mahm|url-access=limited }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Die Kultur der Bosniaken, Supplement I: Inventar des bosnischen literarischen Erbes in orientalischen Sprachen |last=Balić |first=Smail |year=1978 |publisher=Adolf Holzhausens, Vienna |location=Vienna |page=111}}</ref> The use of Cyrillic was largely replaced by [[Arebica]] (''Matufovica''), a Bosnian variant of the [[Perso-Arabic script]], upon the introduction of Islam in the 15th century, first among the elite, then amongst the public, and was commonly used up until the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book |title=Katalog Arapskih, Turskih i Perzijskih Rukopisa (Catalogue of the Arabic, Turkish and Persian Manuscripts in the Gazihusrevbegova Library, Sarajevo) |last=Dobraća |first=Kasim |year=1963 |location= Sarajevo }}</ref>

== Culture ==
===Folklore===
{{Further|Bosniak epic poetry}}
[[File:Blagaj Ceilings.jpg|thumb|right|Buna river, near the town of Blagaj in southern Herzegovina. Blagaj is situated at the spring of the [[Buna (Neretva)|Buna river]] and a historical [[khanqah|tekke]] (''tekija'' or [[Dervish]] monastery). The [[Vrelo Bune|Blagaj Tekija]] was built around 1520, with elements of [[Ottoman architecture]] and [[Mediterranean]] style<ref name="The natural and architectural ensemble of Blagaj">{{cite web |title=The natural and architectural ensemble of Blagaj |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5280/ |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |access-date=2009-05-21 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100217183143/https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5280 |archive-date=2010-02-17 }}</ref><ref name="Tekke in Blagaj on the Buna Spring, the natural and architectural ensemble of Blagaj">{{cite web |title= Tekke in Blagaj on the Buna Spring, the natural and architectural ensemble of Blagaj |url= http://www.aneks8komisija.com.ba/main.php?mod=galerija&action=spomenici&do=view&id_spomenika=1867&lang=4 |website=Commission to Preserve National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina |access-date= 2009-05-22 }}{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and is considered a national monument.]][[File:Medresa Sarajevo.JPG|thumb|right|''Gazi Husrev-begova medresa'' or ''Kuršumli medresa'', [[madrasa]] founded in 1537 in honor to Gazi Husrev Bey's mother Seldžuklija, in the old part of Sarajevo.]]

There are many signs of [[pagan]] practices being carried over first into Christianity and later into Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovina – for example, the use of the mountain tops as a place of worship, and the name of pagan gods, such as [[Perun]] and [[Thor]], that survived in oral tradition until the twentieth century.<ref>Muhamed Hadžijahić, "Sinkretistički elementi", p. 304–305 (mountain tops), p. 309–313 (God's names).</ref> Slavic traditions such as dragons, fairies and ''[[Slavic fairies|Vila]]'', are also present. Fairies are often mentioned in Bosniak epics, poetry and folk songs. Well known are "gorske vile", or fairies from the mountains which dance on very green meadows. The cult of post-pagan Perun survived as the day of [[Elijah|Elijah the Thunderer]] which was another important event for Bosnian Muslims. Muhamed Hadžijahić mentions: "In Muslim celebration of this holiday, we see traces of ancient pagan traditions related to the cult of sun and rain." This tradition is among Bosnian Muslims known as Aliđun and among the Serbs as Ilijevdan. Pre-Slavic influences are far less common but present. Certain elements of paleo-Balkan beliefs have also been found.<ref>Glasnik zemaljskog muzeja, 01/07/1894 – ''Vjerske starine iz Bosne i Hercegovine'' Scridb: {{cite web |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/75692611/Glasnik-Zemaljskog-Muzeja-1894-god-6-knj-1 |title=Glasnik Zemaljskog Muzeja 1894./god.6 knj.1 |access-date=2017-09-08 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224144413/https://www.scribd.com/doc/75692611/Glasnik-Zemaljskog-Muzeja-1894-god-6-knj-1 |archive-date=2017-02-24 }}</ref> One of these traditions which could originate from the pre-Slavic era, is a Bosniak tradition of placing a horse's skull tied with a rope into river Bosna, to fight off drought.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ibrahim Pašić|title=Predslavenski korijeni Bošnjaka: Tračko ime Bosna i Tračani u Bosni|publisher=BZK "PREPOROD"|page=405|location=Sarajevo|url=http://www.interliber.com/catlistdetail.asp?SID=INTERLIBER^71366947-2014-12-29-9-52&ISBN=9789958820632&ml=b|year=2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307220852/http://interliber.com/catlistdetail.asp?isbn=9789958820632&ml=b&sid=interliber%5E71366947-2014-12-29-9-52|archive-date=2016-03-07}}</ref> ''Djevojačka pećina'', or the ''Maiden's Cave'', is a traditional place of the 'Rain Prayer' near [[Kladanj]] in north-eastern Bosnia, where Bosnian Muslims gather to pray for the soul of the maiden whose grave is said to be at the entrance to the cave. This tradition is of pre-Islamic origin and is a place where the followers of the medieval [[Bosnian Church]] held their [[pilgrimage]]. Another Bosnian Muslim place of pilgrimage is [[Ajvatovica]] near [[Prusac]] in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is the largest Islamic traditional, religious and cultural event in Europe, and is a place where devout Bosnian Muslims remember and give thanks to the founder of the holy site, Ajvaz-dedo, whose forty day prayers were heard by [[Allah]] and much needed water came out of a rock that had split open in a miraculous act. Even though the pilgrimage at Ajvatovica is a marking of the sixteenth-century conversion to Islam in Bosnia,<ref>{{cite book|author=Vjekoslav Perica|title=Balkan Idols: Religion and Nationalism in Yugoslav States|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=86|location=New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jIoKMGRHxn4C&q=ajvatovica|year=2002|isbn=9780195174298}}</ref>

National heroes are typically historical figures, whose lives and skills in battle are emphasized. These include figures such as [[Ban Kulin]], the founder of medieval Bosnia who has come to acquire a legendary status. The historian [[William Miller (historian)|William Miller]] wrote in 1921 that "even today, the people regard him as a favorite of the fairies, and his reign as a golden age.";<ref>{{cite journal|last=Miller|first=William|title=Bosnia before the Turkish Conquest|journal=The English Historical Review|date=October 1898|volume=13|issue=52|pages=643–666|doi=10.1093/ehr/xiii.lii.643|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1431676|access-date=2019-07-01|archive-date=2019-12-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221035638/https://zenodo.org/record/1431676|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Traditions and customs===
{{Further|Culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Music of Bosnia and Herzegovina|List of Bosniaks in music}}
[[File:Bosnian dance.png|thumb|right|Bosniak girls dancing a traditional [[Kolo (dance)|kolo dance]]]]

The nation takes pride in the native melancholic folk songs ''[[sevdalinka]]'', the precious medieval [[filigree]] manufactured by old [[Sarajevo]] craftsmen, and a wide array of [[tradition]]al [[wisdom]] transmitted to newer generations by word of mouth, but in recent years written down in a number of books. Another prevalent tradition is "''Muštuluk''", whereby a gift is owed to any bringer of good news.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Šta je muštuluk i otkud u našem rječniku?|url=https://www.cdm.me/zabava/zanimljivosti/sta-je-mustuluk-i-otkud-u-nasem-rjecniku/|access-date=2020-11-26|website=CdM|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-12-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205111758/https://www.cdm.me/zabava/zanimljivosti/sta-je-mustuluk-i-otkud-u-nasem-rjecniku/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Rural folk traditions in Bosnia include the shouted, [[polyphony|polyphonic]] [[ganga (music)|ganga]] and ravne pjesme (''flat song'') styles, as well as instruments like a wooden [[flute]] and [[šargija]]. The [[gusle]], an instrument found throughout the [[Balkans]], is also used to accompany ancient South Slavic [[epic poetry|epic]] [[poems]]. The most versatile and skillful gusle-performer of Bosniak ethnicity was the [[Montenegro|Montenegrin]] Bosniak [[Avdo Međedović]] (1875–1953).

Probably the most distinctive and identifiably Bosniak of music, ''Sevdalinka'' is a kind of emotional, melancholic folk song that often describes sad subjects such as love and loss, the death of a dear person or heartbreak. Sevdalinkas were traditionally performed with a [[Bağlama|saz]], a Turkish [[string instrument]], which was later replaced by the accordion.  However, the more modern arrangement, to the derision of some purists, is typically a vocalist accompanied by the [[accordion]] along with [[snare drum]]s, [[upright bass]], [[guitar]]s, [[clarinet]]s and [[violin]]s. Sevdalinkas are unique to Bosnia and Herzegovina. They arose in Ottoman Bosnia as urban Bosnian music with often oriental influences. In the early 19th century, Bosniak poet [[Umihana Čuvidina]] contributed greatly to sevdalinka with her poems about her lost love, which she sang. The poets which in large has contributed to the rich heritage of Bosniak  people, include among others Derviš-paša Bajezidagić, [[Abdullah Bosnevi]], [[Hasan Kafi Pruščak]], Abdurrahman Sirri, [[Abdulvehab Ilhamija]], [[Mula Mustafa Bašeskija]], Hasan Kaimija, [[Ivan Franjo Jukić]], [[Safvet-beg Bašagić]], [[Musa Ćazim Ćatić]], [[Mak Dizdar]], as many prominent prose writers, such as [[Enver Čolaković]], [[Skender Kulenović]], [[Abdulah Sidran]], [[Nedžad Ibrišimović]], [[Zaim Topčić]] and [[Zlatko Topčić]]. Historical journals as ''Gajret'', ''Behar'' and ''Bošnjak'' are some of the most prominent publications, which in a big way contributed to the preservation of the Bosniak identity in late 19th and early 20th century. The Bosnian literature, are generally known for their ballads; ''The Mourning Song of the Noble Wife of the Hasan Aga''<ref>Naimark, Norman M.; Case, Holly (2003). Yugoslavia and Its Historians: Understanding the Balkan Wars of the 1990s. Stanford University Press. pp. 44–45.</ref> (or better known as [[Hasanaginica]]), ''Smrt Omera i Merime'' (Omer and Merimas death) and ''Smrt braće Morića'' (The death of brothers Morić). Hasanaginica were told from generation to generation in oral form, until it was finally written and published in 1774 by an Italian anthropologist [[Alberto Fortis]], in his book ''[[Viaggio in Dalmazia]]'' ("Journey to Dalmatia").<ref>Wolff, Larry (2003). Venice and the Slavs: The Discovery of Dalmatia in the Age of Enlightenment. Stanford University Press. pp. 191–192. {{ISBN|0-8047-3946-3}}.</ref>

===Religion===
{{Further|Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovina}}

The Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks) are traditionally<ref name="Cambridge University Press"/><ref>{{cite book|title=Islamic Studies|volume=40|issue=1–4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=81okAQAAIAAJ|year=2001|publisher=Islamic Research Institute|page=136|quote=<!--Today, however, the term "Bosniak" refers to one Bosnian group only: the Sunni Muslims.-->}}</ref>{{sfn|Velikonja|2003|p=64, 277}} and predominantly [[Sunni Muslim]].<ref>{{cite book |title= "L'ingérence iranienne en Bosnie-Herzégovine," in Xavier Bougarel and Nathalie Clayer, eds., Le Nouvel Islam balkanique |last=Bagherzadeh |first=Alireza |year=2001 |location=Paris |pages=397–428 }}</ref> Historically, [[Sufism]] has also played a significant role among the Bosnian Muslims who tended to favor more mainstream Sunni orders such as the [[Naqshbandi]]yya, [[Rifa'i]] and [[Qadiriyya]]. There are also Bosniaks who can be categorized as [[Nondenominational Muslims]] and [[Cultural Muslims]].<ref>Jeffries, Ian (2007). Balkans: A Post-Communist History. p. 330.</ref> The Bosnian Islamic community has also been influenced by other currents within Islam than the one in Bosnia and Herzegovina prevailing [[Hanafi]] school, especially since the 1990s war.<ref>Gaši, Ašk, Melamisufism i Bosnien, ''En dold gemenskap'', Lund Studies in History of Religions. Volume 45., p. 38. Department of History and Anthropology of Religions, Lund University, Lund, Sweden</ref> The position of Sufism in Bosnia during the Ottoman era was legally the same as in other parts of the empire. Bosnian Sufis produced literature, often in oriental languages (Arabic and Turkish), although a few also wrote in Serbo-Croatian,<ref>Šabanović 1973</ref> such as Abdurrahman Sirri (1785–1846/47) and [[Abdulvehab Ilhamija|Abdulwahāb Žepčewī]] (1773–1821). Another Sufi from Bosnia was Sheikh Hali Hamza, whose doctrines were considered to contradict the official interpretation of Islam. His supporters ''hamzevije'' formed a religious movement that is often described as a sect closely related to the [[tariqa]] of ''bajrami-melami''.<ref>Ćehajić 1986:69ff; Hadžijahić 1977:91ff.</ref> Another prominent Bosniak Sufi was [[Hasan Kafi Pruščak]], a Sufi thinker and the most prominent figure of the scientific literature and intellectual life of the 16th century Bosniaks.

In a 1998 public opinion poll, 78.3% of Bosniaks in the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] declared themselves to be religious.{{sfn|Velikonja|2003|p=261}} Bosnian Muslims tend to often be described as moderate, secular and European-oriented compared to other Muslim groups.<ref>Bringa 2002:24; Bringa 1995:7.</ref> Bosniaks have been described as "[[Cultural Muslims]]"<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jeffries|first1=Ian|title=Balkans: A Post-Communist History|url=https://archive.org/details/balkanspostcommu00jeff|url-access=limited|date=2007|page=[https://archive.org/details/balkanspostcommu00jeff/page/n350 330]}}</ref> or "[[Progressive Muslims]]".{{sfn|Hoare|2014|p=3}}
[[File:GaziHusrev-begMosqueSarajevo.JPG|thumb|[[Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque|Gazi Husrev-beg mosque]] constructed in 1532 by the sanjak-bey of Bosnia [[Gazi Husrev-beg]], located in [[Sarajevo]].]]
Kjell Magnusson points out that religion played a major role in the processes that shaped the national movements and the formation of the new states in the Balkans after the Ottoman retreat, since the Ottomans distinguished peoples after their religious affiliations.<ref>Magnusson 1994:336; Olsson 1994:24.</ref> Although religion only plays a minor role in the daily lives of the ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina today, the following stereotypes are still rather current, namely, that the Serbs are Orthodox, the Croats Catholic and the Bosniaks Muslim; those native Bosnians who remained Christian and did not convert to Islam over time came to identify as ethnic [[Serbs|Serb]] or [[Croats|Croat]], helping to explain the apparent ethnic mix in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Still, however, there are a few individuals who violate the aforementioned pattern and practice other religions actively, often due to intermarriage.<ref>Gaši, Ašk, Melamisufism i Bosnien, ''En dold gemenskap'', Lund Studies in History of Religions. Volume 27., p. 38. Department of History and Anthropology of Religions, Lund University, Lund, Sweden</ref>

===Surnames and given names===

There are some Bosniak surnames of foreign origin, indicating that the founder of the family came from a place outside Bosnia and Herzegovina. Many such Bosniak surnames have [[Albanians|Albanian]], [[Vlachs|Vlach]], [[Turkic languages|Turkic]] or [[Arabs|Arab]] origins. Examples of such surnames include Arnautović (from Arnaut - Turkish ethnonym used to denote Albanians), Vlasić (from Vlach people), Tatarević (from Tatar people) and Arapović (from Arap - Turkish ethnonym used to denote Arabs). There are also some surnames which are presumed to be of pre-Slavic origin. Some examples of such surnames may be of Illyrian or Celtic origin, such as the surname [[Mataruge|Mataruga]] and Motoruga.<ref>E. Çabej, Ilirishtja dhe Shqipja, Studime gjuhesore IV, Prishtine 1987., p. 202.</ref>

Given names or first names among Bosniaks have mostly [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Persian language|Persian]] or [[Turkish language|Turkish]] roots such as Osman, Mehmed, Muhamed, Mirza, Alija, Ismet, Kemal, Hasan, Ibrahim, Irfan, Mustafa, Ahmed, Husein, Hamza, Haris, Halid, Refik, Tarik, Faruk, Abdulah, Amer, Sulejman, Mahir, Enver, and many others. South Slavic given names such as "Zlatan" or "Zlatko" are also present primarily among non-religious Bosniaks. What is notable however is that due to the structure of the Bosnian language, many of the Muslim given names have been altered to create uniquely Bosniak given names. Some of the Oriental given names have been shortened. For example: Huso short for Husein, Ahmo short for Ahmed, Meho short for Mehmed. One example of this is that of the Bosniak humorous characters Mujo and Suljo, whose given names are actually Bosniak short forms of Mustafa and Sulejman. More present still is the transformation of given names that in Arabic or Turkish are confined to one gender to apply to the other sex. In Bosnian, simply taking away the letter "a" changes the traditionally feminine "Jasmina" into the popular male name "Jasmin". Similarly, adding an "a" to the typically male "Mahir" results in the feminine "Mahira".<ref>Muslimanska licna imena: sa etimologijom, etimoloskom grafijom i sematikom Trece izdanje. Author: Senad Agic; El-Kalem; 7/1/1999 (Muslim personal names with etymology and semantics)</ref>

===Symbols===

[[File:TvrtkoIRevers.png|thumb|right|The coat of arms of the [[House of Kotromanić|Kotromanić dynasty]] on a 14th-century reverse – with the [[fleur-de-lis]], which is today used as a Bosniak national symbol and was formerly featured on the flag of the [[Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina]]]]

The traditional symbol of the Bosniak people is a [[fleur-de-lis]] coat of arms, decorated with six golden lilies, also referred to [[Lilium bosniacum]], a native lily of the region.<ref>"Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1992–1998". Flagspot.net. Retrieved 3 February 2012.</ref> This Bosniak national symbol is derived from the coat of arms of the medieval Kingdom of Bosnia, and was particularly used in the context of the rule of Bosnian King [[Tvrtko I of Bosnia]]. According to some sources, the Bosnian coat of arms, with six golden lilies, originated from the French descended [[Capetian House of Anjou]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nato.int/sfor/indexinf/articles/030512a/t030512a.htm|title=SFOR – Bosnia and Herzegovina in ten flags|access-date=1 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063315/http://www.nato.int/sfor/indexinf/articles/030512a/t030512a.htm|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> The member of this dynasty, [[Louis I of Hungary]], was married to [[Elizabeth of Bosnia]], daughter of the ban [[Stephen II of Bosnia]], with [[Tvrtko I of Bosnia|Tvrtko I]] consequently embracing the heraldic lily as a symbol of the Bosnian royalty in token of the familial relations between the Angevins and the Bosnian royal family. It is also likely that the Bosnians adopted, or were granted, the fleur-de-lis on their coat of arms as a reward for taking the Angevin side.

This emblem was revived in 1992 as a symbol of Bosnian nationhood and represented the flag of the [[Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] between 1992 and 1998. Although the state insignia was replaced in 1999 on request of the other two ethnic groups, the [[flag of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] still features a fleur-de-lis alongside the [[Variations of the field|Croatian chequy]]. The Bosnian fleur-de-lis also appears on the flags and arms of many cantons, municipalities, cities and towns. It is still used as official insignia of the Bosniak regiment of the [[Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mpr.gov.ba/userfiles/file/Biblioteka/zakoni/hr/ZAKON%20O%20ZASTAVI%20BiH/Zakon%20o%20zastavi%20BiH%20-%2019%20-%2001.pdf |title=Zakon o zastavi Bosne i Hercegovine |trans-title=Law on the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina |access-date=2010-01-07 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081119223607/http://www.mpr.gov.ba/userfiles/file/Biblioteka/zakoni/hr/ZAKON%20O%20ZASTAVI%20BiH/Zakon%20o%20zastavi%20BiH%20-%2019%20-%2001.pdf |archive-date=2008-11-19 }}</ref> The Fleur-de-lis can also be commonly found as ornament in mosques and on Muslim tombstones. Swedish historian Senimir Resić states that the emblem of the fleur-de-lis (symbolizing the Christian Middle Ages) which become a national symbol of Bosniaks in 1992, was, in that time of war and [[Islamophobia]], intended to draw attention to the [[Western world]] of the Christian and medieval European past of the Bosnian Muslims.<ref>{{cite book|author=Senimir Resić|title=En historia om Balkan – Jugoslaviens uppgång och fall|publisher=Historiska Media|page=294|location=Lund|url=http://www.adlibris.com/se/bok/en-historia-om-balkan---jugoslaviens-uppgang-och-fall-9789185507870|year=2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229183931/http://www.adlibris.com/se/bok/en-historia-om-balkan---jugoslaviens-uppgang-och-fall-9789185507870|archive-date=2014-12-29|access-date=2014-12-29}}</ref>

Another Bosniak flag dates from the Ottoman era, and is a white crescent moon and star on a green background. The flag was also the symbol of the short-lived independent Bosnia in the 19th century and of the [[Bosnian uprising]] against the Turks led by [[Husein Gradaščević]].

== Geographical distribution ==

=== Diaspora ===
{{Main|Bosnian diaspora}}
{{See also|Bosnian Australian|Bosnian Austrian|Bosniak Americans|Bosnian Canadians|l1=Bosnians in Australia|l2=Austria|l3=United States}}
[[File:Map of the Bosnian Diaspora in the World.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|World map of the Bosniak diaspora (does not include Serbs and Croats who are not Bosniak ethnically).<br />
{{Legend|#000000|Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
{{Legend|#000d44|+ 100,000}}
{{Legend|#001d99|+ 10,000}}
{{Legend|#5a8fe2|+ 1,000}}
]]

There is a significant Bosniak diaspora in [[Europe]], [[Turkey]] as well as in [[North America]] in such countries as the [[United States]] and [[Canada]].

*Turkey: The community in Turkey has its origins predominantly in the exodus of Muslims from the [[Bosnia Eyalet]] taking place in the 19th and early 20th century as result of the collapse of Ottoman rule in the Balkans. According to estimates commissioned in 2008 by the [[National Security Council (Turkey)|National Security Council of Turkey]] as many as 2 million Turkish citizens are of Bosniak ancestry.<ref>{{cite web |author= Milliyet |url= http://www.milliyet.com.tr/default.aspx?aType=SonDakika&Kategori=yasam&ArticleID=873452&Date=07.06.2008&ver=16 |title= Türkiye'deki Kürtlerin sayısı! |publisher= www.milliyet.com.tr |date= 2008-06-06 |access-date= 2013-05-05 |language= tr |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090209021046/http://www.milliyet.com.tr/default.aspx?aType=SonDakika&Kategori=yasam&ArticleID=873452&Date=07.06.2008&ver=16 |archive-date= 2009-02-09 |author-link = Milliyet}}</ref> Bosniaks mostly live in the [[Marmara Region]], in the north-west. The biggest Bosniak community in Turkey is in [[Istanbul]]; the borough [[Yenibosna]] (formerly Saraybosna, after [[Sarajevo]]), saw rapid migration from the Ottoman Balkans after the founding of the Republic of Turkey.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} There are notable Bosniak communities in [[İzmir]], [[Karamürsel]], [[Yalova]], [[Bursa]] and [[Edirne]].
*United States: The first Bosnian arrivals came around the 1860s. According to a 2000 estimate, there are some 350,000 [[Bosniak Americans|Americans of Bosnian ancestry]].<ref name="The 2000 USA census"/> Bosniaks were early leaders in the establishment of [[Chicago]]'s Muslim community. In 1906, they established Džemijetul Hajrije (The Benevolent Society) of [[Illinois]] to preserve the community's religious and national traditions as well as to provide mutual assistance for funerals and illness. The organization established chapters in [[Gary, Indiana|Gary]], [[Indiana]], in 1913, and [[Butte, Montana|Butte]], [[Montana]], in 1916, and is the oldest existing Muslim organization in the United States. There are numerous Bosniak cultural, sport and religious associations. Bosnian-language newspapers and other periodicals are published in many states; the largest in the United States is the St. Louis based newspaper [http://sabahusa.com/ "Sabah"]. At the peak of the Bosnian presence in St. Louis 70,000 Bosnians lived in the city.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Delkic|first=Melina|date=2019-08-18|title='It's Not the Same': Why War Refugees Who Helped Revive St. Louis Are Leaving|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/18/us/bosnian-refugees-st-louis-midwest.html|access-date=2021-05-15|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=2021-05-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515001221/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/18/us/bosnian-refugees-st-louis-midwest.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
*Canada: According to the [[Canada 2001 Census|2001 census]], there are 25,665 people who claimed [[Bosnians|Bosnian]] ancestry.<ref name="immigration-online.org">{{cite web|url=http://immigration-online.org/41-bosnian-immigration.html|title=immigration-online.org|access-date=1 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603064525/http://immigration-online.org/41-bosnian-immigration.html|archive-date=3 June 2012}}</ref> A large majority of [[Bosnian Canadian]]s emigrated to [[Canada]] during and after the Bosnian War, although Bosnian migration dates back to the 19th century.<ref name="immigration-online.org"/> Traditional centers of residence and culture for people from Bosnia and Herzegovina are in [[Toronto]], [[Montreal]] and [[Vancouver]]. Numerous Bosniak cultural, sport and religious associations, Bosnian-language newspapers and other periodicals are published in many states. The largest Bosnian organisation in Canada is the [[Congress of North American Bosniaks]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bosniak.org/|title=Congress of North American Bosniaks|access-date=1 May 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507110644/http://www.bosniak.org/|archive-date=7 May 2016}}</ref>

==Historiography==
{{See also|List of Slavic studies journals}}

== See also ==
{{portal|Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
*[[List of Bosniaks]]
*[[List of massacres of Bosniaks]]
*[[Ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina]] 
*[[Bushnak]]
*[[Bosnian War]]
**[[Croat–Bosniak War]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
'''Books'''
* {{cite book|last=Allworth|first=Edward|title=Muslim Communities Reemerge: Historical Perspectives on Nationality, Politics, and Opposition in the Former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f1qUHMl3JfgC&pg=PA125|year=1994|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0-8223-1490-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Basic|first=Denis|title=The Roots of the Religious, Ethnic, and National Identity of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Muslims|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RivPTByg2rMC|publisher=[[University of Washington]]|year=2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628160106/http://books.google.com/books?id=RivPTByg2rMC|archive-date=2014-06-28|isbn=9781109124637}}
* {{cite book |last=Bougarel |first=Xavier |author-link=Xavier Bougarel |date=2017 |title=Islam and Nationhood in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Surviving Empires |location=New York |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=9781350003590}}
* {{cite book|last=Bougarel |first=Xavier |date=2009 |chapter=Od "Muslimana" do "Bošnjaka": pitanje nacionalnog imena bosanskih muslimana |trans-chapter=From "Muslims" to "Bosniaks": the question of the national name of the Bosnian Muslims |title=Rasprave o nacionalnom identitetu Bošnjaka – Zbornik radova |trans-title=The discussions on the national identity of Bosniaks - a collection of papers |journal=Institut Za Istoriju}}
* {{Cite book|last=Bulić|first=Dejan|chapter=The Fortifications of the Late Antiquity and the Early Byzantine Period on the Later Territory of the South-Slavic Principalities, and their re-occupation|title=The World of the Slavs: Studies of the East, West and South Slavs: Civitas, Oppidas, Villas and Archeological Evidence (7th to 11th Centuries AD)|year=2013|location=Belgrade|publisher=The Institute for History|pages=137–234|isbn=9788677431044|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pLJCCwAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite book|last1=Donia|first1=Robert J.|last2=Fine| first2=John Van Antwerp Jr. |title=Bosnia and Hercegovina: A Tradition Betrayed|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0rIGA0rluO0C&pg=PA14|year=1994|publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers|isbn=978-1-85065-212-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Fine| first=John Van Antwerp Jr. |title=The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century|publisher=University of Michigan Press|year=1991|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y0NBxG9Id58C|isbn=978-0-472-08149-3}}
* Friedman, Francine "The Bosnian Muslims: The Making of a Yugoslav Nation," in Melissa Bokovoy, Jill Irvine, and Carol Lilly, eds., State-Society Relations in Yugoslavia, 1945–1992, 1997
* {{cite book |last1=Hoare |first1=Marko Attila |title=The Bosnian Muslims in the Second World War |date=1 February 2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-936531-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pf8EAQAAQBAJ |language=en}}
* {{cite book|last1=Kaimakamova|first1=Miliana|last2=Salamon|first2=Maciej|title=Byzantium, new peoples, new powers: the Byzantino-Slav contact zone, from the ninth to the fifteenth century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=85giAQAAIAAJ|year=2007|publisher=Towarzystwo Wydawnicze "Historia Iagellonica"|isbn=978-83-88737-83-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Karčić|first=Fikret|title=The Bosniaks and the Challenges of Modernity: Late Ottoman and Hapsburg Times|year=1995}}
* {{cite book|last=Malcolm|first=Noel|title=Bosnia: A Short History|edition=2nd|publisher=New York University Press|year=1996|orig-date=1994|isbn=978-0-8147-5561-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Pinson|first=Mark|title=The Muslims of Bosnia-Herzegovina: Their Historic Development from the Middle Ages to the Dissolution of Yugoslavia|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1994|isbn=978-0-932885-09-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yl3TAkJmztYC&pg=PA4}}
* {{cite book|last=Ramet|first=Sabrina P.|title=The Three Yugoslavias: State-Building and Legitimation, 1918–2004|year=2006|publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=0-253-34656-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FTw3lEqi2-oC&q=Ranković+Bosniak+recognition |access-date=28 September 2019}}
* {{cite book|last=Redžić |first=Enver |author-link=Enver Redžić |title=Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Second World War |year=2005 |publisher=Frank Cass |isbn=0-7146-5625-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Tomasevich|first=Jozo|title=War and Revolution in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945: Occupation and Collaboration|year=2001 |publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=978-0-8047-0857-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Velikonja |first=Mitja |author-link=Mitja Velikonja |url=https://archive.org/details/religiousseparat0000veli|url-access=registration|title=Religious Separation and Political Intolerance in Bosnia-Herzegovina|year=2003 |publisher=Texas A&M University Press|isbn=978-1-58544-226-3}}

'''Journals'''
*{{cite journal|last=Babuna|first=Aydin|title=Nationalism and the Bosnian muslims|journal=East European Quarterly|volume=33|issue=2|year=1999|pages=195–}}
*Bauer, Deron. The ethno-religious identity of Bosnian Muslims: A literature-based ethnography. Fuller Theological Seminary, School of Intercultural Studies, 2012.
*{{cite journal|last=Friedman|first=Francine|title=The muslim slavs of Bosnia and Herzegovina (with reference to the Sandzak of Novi Pazar): Islam as national identity|journal=Nationalities Papers|volume=28|issue=1|pages=165–180|year=2000|doi=10.1080/00905990050002498|s2cid=154938106}}
*{{cite journal|last=Hamourtziadou|first=Lily|title=The Bosniaks: from nation to threat|journal=Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans|volume=4|issue=2|pages=141–156|year=2002|doi=10.1080/1461319022000021594|s2cid=153647785}}
*{{cite journal|last=Kofman|first=Daniel|title=Self-determination in a multiethnic state: Bosnians, Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs|journal=Reconstructing Multiethnic Societies: The Case of Bosnia-Herzegovina|year=2001|pages=31–62}}
*{{cite journal|last=Larise|first=Dunja|title=The Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina and nation building by muslims/Bosniaks in the Western Balkans|journal=Nationalities Papers|volume=43|issue=2|pages=195–212|year=2015|doi=10.1080/00905992.2014.998186|s2cid=128622843}}
*{{cite journal|last=Lopasic|first=Alexander|title=Bosnian muslims: a search for identity|journal=Bulletin|volume=8|issue=2|year=1981|pages=115–125|doi=10.1080/13530198108705319}}
*{{cite journal|last=Lomonosov|first=Matvey|title=Illyrianism in Bosnian style: Balkan antiquity in contemporary national mythology and identity construction among the Bosniaks|journal=The South Slav Journal|volume=31|issue=3–4|year=2012|pages=61–83|url=https://www.academia.edu/download/30980425/04_Matvey_Lomonosov_-_The_South_Slav_Journal_Vol_31_-_No_3-4-2.pdf}}{{dead link|date=August 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
*{{cite journal|last=Ramet|first=Pedro|title=Primordial ethnicity or modern nationalism: The case of Yugoslavia's Muslims|journal=Nationalities Papers|volume=13|issue=2|pages=165–187|year=1985|doi=10.1080/00905998508408020|s2cid=162161893 }}

==External links==
{{commons category|Bosniaks}}
{{wikiquote}}
*[https://www.baicdetroit.com/ Bosniaks in United States]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090727054455/http://www.igbd.eu/ IGBD – Bosniaks in Germany] {{in lang|bs|de}}
*[https://www.bosniak.org Congress of North American Bosniaks]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070303164136/http://www.baacbh.org/ BAACBH.org – Bosniak American Advisory Council for Bosnia-Herzegovina]
*[[wikt:bosniak|Bosniaks]] – Wiktionary entry for Bosniaks <!-- Wiktionary entry needs improvement -->
*[https://www.bosnjaci.net/ BOSNJACI.net] {{in lang|bs}}
*[https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bosniaks/115081885174428?nr=108743032492432 Facebook page]

{{Bosniak diaspora}}
{{Ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
{{European Muslims}}
{{Slavic ethnic groups}}

[[Category:Bosniak people| ]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Turkey]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Kosovo]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Montenegro]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Serbia]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Croatia]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in North Macedonia]]
[[Category:Slavic ethnic groups]]
[[Category:South Slavs]]
[[Category:Muslim communities in Europe]]
[[Category:Ethnoreligious groups in Europe]]
[[Category:Muslim ethnoreligious groups]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in the Balkans]]