Religion, War, and Memory: Reconfiguring Bosniak Identity after 1995
Religion, War, and Memory: Reconfiguring Bosniak Identity after 1995

Summary/Abstract: This paper analyzes the formation of Bosniak nationalism through the lens of collective memory and the enduring legacy of the 1992–1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Central to this process is the narrative of victimhood, particularly among Bosnian Muslims, whose experiences have been memorialized and politicized to shape a distinct Bosniak identity. The collective memory of wartime suffering—especially the Srebrenica genocide—has become a foundational element in the construction of postwar national consciousness, informing public rituals, institutional practices, and political discourse. The paper explores how Islam functions as both a cultural framework and a symbolic resource in this identity-making process. Far from promoting religious exclusivity, Islamic references are selectively integrated into national narratives to reinforce a sense of historical continuity, moral legitimacy, and civilisational alignment with the broader Muslim world. Namely, various international factors and their claimed neutrality are critically assessed for their role in reinforcing or challenging these narratives during and after the conflict. Particular attention is given to how memory is transmitted and ritualised by the Bosniaks at different levels—from federal political entity in former Yugoslavia to religious and state building identity—contributing to a form of post-memory that shapes current political and cultural alignments. The paper also considers how representations of war and peace in international relations help in the formation of collective identity. Ultimately, the paper demonstrates that “Bosniak nationalism emerged as a hybrid project, rooted in trauma, structured by memory, and shaped by the interplay of religion, victimhood, and the geopolitics of postwar identity.”

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