Perceptions of Islamization in the Serbian national discourse

Abstract

Before the period of nationalism, religious identification constituted a basis for the division of South Slavic peoples and its confines established historic borders within which particular national consciousness developed. Though none of the confessional institutions of South Slavs was strictly national, they acquired such a character through the constant struggle of religious leaderships to differentiate their flock from that of the other faith. Secular intelligentsia and political elite as chief proponents of nationalism played a very particular role in such development, adopting and employing religion and religious heritage. Therefore, religious difference is not in itself the basis of antagonism among South Slav peoples, but rather the nature and aims of national ideologies formed as parts of political culture of these peoples and their elite. An important part of such ideologies of antagonisms among all Balkan peoples is the narrative of the phenomena of religious conversions that happened in the past. In the context of religious segregation and emphasized identification of ethnic and religious identity, religious conversions evoke distrust, hate and resistance. The paper discusses the formation of mythologized consciousness about causes, course and consequences of islamicization, the most significant conversions in the Serbian history, with a special focus on the role of the Serbian historiography in the process.