Bosnian Communities Research Articles

Bosnian Multiconfessionalism as a Foundation for Intercultural Dialogue

Abstract Muslim communities in the Balkans where the practice of Islam had been developed in the European context, can be used as an exemplification of the bridge between the Islamic East and the Christian West. Although for over 400 years Bosnia was under the Ottoman rule, Muslims became one of the many first Yugoslav, and then Bosnian communities, contributing to the dynamic, yet moderate area of ontological and axiological negotiations within the cultural borderland, sharing the living space with members of the Orthodox church, Catholics, a small Jewish community, and even Protestants. The history of the Muslim-Christian contacts in Bosnia involves both the examples of collisions, as well as encounters, initiated both by Christians, and by Muslims. This article analyzes the religious diversity (multiconfessionalism) in the historical and contemporary cultural and social context of Bosnia-Herzegovina, revealing its specificity, dynamics and (often unsuccessful) attempts to conceptualize it from the perspective of the Eurocentric discourse. The aim is not only to portray this religiously diverse makeup, but also to emphasize its potential for establishing ground for intercultural dialogue.

Bosnian Drama on the Czech Scene

The Bosnian-Herzegovinian drama was occasionally performed on the Czechoslovak and Czech stages. The plots were not systematically translated, nor cultural-artistic contacts were planned, especially when it came to the twentieth century. With the arrival of students in the Czech Republic in the last two decades, systematic translation began, various stage readings were organized and Bosnian-Herzegovinian literature, including drama, began to be published. In the history of Czech theater, Ahmed Muradbegović was the first Bosnian dramatic who was tagged in Czechoslovakia, while the audience could also read contemporary playwrights, which were either published (Bašović, Imširević) or represented by theater agencies (Bukvić, Karahasan, Milenić, Šljivar). Text adaptations of Bosnian authors, dramalets, performances, and various stage events are presented and held in the Czech Republic thanks to the Bosnian community in Prague.

Grammatical Influences (Morphological) of Albanian Language in the Languages of Minorities in the Region of Prizren

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to prove the presence of calques (loan translation) of Albanian language in the languages of minorities (Gorani community, Bosnian community) in the region of Prizren. We will make an effort to provide evidence for the role of Albanian as a donor language through daily contacts with the members of the above-mentioned communities. The corpus of this study will be the edited volume of songs and folk tales from minority areas, respectively from the population of Gorani and Bosnian ethnicity and their dialects. The research will be focused in minority areas in the municipality of Dragash (Sharr) where Gorani people live, as well as in other areas of minority language speakers, mainly in Zhupa, in the municipality of Prizren. The paper will be important in enlightening the facts of using the structure of Albanian, both in the spoken language of the minority community and that of Albanian community. The cases where certain elements of Albanian language are encountered in another language, where Albanian appears as a donor language, will be considered as important. The reason which has pushed us to conduct the research regarding the presence of Albanian elements, basically morphological, in a non-Albanian speaking community in Kosovar society, respectively in the multi-ethnic society of Prizren, is the way of speaking of this minority community and the confirmation of the impact of Albanian language and ethno-culture on this minority language since ancient times to the present.

Bosnian multiconfessionalism as a foundation for intercultural dialogue

Muslim communities in the Balkans where the practice of Islam had been developed in the European context, can be used as an exemplification of the bridge between the Islamic East and the Christian West. Although for over 400 years Bosnia was under the Ottoman rule, Muslims became one of the many first Yugoslav, and then Bosnian communities, contributing to the dynamic, yet moderate area of ontological and axiological negotiations within the cultural borderland, sharing the living space with members of the Orthodox church, Catholics, a small Jewish community, and even Protestants. The history of the Muslim-Christian contacts in Bosnia involves both the examples of collisions, as well as encounters, initiated both by Christians, and by Muslims. This article analyzes the religious diversity (multiconfessionalism) in the historical and contemporary cultural and social context of Bosnia-Herzegovina, revealing its specificity, dynamics and (often unsuccessful) attempts to conceptualize it from the perspective of the Eurocentric discourse. The aim is not only to portray this religiously diverse makeup, but also to emphasize its potential for establishing ground for intercultural dialogue.

Examining the Effectiveness of Physical Activity on Mental Health among Bosnian Refugees: A Pilot Study

This pilot study aimed to reduce Bosnian refugees' vulnerability to and severity of mental disorders and sustain their mental health through adopting culturally appropriate and tailored physical activity. The study used the Community-Based Participatory Research approach and the quasi-experimental study design. A total of 35 participants in the intervention group received 12-week regular physical activity while 35 participants in the control group received 12-week educational materials concerning mental health. The effectiveness of the intervention was measured by the validated and culturally and linguistically competent instrument, Mental Health Inventory (MHI)-38. At the end of the study, both intervention and control groups demonstrated statistically significant improvement on the scales of MHI-38 either within or between groups. The study served as a non-clinical example to sustain, replicate, and expand the current intervention activities among the rest of the Bosnian community and other refugee/immigrant populations in the U.S. regarding their mental health well-being.

If It Is Meant to Be, Let It Be: Risk communication among Bosnian Refugees Resettled in the U.S.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and understand how a Bosnian refugee community perceives and responds to the potential risk of a natural disaster in order to identify tailored approaches to improve risk communication. This is a qualitative study. Participants resettled in St Louis, Missouri were identified through criterion and snowball sampling. Thirty-three face-to-face interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. Data were analyzed using both content and thematic analysis. Findings indicate that due to their war experiences, cultural and religious understanding of natural disaster, and social influence on their risk interpretation, participants tended to underestimate the potential threat of natural disaster. Media was the main communication methods in times of potential natural disaster. Lack of organizational support during risk communication was a major concern. Ethnic radio stations and word of mouth were rated as the most popular communication channels for disseminating messages in preparation of a natural disaster. Using a community-based participatory approach to identify community needs and involve Bosnian community partners in risk communication planning, implementation, and evaluation, is vital for a Bosnian community.

Information and the Community Participation in Decision-making Process on the Environmental Protection

When it comes to general climate in Bosnia and Herzegovina, ecological awareness is very low, both of the community and of the political structures - it is evident that they are not well informed about the concept of the environmental protection. The main reasons for the low perception of ecological problems are common to all countries in transition followed by economic crises, reparation of the basic infrastructures, lack of eco-public opinion, eco-education, culture of living and generally conformism and latency of Bosnian community as a whole. Having in mind the crucial problems that had caused low perception of the environmental protection, we must admit that the media, informing the community and creating the public opinion, are also responsible for current state. The role of the media and the community in solving ecology problems is discussed in this text.

Moral Vision and Impaired Insight

Depictions of the Balkans conflicts in most Western academic and journalistic writings are based on an unreal reading of life as those in the West do not want it, while those of prewar Bosnia manifest an imagination of a Bosnian community not shared by many Bosnians themselves. International political actors insist on efforts to create a Bosnia in accordance with their own images rather than accept that many of the people there view their world and their fate far differently. The result has been to hinder the reconstruction of the region and perhaps also to foreclose the possibility that the peoples of Bosnia will draw on their own cultural knowledge to reforge their own interconnections. The well‐intentioned and morally grounded antinationalist positions of most observers skew their observations in such a way as to hinder the understanding of nationalist conflict as a social phenomenon.

Transplanted or Uprooted?

During their settlement in Vienna and New York City, Bosnian refugees experienced class and ethnic conflicts. While the integration mechanisms of the two host societies differed substantially, Bosnian men and women have developed quite different networks. Bosnian women in the Vienna sample developed often lasting relationships with natives or other non-refugees that eventually led to permanent jobs and rather substantial networks. They integrated particularly into wider majority societal circles. However, even though women in Vienna developed substantial networks, clashes based on different social classes often resulted in conflicts in the women's work environment. Bosnian women and men in New York City only rarely established similar networks with US residents and other long-term residents. Their integration occurred more along ethnic boundaries. Bosnian men in Vienna and the Bosnian refugee population in general in New York City integrated predominantly into the newly formed Bosnian communities in those locales.

Bosnian Refugees in Britain

The way in which migrants are incorporated into society varies according to which society is being examined. The British model is loosely based on notions of multiculturalism. Groups of migrants are considered to constitute a community and, through community leaders, the needs of the group can be conveyed to others. The same model has been used for the incorporation of refugees into society and informs current legislation and policy as well as the work of refugee support agencies. Furthermore, research on refugees often looks at one or more refugee `communities'. More recently, groups of refugees, including Bosnian refugees arriving in Britain as part of the UNHCR programme in December 1992, have been considered as transnational communities or as diasporas, that is, scattered communities. This article looks at the refugees themselves and the community associations that have been established and concludes that the associations exist largely as a result of the benefits that can be obtained through them and that there is no informal Bosnian community. Instead, there is a contingent community: a group of people who will, to some extent, conform to the expectations of the host society in order to gain the advantages of a formal community association, whilst the private face of the group remains unconstituted as a community.

Women Refugees from Bosnia-Herzegovina: Developing a Culturally Sensitive Counselling Framework

This paper derives from work undertaken by the Research Resource Division for Refugees of Carleton University, Ottawa, in conjunction with the Ottawa Bosnian community, to assess the needs of Bosnian refugees in order to suggest guidelines and make recommendations for the development of a culturally and gender sensitive remedial programme. The assessment consisted of six parts: a cultural profile of Bosnian Muslims (to be published in the next issue of the IJRL ); a review of the conflict in Bosnia; consultation with the Ottawa Bosnia-Herzegovina Medical Relief Fund and Information Centre; an information session with Bosnian women refugees in Ottawa; a review of assistance programmes for women refugees from Bosnia; and a review of existing literature and related materials dealing with women's counselling and assistance programmes. A general intervention framework is proposed, in two phases. The first deals with general issues concerning orientation and information regarding Bosnian Muslims. The second offers more specific information relative to treatment techniques for survivors of sexual violence. Within this framework, suggestions are made for an overall specialized counselling approach. A number of recommendations follow, focusing on the actual and prospective needs of Bosnian women resettled in Canada