ARRIVAL AND SPREAD OF ISLAM IN BOSNIA

Two regions in the Southeast Europe are recognizable by the power of the influence of Islam and Islamic spirituality among the existing population, by its strong establishment in all spheres of life, from its arrival in these regions until today. These are Albania and Bosnia. There were also individual smaller regions and ethnic groups where the population adopted Islamic spirituality to a far smaller extent (Pomaks in Bulgaria, Torbeshi in Macedonia) or it was a result of the settlement of Muslims from other regions. This phenomenon proceeded in a long historical process and cannot be explained as a single occurrence but must be viewed in a far broader historical, cultural-civilizational, social and confessional context. A decisive historical turning point and the temporal milestone of the arrival of Islam is related to 1463, the entry of Bosnia into the state system of the Ottoman Empire. It was gradual and depended on many factors which affected the speed and scope of adopting Islam by the indigenous medieval Bosnian population, and on the people who arrived in Bosnia through migrations in later times. 

East and Central Bosnia, part of Herzegovina and West Bosnia entered the Ottoman Empire earlier, and the influence of Islam in these regions was more intense by scope. Although most Herzegovina was part of the Empire as early as in 1475, expansion of borders lasted until 1482. Northeastern regions, as well as part of West Bosnia became parts of the Empire only upon the fall of Srebrenik Banovina (1512) and Jajac Banovina (1527), in the early 16th century.  

Historical sources unquestionably testify of the presence of Islam among the indigenous Bosnian population far before the establishment of the Ottoman rule. They encountered and adopted Islam during their participation in the military of the Ottoman Empire, where we encounter Muslim Bosnians as sipahis or their descendants who inherited them. In South Serbia, between Kruševac and Niš, there is a record about the award of a timar (land granted by sultans) (1453) to “Ramazan, son of Bosnian Ilijas”. In the same region, a documented timar was awarded to “Husein and Jusuf, orphans of Bosnian Hasan” in 1448. Finally, in the ranks of guards of Hodidjed fortress near Sarajevo in mid-1463 we encounter “Bosnian Ismail”. We do not know how these people got into the military and became recognized in the feudal army. It did not happen at the time cited here (1448, 1453 or 1463) but far earlier; as one can see, in some cases it was the second generation of Muslims. It is not known whether or how much it affected their local environments and what the scope of these occurrences was. Besides the fact that Islam in Bosnia preceded borders of the Empire, military ranks typically followed Sufis and had tekkes built. One such tekke was built at the old marketplace under Gorica, close to the present Ali-pasha's mosque, and the new one was built by Isa-beg Ishaković, together with a building complex at Bentbaša, who thus founded the new city of Sarajevo by early February 1462. 

Spreading of Islam in Bosnia must be observed within the time and space framework. It can be described as a gradual process with a distinctive dynamic course. Its prominent influence started from the mid-15th century and, chronologically, underwent three stages of different intensity. The first stage was temporally and spatially related to the upper Bosnia river, including the territory of Travnik and Zenica. Even in such a small area one can observe very uneven influences of Islamic spirituality. In Sarajevo itself, as a newly established city, only a symbolic number of Muslims (five households) were recorded in 1468 during over a decade of activity of various institutions (two mosques, a tekke, a hammam, caravanserai). Over time, this influence got stronger and by the end of the 15th century areas by the upper Bosnia recorded a notable percentage of adopting Islam (40%); going toward the peripheral regions of the sanjak, the intensity of this influence decreased and in the region Visoko–Fojnica–Kreševo–Busovača–Vareš was much lower (20%) while in Zenica and Travnik about 12% Muslim population were recorded. In these regions, this process entered its more intensive stage in the early 16th century and lasted until about the mid-century. The second and the third stage took place during the 16th century, with different speeds and duration. Still, it can be claimed that the first half of the 16th century was the time of the most intensive adoption of Islam in Central Bosnia (Sarajevo–Konjic–Maglaj–Tešanj–Jajce). 

As early as by the end of the third decade of the 16th century, in the eastern parts of the Sanjak of Bosnia  (Sarajevo–Višegrad), the medieval area of Pavlović, 60% of the population adopted Islam. In Central Bosnia, known as King's Land the percentage amounted to 69% and in West Bosnia (Donji Kraji), to 32%. By the end of the 16th century, most population of the Sanjak of Bosnia (71%) consisted of Muslims; the intensity of the adoption of Islam in central regions reached 95% and more (Sarajevo, Kladanj, Visoko, Fojnica, Kreševo, Busovača, Zenica, Travnik). The same was true about areas east of Sarajevo – Knežina, Rogatica, Višegrad (90-100%), while regions to the east of Višegrad (82%) to Dobrun (74%) and other regions on the periphery of the sanjak recorded somewhat lower percentages due to migration processes and settlement of population, particularly cattle breeders, to mountain regions in the Northeast, North and Northwest Bosnia. 

A similar trend was recorded in Herzegovina, a fairly large space where, unlike the Sanjak of Bosnia, the process was late, at least in the beginning, and was of low intensity. A decade and a half after establishment of government, only between two and three percent of the documented population adopted Islam in whole Herzegovina. Nevertheless, by the end of the 16th century, Herzegovina caught up with Bosnia and with 83% of Muslims constituted an area with a more intensive influence of Islam. In Herzegovina as well there were zones where the influence of Islam was more prominent; they include some parts of East Herzegovina, from Goražde and Foča to Nevesinje, where the percentage of the adoption of Islam ranged between 92% and 98%. Parts with a low intensity of the influence of Islam included Southeast and West Herzegovina: Gacko (51%), Prijepolje (38%) Herceg-Novi (30%), Imotski (25%), Trebinje (12%), Popovo (12%), and Bobani (6%).

Although the territory of Northeast Bosnia (the Sanjak of Zvornik) was rounded out relatively late, upon the fall of Srebrenik Banovina (1512) and Šabac Banovina (1521), the influence of Islam in these regions had a rising trend. The Sanjak of Zvornik had 31 nahiyes (administrative territorial entities), 21 on the Bosnian bank of the Drina and 10 on the right bank of the Drina (Mačva). Despite the late establishment of government and waves of migrations from the east to the west which led across Northeast Bosnia and the Sanjak of Zvornik, as early as from the mid-16th century Islam had a powerful influence in these regions, where Muslims accounted for 40% of the population. Orthodox Christian population had a greater share in ten nahiyes on the right bank of the Drina. Nevertheless, by the end of the 16th century the share of Muslims in the population of Northeast Bosnia reached 60%.

In West Bosnia, the process proceeded in similar circumstances as in the northeast. The Sanjak of Klis (West Bosnia), formed in 1537, experienced a similar effect as the Sanjak of Zvornik, with about 60% of Muslims. A somewhat lower percentage of adopting Islam in these regions is a result of the later beginning of the process as well as of migrations of the population from the east to the west, in the direction of Dalmatia and Lika. Since the Sanjak of Klis encompassed the area west of Komar and the river Vrbas, the influence of Islam decreased going to the Sanjak's periphery. As early as in the early 16th century, in some nahiyes by the upper Vrbas (54%) and in Livno (45%) the influence of Islam was stronger while others had only 10% of Muslims. As we move from the central parts to the periphery of the sanjak, we can see that the intensity weakened. Still, some nahiyes in central parts experienced a high degree of the influence of Islam (Uskopje 78%, Rama 55%, Kupres 90%, Neretva 92%). By the end of the 16th century the share of Muslims in the mosaic of religions in West Bosnia including the Dalmatian region amounted to 60%.   

Together with other factors, the depth, breadth and degree of the adoption of Islam in Bosnia were powerfully affected by cities and migration processes. Less densely populated and desolate areas were destinations of groups of colonized population from Montenegro or south Serbia, who adopted Islam in far fewer numbers. Northeast, North and West Bosnia witnessed migration processes in the 16th century, which resulted in a lower percentage of Muslims in these regions. In places where the activity of the Orthodox or Catholic church was vigorous, the degree of adopting Islam was obviously lower. Islam was adopted by all social layers and found its adherents in all religious groups – the so-called Bosnian krstjans, Orthodox and Catholic Christians. In the regions where the Church of Bosnia had a greater influence, the percentage of the adoption of Islam was extremely high and amounted to 90%, and very often even to a hundred percent.