The Ottoman era Islam was first introduced to the
Balkans on a large scale by the
Ottomans in the mid-to-late 15th century who gained control of most of
Bosnia in 1463, and seized
Herzegovina in the 1480s. Over the next century, the Bosnians — composed of
native Christians and Slavic tribes living in the
Bosnian kingdom under the name of
Bošnjani — were converted to Islam in great numbers during the
Islamization of Bosnia under Ottoman rule. During the Ottoman era the name
Bošnjanin was definitely transformed into the current
Bošnjak ('Bosniak'), with the suffix
-ak replacing the traditional
-anin. By the early 1600s, approximately two thirds of the population of Bosnia were Muslim. Bosnia and Herzegovina remained a province in the Ottoman Empire and gained autonomy after the
Bosnian uprising in 1831. Large numbers of
mosques were built all over the province. Most mosques erected during the Ottoman era were of relatively modest construction, often with a single
minaret and central prayer hall with few adjoining foyers. File:Bihać – Fethija džamija 1.jpg|
Fethija Mosque, former church of St. Anthony, 1266 File:Čekrekčinica Mosque, Sarajevo.jpg|
Muslihudin Čekrekčija Mosque,
Sarajevo, 1526 File:Алаџа (Хасан Назирова) џамија.jpg|
Aladža Mosque,
Foča, 1550 (rebuilt 2018) File:Karadzozbey Mosque, Mostar.png|
Karađoz-beg Mosque,
Mostar, 1557 File:Ali Pasha's Mosque, Sarajevo.jpg|
Ali-pasha Mosque,
Sarajevo, 1560 File:Pocitelj Panorama.JPG|Šišman Ibrahim-pasha Mosque (Hadži Alijina Džamija),
Počitelj, 1561 File:Ferhat Pasha Mosque, Sarajevo (15840490028).jpg|
Ferhat-pasha Mosque,
Sarajevo, 1562 File:Narrow-Gauge-Railway Ostbahn Sarajevo Bridge-Cobanija.jpg|
Čobanija Mosque, 1565 File:Džamija i sahat-kula, Livno00529.JPG|
Hadži Ahmed Dukatar's Mosque,
Livno, 1574 File:Ferhat Pasha Mosque, Banja Luka 2016-2.jpg|
Ferhat-pasha Mosque,
Banja Luka, 1579 (rebuilt 2016) File:Džamija, Mostar040845.JPG|Koski Mehmed-pasha Mosque,
Mostar, 1617 File:Tuzla, hornicka mesita (drevena, 18. stol).jpg|Džindijska Mosque (Huseina Čauša),
Tuzla, 1708 File:Jajce - mesquita.JPG|Esma Sultana Mosque (during reconstruction),
Jajce, 1760
The Austro-Hungarian era , ca. 1906 After the 1878 Congress of Berlin, Bosnia and Herzegovina came under the control of
Austria-Hungary. In 1908, Austria-Hungary formally annexed the region. The Austro-Hungarian authorities made no attempt to convert or assimilate the citizens of this newly acquired territory. The
December Constitution guaranteed
freedom of religion, and so Bosnia and Herzegovina remained largely Muslim.
Bosnia, along with
Albania and
Kosovo were the only parts of the
Ottoman Empire in the Balkans where large percentages of people converted to Islam, and remained there after independence. In other areas of the former Ottoman Empire where Muslims formed the majority or started to form the majority, those
Muslims were either expelled, assimilated/Christianized, massacred, or fled elsewhere (
Muhajirs).
The post-war period in
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Many Islamic religious buildings were damaged or destroyed in the
Bosnian War during the 90s, with up to 80% of well-over 4000 different buildings, and several mosques were rebuilt with the aid of funds from
Saudi Arabia and other countries from the Middle and far East. Historically, Bosnian Muslims had always practiced a form of Islam that is strongly influenced by
Sufism. Since the
Bosnian War, however, some remnants of groups of foreign fighters from the Middle East fighting on the side of Bosnian Army, remained for some time and attempted to spread
Wahhabism among locals. With very limited success these foreigners only created friction between local Muslim population, steeped in their own traditional practice of the faith, and without any previous contact with this strain in Islam, and themselves. Although these communities were relatively small and peaceful, restricted to a certain number of villages around central and northern Bosnia, the issue was highly politicized by local nationalists and officials, as well as officials and diplomats from countries like Croatia, Czech Republic and Serbia, to the point of outright fiction. The Security Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the time,
Dragan Mektić of the
SDS, denounced such claims as inciting further politicization and even violence by falsely portraying Bosnian Muslims as radicals. == Demographics ==