Muslims

History

The idea of Muslims as an ethnicity or nationality developed mainly during the Yugoslav socialist period. Beginning in the 1960s, the government officially recognized Muslims by nationality (Muslimani) in census records, distinguishing them from other South Slavic peoples such as Serbs, Croats, and Montenegrins. This classification was part of a broader effort by the Yugoslav authorities to promote ethnic balance and reduce religious divisions by framing identity in secular, national terms rather than strictly religious ones.

The concept was also influenced by earlier perceptions from both Christian and communist leaders who viewed Muslims as a separate cultural group. Many of these populations were seen as moderately observant in their religious practices, reflecting a blend of Islamic, Slavic, and local traditions. Historically, most South Slavic Muslims lived in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Sandžak region (spanning Serbia and Montenegro), northeastern Montenegro, western and central Macedonia, southern parts of Croatia, and southern Kosovo, including the Gorani communities.

The Ottoman conquests led many autochthonous inhabitants to convert to Islam. However, nationalist ideologies appeared among South Slavs as early as the 19th century, as with the First and Second Serbian Uprising and the Illyrian movement, national identification was a foreign concept to the general population, which primarily identified itself by denomination and province. The emergence of modern nation-states forced the ethnically and religiously diverse Ottoman Empire to modernise, resulting in several reforms. The most significant of these were the Edict of Gülhane of 1839 and Imperial Reform Edict of 1856. These gave non-Muslim subjects of the Empire equal status and strengthened their autonomous Millet communities.

There was a strong rivalry between South Slavic nationalisms. Vuk Karadžić, then the leading representative of Serbian nationalism, considered all speakers of the Štokavian dialect, regardless of religious affiliation, to be Serbs. Josip Juraj Strossmayer, the Croatian Catholic bishop and his People's Party advocated the idea of South Slavic unity. At the same time, Ante Starčević and his Party of Rights sought to restore the Croatian state based on the so-called historical right, considering Bosnian Muslims as Croats. In both Croatian and Serbian national ideology, the territory of the Bosnia vilayet was of great importance because both wanted to incorporate it into their future national states. From their point of view, Bosnian Muslims were Croats or Serbs who converted to Islam. In 1870, Bosnian Muslims comprised 42.5 per cent of the population of the Bosnia Vilayet, while Eastern Orthodox Christians accounted for 41.7 per cent and Catholics for 14.5 per cent. Which national state would get the territory of the Bosnia Vilayet thus depended on who the Bosnian Muslims would favour, the Croats or the Serbs.

Population

Serbia

According to the 2022 census, there were 13,011 ethnic Muslims in Serbia, making up 0.2% of the population.

Regarding religion, most ethnic Muslims declared themselves to be Muslims, 12,129 or 93.2% of them. The Eastern Orthodox Christians were second, comprising 196 or 1.5% of the ethnic Muslim population. They were followed by atheists and agnostics, 126 or 1% of the ethnic Muslim population. The rest belonged to other Christian and religious groups, with 523 or 4% of those undeclared or unknown.

Serbian was the mother tongue of 9,803 or 75.34% of ethnic Muslims. Bosnian was the second most-spoken language, with 1,283 speakers, or 9,86% of ethnic Muslim speakers. The third was Albanian, with 870, or 6.69%, of ethnic Muslims speaking the language.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

According to the 2013 census, there were 12,121 ethnic Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina, making up 0.34% of the population. Before the adoption of the Bosniak identity in the late 1990s, 1,902,956 self-identified ethnic Muslims were living in Bosnia and Herzegovina, or 43.5% of the population. In contrast, 1,496 people identified as Muslims-Bosniaks, 1,285 as Bosniaks and 876 as Bosniaks-Muslims, totalling to 3,657 or 0.1% of the total population.

Per the latest 2013 census, regarding religion, most ethnic Muslims declared themselves followers of Islam or Muslims, 11,559 or 95.3% of them. The remaining part mainly were atheists or agnostics, 208 or 1.7% with 205 or 1.7% undeclared or unknown.

Bosnian was the mother tongue of 10,784, or 89%, of ethnic Muslims. Serbo-Croatian was listed as the mother tongue of 550 or 4.5% ethnic Muslims, with 447 or 3.69% opting for Serbian and 65 or 0.5% for Croatian. The majority of those who designated Serbian as their mother tongue, 423 of them, lived in Republika Srpska.

Municipalities with a significant ethnic Muslim population (500 or more):

Velika Kladuša (1,366)

Tuzla (1,050)

Travnik (535)

Zenica (531)

Slovenia

According to the 2002 census, there were 10,467 ethnic Muslims in Slovenia, making up 0.53% of the population.

Per the 2002 census, regarding religion, most ethnic Muslims declared themselves followers of Islam, 9,328 or 89.1% of them. Atheism was opted by 251 or 2.4%, with 231, or 2.2%, declaring themselves as believers not belonging to any religion. The rest were mainly undisclosed or unknown, with a small Eastern Orthodox and Catholic minority.

Bosnian was the mother tongue of 5,456, or 52.1%, of ethnic Muslims. Serbo-Croatian was listed as the mother tongue of 2,886, or 27.6%, of ethnic Muslims. Slovene was designated as the mother tongue of 1,136 ethnic Muslims, or 10.9%; Croatian of 525 ethnic Muslims or 5%; Serbian of 147 ethnic Muslims or 1.4%; and Albanian of 101 ethnic Muslims or 1%.

Montenegro

According to the 2023 census, there were 10,162 ethnic Muslims in Montenegro, making up 1.63% of the population.

Per the latest 2023 census, regarding religion, most ethnic Muslims declared themselves followers of Islam, 10,097 or 99.4% of them. The remaining part was mainly atheists and members of other religions, including Eastern Orthodox Christians, or undisclosed.

Montenegrin was the mother tongue of 8,550, or 84.1%, of ethnic Muslims. Bosnian was listed as the mother tongue of 464, or 4.6%, of ethnic Muslims, with an additional 101, or 1%, designating their language as Bosniak. Serbian was the mother tongue of 399, or 3.9%. Serbo-Croatian, or Montenegrin-Serbian-Bosnian-Croatian, was designated as the mother tongue of 235 ethnic Muslims, accounting for 2.3%. Albanian was the mother tongue of 175 ethnic Muslims, or 1.7%. The rest spoke other languages.

Croatia

According to the 2021 census, there were 3,902 ethnic Muslims.

The religious composition of ethnic Muslims in Croatia cannot be precisely determined, since the census grouped them with those who declared themselves Eastern Orthodox or with other ethnic religious designations. Per the census, 1,422 people declared Eastern Orthodoxy as their ethnicity, with 526 other people designating other religions as their ethnic designation. Of those combined, by religion, there were 3,436 Muslims, 1,266 Eastern Orthodox Christians, and 475 Catholics. There were 307 atheists and agnostics, while the rest belonged to other Christian denominations or religions.

The Croatian Bureau of Statistics did not publish data about the language of specific ethnic groups.

Other countries

In North Macedonia, there were 1,187 ethnic Muslims according to the 2021 census.