Being Muslim the Bosnian Way: Identity and Community in a Central Bosnian Village

Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton Univ Press, 1995. 6th Paperback Printing . Trade Paperback. Very Good. 6" x 9. 281 Pages Indexed. The author followed a Bosnian community over a period of six years, during which it has undergone dramatic changes and events. In the late eighties people were working hard against economic crisis. In 1990 they were full of optimism about the future but by January 1993 it was a village in fear surrounded by war on all sides and in April 1993 the village was attacked by Croat forces. In October 1993 none of the four hundred Muslims in the village remained. They had either fled, been placed in detention camps, or been killed. This is Tone Bringa's moving ethnographic account of Bosnian Muslims' lives in a rural village located near Sarajevo. Although they represent a majority of the population in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian Muslims are still members of a minority culture in the region that was once Yugoslavia. The question of ethno-national identity has become paramount in this society, and the author focuses on religion as the defining characteristic of identity. She pays particular attention to the roles that women play in defining Muslim identities, and she examines the importance of the household as a Muslim identity sphere. In so doing, she illuminates larger issues of what constitutes nationality. This is a gripping and heartfelt account of a community that has been torn apart by ethnopolitical conflict. It will attract readers of all backgrounds who want to learn more about one of the most intractable wars of the 20th century and the people who have been so tragically affected. A solidly grounded ethnography of a deeply troubled place, this work will shed considerable light on ethnic relations in the region, as well as on the complexity of the relationship between religion and other dimensions of social and cultural identity. Illustrated with 13 black and white pohotographs. Contents in Six Chapters: History Identity and the Yugoslave Dream, A Bosnian Village, Men Women and the House, Marriage and Marriage Procedures, Caring for the Living and theh Souls of the Dead, and Debating Islam and Muslim Identity. Plus Foreword, Preface, Note on Language and Pronunciation, Glossary of Bosnian Terms Notes and Bibliography