Reframing the Relations between State and Religion in Post–War Bosnia: Learning to be Free!

Alibašić, Ahmet; Begović, Nedim

doi:10.1080/19448953.2016.1201987

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…57 Post-war Bosnia stands out as an exception, which, after a devastating war that left behind deep-rooted religious animosities, institutionalized the highest level of internationally recognized religious freedom and multiple equality guarantees for all denominations. 58 At the other end of the spectrum is Turkey, where the Muslim-rooted governing party, the AKP, called for the rehabilitation of the oppressed religious 'other' . Actual reforms undertaken by the AKP-majority government since 2002, however, have only expanded the rights of Sunni sectors of the population, often at the expense of other religious or non-religious sections of plural Turkish society.…”

Section: Institutional Choices To Accommodate Islam After Communismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Governing Islam in Plural Societies: Religious Freedom, State Neutrality and Traditional Heritage

Elbasani¹

2017

Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies

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Post-Communist openings constituted the ideal foci for reimagining the relationship between the state and religion. Specifically, new opportunities were created to balance between rules of inclusion and exclusion regarding contending alternatives of a 'good life' . In line with their new democratic aspirations, all Balkan countries have gradually reshuffled their religious policies, formalized religious freedoms, and institutionalized a more equal playing field for their respective religious communities. Realizing an all-inclusive and equal-opportunity structure for all religious denominations, however, proved neither smooth nor automatic, especially when it came to the inclusion of the historically marginalized Muslim populations. The evolving institutional choices to incorporate these communities vacillated between the democratic urge for religious freedoms and equality, on the one hand, and the role of founding traditions and heritage of majority privileges, on the other. This article outlines the institutional compromises to accommodating Islam across plural polities which feature an unusual mix of denominations-Muslim, Christian Orthodox, Roman Catholics as well as atheist and agnostic groups-in the post-Communist Balkans.

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Section: Institutional Choices To Accommodate Islam After Communismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Governing Islam in Plural Societies: Religious Freedom, State Neutrality and Traditional Heritage

Elbasani¹

2017

Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies

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“…Here, the post-war legal framework has endorsed multiple guarantees of religious freedom and equality for all the constituent communities. 3 Post-Communist Bulgaria has recognized the traditional role of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, but also provided ample individual and collective guarantees to diverse sections of its Muslim community. 4 At the other end of the spectrum is Turkey, where the Sunni-majority, embedded into the governing state structures, dominates the religious life of the country.…”

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confidence: 99%

Religious Freedom and Diversity in a Comparative European Perspective

Roy¹

2017

Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies

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The Balkan states are relatively young nation-states that achieved independence through a succession of bloody wars, either civil (the dissolution of Yugoslavia after the fall of Communism), regional (the Balkan wars at the turn of the 19th-20th century) and/or global (the end of two world wars). All of them now claim, or aspire, to be modern, democratic and secular states, and are on their way to integration with the more 'mature' Western European counterparts. The debate about progress of democratization and their capacities to integrate into the EU has brought to the fore issues of political 'maturity' in terms of good governance, and the protection of minorities and other human rights. The harsh and sometimes bloody legacy of nation-and state-formation, amidst plural ethno-religious divisions, seemed to be an impediment for achieving the status of democratic states. Religious and ethnic tensions were seen as particularly worrying. Specifically, these states had to face simultaneously at least two major constraints: on the one hand, guaranteeing religious freedom and equal treatment for all citizens; on the other hand, holding on to the religion of the nation, which had kept the nation intact when the state disappeared. After 1990, the challenge then was to set up new institutional compromises and suitable balances that could combine (1) religious freedom, (2) state neutrality and (3) the majoritarian or 'traditional' basis of nationhood. 1

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Local Identity of the Sephardim in Sarajevo

Rock

2019

Intergenerational Memory and Language of the Sarajevo Sephardim

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Reframing the Relations between State and Religion in Post–War Bosnia: Learning to be Free!

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Governing Islam in Plural Societies: Religious Freedom, State Neutrality and Traditional Heritage

Governing Islam in Plural Societies: Religious Freedom, State Neutrality and Traditional Heritage

Religious Freedom and Diversity in a Comparative European Perspective

Local Identity of the Sephardim in Sarajevo

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