Islam and Muslims in the Balkan

Orientalist Perceptions, Historical Myths and Memory

Abstract

The Balkans are an integral part of Europe. Yet, following a different historical was path, this region is perceived in Europe as a borderland that moulded outside the shared European experience. The long Ottoman presence in the region further contributed to this perception of otherness. In this paper I explore four different narratives of the Ottoman past. In the West, one can gauge two competing master narratives: both stem from the same assumption that regards the Balkans as a borderland. Yet, while the Balkanist narrative perceives the Balkans as the untamed Wild East of Europe, another narrative which can be called the bridge narrative underlines the region's cultural contribution to European civilisation due to its geographical location between East and West. In the region itself, we also find two competing narratives: Among Balkan Christians, there is a clear tendency to describe the Ottoman presence as a period of decline and enslavement that devastated the peninsula and drew its inhabitants to poverty and ineptitude. For the Muslims of the Balkans, in contrast, the Ottoman past was a golden age that shaped their distinct identity. While these four narratives were constructed in different backdrops and for different purposes, they are not mutually indifferent and they continually challenge and complement each other.