INTRODUCTION

Among the explosion of emerging states in the post-communist era was Bosnia and Hercegovina. What made this State of particular significance within a European context was the absence of an allegiance to Christian­ity.

Historically, Islam had tended to be a private affair among Bosnians. Often conveniently defined as ‘European Islam’, it preaches the tolerance of Sufi mysticism in regards to religious pluralism and has had 150 years of co-existence within Christian or secular Western states. However, while the West struggled to come to terms with an Islamic territory contained by ‘Christian Europe’, the Islamic heartland of the Middle East sought to guide this emerging nation on its path towards a more traditional and conservative Islamic revival. Through military and finan­cial aid, Saudi Arabia reconnected with its long lost brother-in-faith during the early 1990s Bosnian war, in turn introducing to the Balkans the Salafi approach to Islamic jurisprudence.

This Chapter will demonstrate that the state of Bosnia and Hercego­vina has acquired a unique concept of Islam which is both compatible and sustainable within a Christian and laic Europe. Through an examin­ation of Bosnia and Hercegovina’s Islamic history, it will expound how the gradual osmosis of various religious traditions, accompanied by the continual reformation of Shari’ah law, has resulted in a confident, democratic nation guided by Islam. This will be contrasted to the Saudi Arabian sponsored Salafism in order to demonstrate the direction that Shari’ah has taken in this society. The result: a national community where (among other things) the social participation of women is expected and inter-faith dialogue is endorsed. While domestically serious tensions regarding national identity remain, the Bosnian model rests as an example as to how the faith may be practiced throughout Europe.

II.