Religion In The Balkans
I always thought it was extremely interesting how religion works in South-Eastern Europe (the Balkans)
How Serbs and Croats view it is usually like this:
If you are Orthodox you are a Serb
If you are Catholic you are a Croat
If you are Muslim you are a Bosniak
You might be confused by the term "Bosniak" and don't worry, I am just confused as you.
Today the term Bosniak currently means Bosnian Muslim, a Bosnian Catholic is called a Bosnian Croat, a Bosnian Orthodox is called a Bosnian Serb.
But there was once a time long ago when there were no Bosnian Muslims "Bosniaks" a long, long time ago, there were Catholics, Orthodox, Bogomils (Bosnian-Church, a heretic Christian sect), and they all called themselves Bosnians.
Even though I am a Bosnian Muslim, a Bosniak, I HATE the term Bosniak. Not because I hate being a Muslim, I love being a Muslim everyday I am grateful Allah has given me the ease of being born a Muslim. Just think of that what are the odds I am born a Muslim and a white Muslim at that. I get the privilege of being a Muslim while also having the privilege of not having people in the Western World judge me because of my skin colour, but this is a topic for another day.
Anyways, I hate the term Bosniak, because it creates division, not because I want Bosnia to be only for Muslims but precisely the opposite. I want all people in Bosnia regardless of religion to be united under one title. Bosniak at one point in history meant an ethnic Bosniak regardless of religion. I don't necessarily want everyone in Bosnia to be called a Bosniak, but I do want everyone in Bosnia to be under one title whether that is Bosnian or Bosniak that doesn't matter to me.
We are all the same ethnic group Bosnian or Bosniak, but due to Croatisation and Serbisation (done by Croatia and Serbia), Bosnian Catholics and Orthodox started calling themselves either Serbs or Croats maybe 150 years ago.
But there is still hope, they are few and far in between but I know a good amount of great people who are not Muslim who are born Orthodox or Catholic and proudly call themselves Bosnians or Bosniaks. When you ask them what they are that is what they will tell you, they won't say Serb or Croat. They love their home just as much as I do and they're just as proud as I am.
And it is their home just as much as it is mine.