Sytuacja mniejszości boszniackiej w Sandżaku – wyzwania i problemy

The situation of the Bosniak minority in Sandzak – challenges and problemsAccording to the Population Census 2002, Bosniaks (as Bosnian Muslims have usually been called since 1993), constitute the second largest ethnic minority group in Serbia (136,000 people). They mostly inhabit the south-western end of the country, unofficially named Sandzak. The article focuses on the basic problems relating to how the Bosniak minority is functioning in this area. First of all, these issues include strong political and religious divisions (often sustained, and even inspired, by the central authorities), as well as, the dangers, as yet infrequent, resulting from the activity of organizations representing radical Islamic sects (the so-called Wahabis). An important part of the article is devoted to the issue of the lack of respect for the legally guaranteed cultural rights of the Bosniaks and the politicizing of problems under consideration, both by local elites, and by the central authorities. The author also briefly discusses the origin of the ethnonym Bosniak and the arguments concerning the name of the region inhabited by this minority.