Bosniac National Council in Serbia and Montenegro

The Bosniac National Council is the official group representing Muslims in all aspects of life in Serbia and Montenegro, particularly political and cultural aspects.

In the Sandzak, a southern region stretching along both sides of the Serb-Montenegrin border with a majority-Bosniak population, Bosniaks enjoy a level of unofficial autonomy and unofficial self-determination that consistently, through polls, demonstrates the local population is satisfied with their system of governance.

The Bosniac National Council has, everything considered, excellent relations with most of Serbia and Montenegro's mainstream political parties and even better relations with cultural (not political) organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Most Bosniaks living in Sandzak, with the exception of the town of Rozaje, are Serbian Muslims and are linguistically and culturally more related to Serbs than to Croats; unlike Bosniaks in Bosnia and Herzegovina whose language, customs, and heritage are more closely linked with Roman Catholicism and Croatia.

So it's interesting to look at their way of life, their folklore, because while it is clearly Bosniak on the surface - the impact of their Serbian heritage is easily recognizable and offers these Bosniaks, commonly called Sandzaklije by residents of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a distinct form of cultural heritage.

Here are some photographs from the functions and work of the Bosniac National Council in Serbia and Montenegro.

Firstly, their "Bosnian Language" school books are in Cyrillic - virtually unheard of in Bosnia and Herzegovina.


Their symbols, while similar to those of Bosnia and Herzegovina, are distinctly different.


And other aspects of their folklore are slightly different as well.