Existing as they are currently named only following
World War One, the countries that Yugoslavia comprised of (Bosnia, Herzegovina,
Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Kosovo, and the FYRM) was an ethnically
and religiously diverse area. Western powers, such as the United States and
NATO organization viewed the Balkan region’s genocide from stemming from ancient
hatreds, as Norman Naimark points out in his book “Fire of Hatred: Ethnic
Cleansing in the 20th Century.” Specifically, these hatreds are
thought to stem from medieval times, though Naimark gives several examples of
how society fostered these groups to live together, such as through the Pax
Ottamanica. By manipulating history, as well as religious myth, the leader of
the Serbs-Slobodan Milosevic- was able to rouse up nationalistic feelings and
create a sense of unity among Serbs. A 1992 census taken before the genocide,
however, shows that the population of comprised of 41 % Bosniaks (Bosnian
Muslims), 32% Serbs and 17% Croats (with demographic information found at World
Statesman). These groups lived as neighbors and often intermarried without
tension for centuries.
This was all changed when a nationalist Serb Slobodan
Milosevic began to acquire power in the regions surrounding Serbia. After
losing power with the fall of Communism, Milosevic turned to nationalism to
rally support and regain power. Susan Hayward outlines the heavy use of
martyrdom imagery in her article “Averting Hell on Earth: Religion and the
Prevention of Genocide.” She explains that Milosevic turned genocide against
Orthodox Christian Albanians and moreso Bosnian Muslims into a “just war” by
recalling memories of the Serbs as victims of their violence and calling for
vengeance and retaliation. Hayward reveals an unbelievable distortion of
religious mythology-Milosevic accuses Muslims of killing Jesus when Islam did
not exist as a faith until 600 years following Jesus death. This huge factual
error would appear obvious, but as seen with the rhetoric of Hitler, religion
when spoken by an enigmatic and fervent organizer is easy to take as
justification for violence.
The Serbs justification for attacking Bosniak
Muslims came from what is referred to as the “Kosovo” or “Lazar” myth (Naimark 142). The
story goes that in 1389, Prince Lazar led the Serb army against Ottoman Turkish
Sultan Murat, while both leaders were killed, Lazar’s death was representative
of the death of Serbian independence. This myth was perpetuated for the next
five centuries under the rule of the Ottomans, and resurrected by Milosevic in
order to portray the Muslim Bosniaks as the oppressors who must be punished for
their history of transgression. The death of Lazar is then paralleled with the
death of Christ, making Muslims the Christ-killers rather than Jews, as in the
Holocaust. Christ played another important role in Serbian ideology regarding
the nature of an individual. Christoslavism is the notion that Slavs are by
nature Christian, therefore anyone who converted or did not adhere to Christianity
was a betrayer and part of the group known as “Other” to be dehumanized as a
target for genocide. The genocide in Bosnia is a stark example of how an idea
can be manipulated to incite a religious fervor. The mere use of ideas and
mythology is far from the total role of religion in genocide though, adding on
to its negative function. The misuse of religion to justify genocide is, unfortunately, a common thread through history of genocide from Armenia to Rwanda, and if we can learn how to spot it happening, action can be taken before genocide occurs.
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