Interreligious dynamics in Mostar: from centuries of coexistence to decades of division
Standing on the Old Bridge, you will often see only tourists cross to the other side.
Built during the reign of the Ottoman Empire, the Old Bridge was a symbol of the Ottomans’
might, but also of unity and coexistence in the city of Mostar. The city was the bridge, and
the bridge was the city. Walking through Mostar, one would not care if it were a West side or
East side he was on, he would not notice a difference. Standing on the Old Bridge now, you
might be the only one in the city who still does not care. Once the Old Bridge was destroyed,
the tolerant city of Mostar was destroyed with it. What led to the transformation of Mostar
from a center of Balkan’s interreligious coexistence to Bosnia’s most divided city? Looking
through the timespan of the last 33 years, Mostar’s transformation was a result of
ethnoreligious narratives that intensified the Balkan war, as well as deep-seated mistrust after
the horrors of the War, and city’s urban structure that till this day divides its religious
communities.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s interreligious dynamics have been researched by a diverse
number of scholars, before and after the conflict. Until the 1990s, the concentration landed on
positions of the religious groups and their interaction in shared spaces throughout various
historical contexts, such as “In Sharing Sacred Spaces”. The city of Mostar has often been
treated by foreign scholars among a handful of centers of religious coexistence, such as
Nicosia, Jerusalem, or Beirut. After the conflict, the ethnographic research explored Mostar’s
urban structure and architecture that enforce modern-day community divides, often with
locals sharing their experience of life within the new city borders.
To unfold the story of Mostar and understand how we came to the point where the two
sides of the city do not cross the Old Bridge, we will take a step back into how Bosnia and
Herzegovina, and Mostar itself, were before the war of the 1990s began.
Since its emergence in the twelfth century, the region has been a successful multi-religious
polity, with three groups – the Bosnian Church, the Catholic Church, and the Orthodox
, Church coexisting inside of it. In the mid-fifteenth century, the Ottomans conquered it and
Islam made a significant stamp on the country’s identity. The conquest further blurred
cultural and religious separation, and throughout the next centuries, what would become
Bosnia and Herzegovina, merged into a colorful religious mosaic of Catholic, Orthodox, and
Muslim faiths, Protestantism brought by Austro-Hungarian rule and settlement of Sephardic
Jews as a result of their expulsion from Portugal and Spain. Pluralism and heterogeneity
seemed to be natural in Bosnia, and Mostar was a perfect example of it. It was a place where
one could see synagogues, mosques, and churches at the same time, where mixed marriages
were a norm, and everyone shared meals on one another’s holy days. Mostar got its name
from the bridge keepers “mostari”, who were watching over those who crossed the Neretva
River. In there, it did not matter what religion or ethnicity one was a part of, each citizen was
a Mostarac or Mostarka. The bridge was Mostar’s third space, where each resident could
access the city’s open community. This atmosphere of coexistence is what would make
Mostar the center of destruction and hatred during the 1990s conflict.
After the fall of Yugoslavia in 1989, new states emerged. Bosnia and Herzegovina was
supposed to be ruled by representatives of the three ethnoreligious communities – Bosniaks,
Bosnian Croats, and Bosnian Serbs. All three communities were differentiating from each
other through the construction of their own identities with unique linguistic and religious
features: Bosniaks are Muslims who speak Bosnian, Bosnian Croats are Catholic and speak
Croatian, and Bosnian Serbs are Christian Orthodox who speak Serbian. Despite the
promoted independence in 1992, the majority of Bosnian Serbs did not partake in the voting.
Once the foreign states recognized Bosnia and Herzegovina’s independence, Bosnian Serbs
paramilitary bombarded the city of Sarajevo. After the fall of Yugoslavia in 1989, new states
emerged. Bosnia and Herzegovina was supposed to be ruled by representatives of the three
ethnoreligious communities – Bosniaks, Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Serbs. All the three
communities were differentiating from each other through construction of their own identities
with unique linguistic and religious features: Bosniaks are Muslims who speak Bosnian,
Bosnian Croats are Catholic and speak Croatian, and Bosnian Serbs are Christian Orthodox
who speak Serbian. Despite the promoted independence in 1992, majority of Bosnian Serbs
did not partake in the voting. Once the foreign states recognized Bosnia and Herzegovina’s
independence, Bosnian Serbs paramilitary bombarded the city of Sarajevo.
Till 1995, the region fell into a violent
conflict that is remembered for its war crimes,
international interventions, and ethnic cleansing of
Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats. Mostar’s harmony is
what made it the most heavily destroyed city during
the conflict, and today, almost 3 decades later, its
ethnoreligious communities are still largely
separated from one another. Since the war, it is
divided into 3 parts: Croats in the West, Bosnians in
the East, and Serbs in several enclaves surrounding
the city. And even though the Old Bridge was rebuilt Figure 1. Destruction of the Mostar Bridge
to unite Mostar, there are no longer Mostaracs and
