Orthodox Churches and the ‘Othering’ of Islam and Muslims in Today’s Balkans

مرکز و کتابخانه مطالعات اسلامی به زبان های اروپایی

منو

" Orthodox Churches and the ‘Othering’ of Islam and Muslims in Today’s Balkans "
Egdūnas Račius

Document Type	:	AL
Record Number	:	1072653
Doc. No	:	LA116282
Call No	:	‭10.1163/22117954-BJA10012‬
Language of Document	:	English
Main Entry	:	Egdūnas Račius
Title & Author	:	Orthodox Churches and the ‘Othering’ of Islam and Muslims in Today’s Balkans [Article]\ Egdūnas Račius
Publication Statement	:	Leiden: Brill
Title of Periodical	:	Journal of Muslims in Europe
Date	:	2020
Volume/ Issue Number	:	9/3
Page No	:	377–401
Abstract	:	The article focuses on the relation between the socio-legal status of national Orthodox Churches and their role in the legal, institutional and social ‘othering’ of Islam and ethnic groups of Muslims in three Balkans countries, namely, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Serbia. The research reveals that the state-pursued construction of national identity and politics of belonging are expressly permeated by ethno-confessional nationalism, which is at the core of the deep-running tensions between the dominant ethnic group and the marginalized Muslims. There is an alliance between the political and the Church elites to keep ethnic groups of Muslim background either altogether outside the ‘national Us’ or at least at its outer margins. The article focuses on the relation between the socio-legal status of national Orthodox Churches and their role in the legal, institutional and social ‘othering’ of Islam and ethnic groups of Muslims in three Balkans countries, namely, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Serbia. The research reveals that the state-pursued construction of national identity and politics of belonging are expressly permeated by ethno-confessional nationalism, which is at the core of the deep-running tensions between the dominant ethnic group and the marginalized Muslims. There is an alliance between the political and the Church elites to keep ethnic groups of Muslim background either altogether outside the ‘national Us’ or at least at its outer margins.
Descriptor	:	Europe
Descriptor	:	Islamophobia
Descriptor	:	Middle East and Islamic Studies
Descriptor	:	Muslims
Descriptor	:	Orthodox Churches
Descriptor	:	othering
Descriptor	:	Quranic Studies
Location & Call number	:	‭10.1163/22117954-BJA10012‬