Abstract
During Austro-Hungarian rule, Bosnian Muslims went through a major civilizational transition, moving closer to the European way of life. They were forced to seek out forms of social organization based on other ideas than the classical anational concepts of the Muslim Ummah or Ottoman millet.
The term transition, however, should be used with caution. Despite marked progress, Bosnia and Herzegovina still remained one of the most backward regions of the Habsburg Empire, and its residents were the least affected by contemporary achievements.
Muslims - surrounded by the successful Croatian and Serbian national movements - were finding ways to preserve their religious identity while pursuing their political and territorial autonomy. The Muslim community underestimated the importance of secular education, which could have increased coherence within the community and strengthened awareness of a common past, present, and future.
This, in the long run, led to a shortage of intellectuals who could have otherwise developed the theoretical aspects of a regular national process.