 |
Croatia |
 |
Republika Hrvatska |
Location, political and cultural history
Croatia occupies much of the Adriatic coastline of the former Yugoslavia. Although in part conquered by the Ottoman Empire’s 16th Century expansion during the rule of Suleiman the Magnificent, Croatia never became an Islamic state. Under 2% of the population now classify themselves as Muslim. Neither did Croatia embrace Eastern Orthodox Christianity. This country is staunchly Roman Catholic.
 |
 |
The left-hand map shows Croatia in relation to other fragments of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. To identify the other fragments, please visit our Yugoslavia index page.
The right-hand map shows the current boundaries of Croatia itself. |
When Yugoslavia started to fragment in the early 1990s, Croatia was the first part to descend into war. The Croatian War of Independence (1991 to 1995, known locally as the Homeland War) pitted Croat against Serb. It was fought between the post-independence Croatian government and the Serbia-controlled Yugoslav People’s Army (the JNA), supported by local Serb forces from within Croatia and from neighbouring Bosnia. The Serb’s principal objective was to maintain the unity of Yugoslavia, at the same time promoting the degree of influence of the Serbs over other ethnic groups. At this time Montenegro was still a part of the rump of Yugoslavia; infamously the ancient walled city of Dubrovnik, a World Heritage site of no modern military significance, was destroyed by Montenegrin forces.
Dubrovnik Rebuilt. Image © 2007, Rediscover the World Ltd.
Circumcision in Croatia
There is no religious motivation to circumcise in Croatia. That said, there is also less anti-Islamic prejudice there. Croatia’s recent disputes have been with the Orthodox Christian Serbs, not with the Muslims. (This goes some way to explaining the Croat-Muslim alliance in neighbouring Bosnia-Herzegovina.)
No local statistics are known to CIRCLIST; if you have access to such data please contact the Editor using the link on the
index page to this chapter.
Acknowledgements
To return to the previous page that you were viewing, please use the BACK button of your browser. Alternatively, click on a link in the text above or choose another topic from the navigation panel below.
Copyright © 1992 - 2012, All Rights Reserved CIRCLIST.
