Cambridge Scholars Publishing. - 235 p.

The collective monograph "The Balkans and Islam: Collision, Transformation, Rupture, Continuity" is an application for comprehensive coverage of the role and place of Islam in the Balkans. Its authors (mostly of Turkish and Balkan origin) apply general historical, anthropological, linguistic, political and sociological approaches to evaluate and present to the readers the difficult fate of the ball-

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kansk Muslims in the past, present and future.

Some heterogeneity of the monograph topics and the scientific level of chapters is explained by the history of its creation. In fact, the book is a collection of selected articles that were written based on the results of a symposium held on November 5, 2010 at the Faculty of Theology of Canakkale University (Turkey) with the support of the Agency for Turkic Cooperation and Development (TICA), the Turkish Council for Scientific and Technical Research (TUBITAK) and other organizations.

The range of topics in the 14 chapters, divided into two sections ("Historical sketches" and "Current situation"), is really large. Starting with the destruction of myths about Islam and the consideration of educational projects in which Balkan Muslims were involved, to the presentation of the Ottoman architectural heritage in the Balkans. However, it should be noted that there is a single logical thread and emotional message that unites the works of different authors into a single text. Such a connecting motive is the symbolic return of Turkey to the Balkans through the rehabilitation of the Ottoman heritage and the allocation of religion as the basis of the centuries-old Turkish-Ottoman presence.

These questions are already reflected in the editors ' preface, which focuses on the cultural and religious influence of Turkey in the Balkans as the heiress of the Ottoman Empire. Special attention is paid to the prospects of Islam in the Balkans and the reconstruction of the religious identity of Balkan Muslims, viewed through the prism of the clashes, transformations, breaks and continuity stated in the title.

The first program chapter "From Myth to Reality: Some Discoveries about the role of Islam in the Ottoman Conquest of the Balkans" by Galip Qag (Turkey) sets the general direction of the entire monograph. Speaking against the nationalistic historical approach to the Balkans and the "fictional history", which operates with such stereotypes as the Islamization of the region by "fire and sword", the barbarity of the Ottomans, the destruction of the culture and statehood of the Balkan peoples during the Ottoman rule, the author builds an image of a tolerant and moderate Ottoman Empire carrying a special mission in the Balkans. In contrast to the policy of oppression of religious minorities in Catholic Europe and Orthodox Byzantium, the general decline and degeneration

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religions (Judaism and Christianity) in the Middle Ages, the decline of economic life, the Ottoman Empire appears as a progressive force that brought peace and tranquility to the Balkans. Justifying his position with Balkan myths and legends, in which the author finds a rational grain, Galip Chag calls the key reason for the widespread Islamization of the region the policy of persuasion and appeasement carried out by the Ottoman Empire.

This line is continued by the author of the second chapter, Halide Aslan (Turkey). Based on Ottoman archival sources, it examines the adoption of Islam in Kosovo during and after the Tanzimat reforms of the 19th century. The above materials indicate that such transitions are voluntary, there is no coercion or harassment, and the opposite examples are considered groundless. Such conclusions may be due to the peculiarities of the source base and the chosen period of reforms aimed at equalizing all citizens before the law, regardless of their national or religious affiliation. However, it should be noted that even at this time, conversion from Islam to Christianity was de jure punishable by death, and de facto, under pressure from Western powers, it was replaced by eviction to Muslim lands and was accompanied by lengthy legal disputes.

Of great scientific interest is the third chapter of Selcen Ozyurt (Turkey), which analyzes the role of Sufism not only in the spread of Islam in the Balkans, but also in interaction with the central government of the Ottoman Empire. According to the author, the consistent policy of the imperial authorities on unification of Islam, segregation based on religious affiliation and forced transfer to a sedentary lifestyle led to the formation of a "resistance identity based on popular Islam" (folk-Islam-based resistance identity).

The fourth chapter of Irina Vainovski Mihai (Romania), based on the travel books of two Romanian poets of the Romantic era, shows the involvement of Romania at the stage of nation-building in the process of orientalization and exotisation of the "Other", whether it is a "Muslim Turk" (orientalism) or a Balkan neighbor (Balkanism), through the orientalization of which it was possible to create a new world. "oxidize" yourself. Identity is considered by the author as a response to a collision with the "Other".

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The fifth and sixth chapters are united by the common theme of Austria-Hungary's policy in the Balkans: Bosnia and Montenegro. Aishe Zisan Furat (Turkey) examines the strategies and practices of the empire in its single "colony", aimed at creating a Bosnian national identity and separating Bosnian Muslims from Ottoman Islam. Heiko Brendel (Germany) analyzes the pro-Albanian and pro-Muslim positions of Austria-Hungary. The chapter reflects, among other things, complex migration processes in changing political conditions and unstable territorial borders. Both authors give a special place to the educational projects of the empire.

The author of the next chapter, Fikret Karcic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), identifies as a problem the fragmentation of consciousness of Balkan Muslims (belonging to the Ottoman-Turkish cultural zone), which occurred as a result of the policy of "physical and cultural genocide" carried out by nationalist elites. Calling for building collective self-consciousness based on Muslim identity and understanding responsibility to Muslims (similar to the Holocaust), Fikret Karcic considers it imperative for Muslim intellectuals to unite in order to develop "true interpretations" of previous historical experience and the tradition of their own intellectual history. He considers the search for answers to the challenges of postmodernism for Balkan Muslims, who are in the "unfinished project of modernization", to be a priority task.

The theme of the oppression of Muslims in the Balkans and the manipulation of anti-Islamic and anti-Turkish sentiments for political purposes is continued in the eighth chapter by Rahman Ademi (Turkey). He defends the" right to life "for Balkan Muslims, highlighting Turkey's key role in supporting them and providing an example of" correct"," moderate " Islam. Rahman Ademi considers it necessary to revive the sense of belonging and ownership of the Balkan land among Balkan Muslims, and calls the Ottoman rule a time of prosperity, justice and stability.

A chapter by Aysim Parlakyildiz (Turkey) is written in the same spirit. Noting the xenophobic and Islamophobic sentiments in Europe and the Balkans, she points out that "the Turkish-Muslim population of the Balkans is subjected to dictatorial and assimilatory pressure" (P-133).-

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She sees acculturation as the creation of values that are common to both the majority and minorities. Integration into the host society should not, in her opinion, interfere with the relations of the Balkan Turks with their homeland and the preservation of historical and national memory.

Against this background, an article by Enes Karic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) looks at intra-Islamic processes.: the confrontation in the Balkans between Islamic reformism and modernism, on the one hand, and popular Islam, on the other. The author conducts a detailed analysis of the beliefs and practices that cause rejection of modernists, while pointing out the proximity of their position to Wahhabis. He sees similarities between Islamic modernism and Wahhabism in attempts to purify religion, but highlights the differences in their motivation : for the former, it is the struggle against decadent phenomena that hinder modernization, while for the latter, on the contrary, continuity of tradition is important.

American researcher Frances Trix (USA) returns to the topic of assimilation in the eleventh chapter. Noting the threat of Macedonian Muslim Turks dissolving into the Albanian community, as well as the danger of Slavic nationalism and politicized Christianity, she points out the importance of Turkey, which is able to maintain a Turkish presence in Macedonia through economic and cultural mechanisms. In this chapter, the author examines the history of the creation and functioning of Turkish cultural centers, organizations, schools, newspapers and theaters in Macedonia.

The twelfth chapter of the second section is written by Velko Attanassoff (Bulgaria) and deals with the over-current problems of contemporary Bulgarian Muslims. To discuss Islamic activism in Bulgaria (Velko Attanas-soff opposes the use of the terms " Islamic terrorism "and" Islamic fundamentalism"), the author draws on his own field materials, which he analyzes in the paradigm of social movement theory. For him, Islamic activism is both a response to the chauvinistic policy of the authorities, and the expressed energy of the social movement. The author notes the constant use of the Islamic factor for political purposes for social mobilization by political parties in the last twenty years, as well as the isolation of the minority by the majority and playing on historical stereotypes for short-term political benefits.

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The last two chapters can be called consonant - they are devoted to such a part of the Ottoman heritage as Muslim architecture in the Balkans. Ermal Nurja (Albania) examines the example of Albania, where most of the Ottoman buildings were destroyed during the "extreme nationalist hysteria" and the Communist cultural revolution of 1965, and Amir Pasic (Bosnia and Herzegovina - Turkey) traces the role of architecture in establishing Muslim identity in the Balkans. According to him, every Ottoman religious building in the face of nationalist propaganda, aggression and ethnic cleansing is "condemned to death" (p. 209). To overcome this dangerous situation, he calls for introducing a course on Islamic heritage into the European education system (starting from kindergarten), as well as fighting Islamophobia using media resources.

Thus, the presented chapters form a very mosaic picture, which is the only possible one in the case of such a multi-ethnic region as the Balkans. However, it should be noted that the presentation of the material is rather one-sided and the authors 'geography is" poor " (mainly Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina). Although the monograph is very loosely structured in chronological order, the chapters share a common view of Islam as an integral part of the Balkan past, present and future, as well as the connection of Islam with the Ottoman heritage and Turkish reality. This Islam-Ottoman-Turkish synthesis is contrasted with nation-building in the Balkans as a destructive and dangerous process. Modern Turkey, acting as the successor of the Ottoman Empire, is the only guarantor of stability in the Balkans, and the fate of Balkan Islam is also connected with its future. This is not about the specifics of Islam in the Balkans, but about its assessment and preservation in an indissoluble connection with Turkish Islam. Thus, the editors 'stated goal of" gathering the various voices of the Balkan region " (p.i) in reality, it turns into a "Turkish voice in the Balkans", and the monograph as a whole becomes a monologue.

A characteristic metaphor that reflects the general mood of the book is the house on the border from the modern theatrical production of the Macedonian Turks (p. 168-169). Laid by an international tribunal through a Turkish farmhouse, the border between the two countries divides

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family members who are now forced to pay customs duty even when passing the salt shaker through the kitchen table. This metaphor reflects Turkey's perception of the Balkans as its own divided Turkish home and the absurdity of the borders laid across it. Despite the one-sidedness of this "imperial" (or neo-Ottoman) approach, it is necessary to take it into account in order to fully understand the place and role of Islam in the Balkans, since the Turkish-Ottoman perspective for some of the inhabitants of the Balkans is a full-fledged alternative to the European one.

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