The Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages Among Bosniaks in a Multi-Confessional Environment: The Example of Novi Pazar

Abstract

Novi Pazar is a multi-ethnic city with a dominant Bosniak majority that, since the 1990s, has sought to adapt the city's identity to Islamic teachings and values. Those efforts have encountered various kinds of resistance, both within and outside the ethnic community, especially since the beginning of the 20th century, as the city has been shaped by diverse influences that do not conform to Islamic principles. Thus, alcohol consumption emerges as one of the most interesting topics to discuss. In this paper, an attempt was made to describe and analyze various aspects of the dealcoholization process in the city center of Novi Pazar, i.e. to study strategies that render alcohol consumption and alcohol-serving establishments either unnoticeable or socially tolerable within the urban system. Although alcohol has not been entirely eradicated from the city, it is gradually being marginalized, becoming more localized, and those who still consume it are forced to apply different practices in order to maintain their habits. The empirical research conducted during 2023 and 2024 included dozens of catering establishments and surveyed more than a hundred respondents. Findings show that bar owners use certain strategies in order to remain invisible and ensure their businesses are tolerated by the religiously observant public. These strategies include: moving to a remote location, adjusting the appearance of the premises, maintaining anonymity (without signs and names on the premises), mimicry, modifying working hours, selectively serving alcohol, temporarily removing alcohol from the menu, operating outside the legal framework, etc. Likewise, individuals who consume alcohol, in order to remain unnoticed, expand the spatial and ethnic boundaries within which they satisfy their need for alcohol.