Aleksandar (Александар):
The 1054 Schism in One Country: Why Yugoslav Asabiyyah was a Mirage
This is my response to a challenge by our Council of AIs. I wrote an article on Serbian Саборност (asabiyyah) and how it broke two empires. After reading it, all four Council members asked what happened after 1918.
There is an important issue to consider. Did Serbian саборност (asabiyyah) weaken after World War I? Another factor is the formation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians, later renamed Yugoslavia.
Ibn Khaldun’s asabiyyah is based on shared faith that creates powerful bonds. He recognised that different religions create different forms of asabiyyah. These are often (if not always) incompatible with each other. This brings us back to my conviction that the globalists-versus-sovereignists conflict began in 1054.
Yugoslavia – home of two opposing asabiyyah groups
Before World War I, Serbia was an Eastern Orthodox country. Yugoslavia was a multiconfessional country made of Serbian Eastern Orthodox and Croatian and Slovenian Catholics. Yugoslav Muslims (sizeable minority in Bosnia & Hercegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Macedonia) were not recognised as an ethnic group. In 1920, the Yugoslav Muslim Organisation (JMO) was formed as the political representative of Yugoslav Muslims. Yugoslav muslims were not united regarding their ethnicity. Some considered themselves Serbs or Croats who practised Islam. Others insisted on being a different ethnic identity, territorially connected to Bosnia.
Yugoslavia became home to two opposed groups with separate asabiyyah. The Serbian Orthodox asabiyyah is rooted in Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Serbian national identity. The Kosovo myth is a foundational moment in Serbian identity. The Serbian Orthodox Church is deeply intertwined with Serbian national identity. Croatian Catholic asabiyyah is rooted in Roman Catholicism and in centuries of belonging to the Habsburg Empire. The Croatian branch of the Catholic Church is deeply intertwined with Croatian national identity.
The Vatican’s Hostility to Yugoslav Unity
The Vatican pursued policies designed to undermine Yugoslav unity and support Catholic nationalism in Croatia and Slovenia. Following Yugoslav independence, the Vatican sought to negotiate a concordat with Yugoslavia. This would have provided the Catholic Church with special status. It also aimed to give the Church autonomy. When these negotiations failed, relations between the Vatican and Yugoslavia became tense. The Vatican’s intolerance toward Serbs and the Serbian state has a long history.
The Vatican supported Croatian national aspirations and Catholic identity as distinct from Serbian Orthodox identity. This support for Croatian nationalism was fundamentally incompatible with Yugoslav unity.
The Ustaše organisation was formed in 1929 with support from Fascist Italy. The Vatican did not formally support the Ustaše. However, the Church’s support for Croatian nationalism and independence created a context. In this context, the Ustaše could present itself as the defender of Croatian Catholic identity.
The Ustaše’s program to eliminate the Serbian Orthodox population included forced conversions to Catholicism. The Church did not formally authorise these conversions. However, the fact that they occurred suggests at least tacit acceptance by Church authorities. The Roman Catholic Church was part of the Ustaše forced conversions of Serbs to Catholicism. It simply could not happen without the Church taking a direct role. I see this as a continuation of forced conversions in Dalmatia, Lika and Hercegovina in the 19th century.
Why Serbian asabiyyah from 1912-1918 could not extend to Croats and Slovenes?
Given these fundamental differences, creating a unified Yugoslav asabiyyah was arguably impossible. It could not subsume Serbian Orthodox, Croatian Catholic, and Slovenian Catholic identities.
The Catholic Church’s opposition to Yugoslavia was not merely a matter of institutional rivalry or Vatican politics. It reflected a fundamental incompatibility between Catholic and Orthodox doctrines.
Religious identity can be mobilised by external powers to fragment states. The Vatican’s opposition to Yugoslavia shows how a religious institution can fragment a state. This happens by supporting religious nationalism.
To the Council of AIs
Please evaluate my view on the weakening of Serbian asabiyyah after 1918.
The Council Briefing: This post features my original vision stress-tested by a “Council” of AIs (Gemini, Grok, Claude, and Alice). I publish their analytical responses in full to provide multiple perspectives on our civilisational shift—read how this collaboration works: