Bibliogr. s. 81-83

During the so-called Croatian National Revival and decades which follows, intellectuals involved in various variations of this movement considered Bosnia and Herzegovina to be part of the Croatian national space. As a consequence, Bosnians were seen as part of the Croatian nation. In particular, this concerned the Catholic and Muslim population. However, the main problem in the perception of Bosnia and Herzegovina was an encounter with its oriental shaped culture. The biggest challenge was contact with Bosnian Muslims, whose identity was shaped by Islam, the religion which was connoted in Croatia with the loss of control over many Croatian lands including Bosnia as well as backwardness. The testimonies of these problems are present in the travelogues from journeys to Bosnia and Herzegovina by Croatian intellectuals in the 19th century. On the one hand, they concerned Muslims as Croatians who converted to Islam, as representatives of exotic culture, burdened with many stereotypes. In the Croatian nationalists' attempts to recruit Bosnian Muslims, local intermediaries, members of the Muslim elite, were needed. For the Croats, the optimal partners were the activists from the pro-modernization circles of local elites. If such persons would accept Croatian identity they were seen as valuable allies who capable to enrich Croatian culture, but also help to Europeanise their fatherland. Croatian travellers from the second half of 19th century found such persons and especially appreciated such persons as Savfet-beg Bašagić and Osman Nuri Hadžić, one of the main Bosnian Muslim modernists of that time. However, Croatian intellectuals were also unwilling to get in touch with autonomist pro-modernization circles of Bosnian Muslims elite and prefer to conceal their existence. In case of the conservative part of Bosnian Muslims elites Croats would rather accept a critique originated from Croatianleaning, pro-modernization groups because they perceived them as a threat to assimilation actions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.