POGRANICZE JAKO PRZESTRZEŃ STRATEGICZNEJ KOEGZYSTENCJI GRUP MIESZANYCH RELIGIJNIE. O A(NTA)GONISTYCZNEJ TOLERANCJI I KOMⱾULUKU W MUZUŁMAŃSKO-CHRZEŚCIJAŃSKICH SPOŁECZNOŚCIACH BAŁKAŃSKICH

My article explores Muslim-Christian borderlands in the Balkans to discuss a geographic area where a strategy of coexistence is imposed on local inhabitants based on good neighbourly relations (komşuluk)and a(nta)gonistic tolerance. Antagonistic tolerance is a term and research model proposed by Robert Hayden. It refers to the phenomenon of “competitive sharing” in shared holy cites, which should be treated as “indicators of political dominance, or challenges to it” (Hayden, Walker 2013, p.413). Although I find Hayden’s model very inspiring, in my opinion the term “antagonistic tolerance” needlessly restricts the range of situations that may occur in the shared holy cites. Therefore I replace this term with Hayden’s original and discarded coinage “agonistic tolerance”. I discuss the local cultural practices of komşuluk and agonistic tolerance from a diachronic and a synchronic perspective. In terms of the diachronic perspective, I draw attention to the Ottoman origins of such coexistence, the longue durée of the phenomenon, and its prevalence throughout the Balkans. I also identify those historical periods in which peaceful relations between Muslims and Christians broke down in response to changing power relations between the two groups. The synchronic perspective offers a way to show how the two groups coexisting within the same areas manage to negotiate cultural meanings while preserving distinct religious identities. I demonstrate how the post-memory that separates the two groups pushes them to maintain good neighbourly relations, but also alerts them to the impact of politics on their mutual relations. I discuss a(nta)gonistic tolerance with regard to the practice of holy sites shared between Muslims and Christians, whose pluralist nature may be under pressure given the current tendency in the Balkans to purge the local varieties of Islam and Christianity of their Ottoman elements.