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Muslims by nationality

Timbouctou, I would not agree that "Muslims by nationality" is just "outdated name for Bosniaks". In last censuses in Serbia and Montenegro, Bosniaks and Muslims by nationality are listed as separate ethnic groups and term historically was also used for Gorani and Torbeš populations that are very different from Bosniaks. Furthermore, according to 2002 census, there was much more Muslims by nationality than Bosniaks in Vojvodina, and Muslims by nationality are also in majority in some settlements in Montenegro and Serbia, as you can in these ethnic maps: So, I would not agree that they are removed from this template. PANONIAN 06:39, 20 February 2011 (UTC)

Ever since the Dayton agreement had adopted the term "Bosniak", it is generally understood to mean "Slavic Muslims" regardless whether they live in Bosnia or in the neighboring countries. Yes, I'm aware that some people still see themselves as "Muslims by nationality" in censuses across ex-Yugoslavia, but all that proves is that it is still a popular statistical category - probably because the term had been used in the preceding 50 or so years. In other words, it does nothing to prove that this is an actual ethnic group different from what we refer to as Bosniaks today, and even if there are some differences - like with the Gorani and Torbeš populations you mentioned - than they should also be referred to by their present-day names (you yourself say that the term Muslim by nationality was "used historically" for them). The same thing goes for Yugoslavs, which is not really an ethnic group but a form of political belief. The census data alone cannot be used to elevate whatever people choose to say to the level of distinct ethnic groups, and besides, it largely depends on the methodology used which varies from country to country. For example I know for a fact that a small number of people in the Croatian census - where people are allowed to put down whatever they want - choose to declare themselves as "Martians", and there are also various other regional identifications which are popular in some parts of he country ("Istrians", "Dalmatians", "Slavonians" etc), kind of like "Pannonian" :-) Of course, "Muslims by nationality" and "Yugoslavs" are special cases as it is true that many people had used these terms to refer to themselves for decades - but they should be regarded as historical categories and not "ethnic grops" as such, just like "Austro-Hungarian" or "Czechoslovak" used to be self-identifying designations but no longer are. Timbouctou 21:02, 21 February 2011 (UTC)