Bushnak (, meaning "

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

n", also

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

Bushnaq, Boshnak, Bouchenak and Bouchnak) is a

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

common among

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

ines and

Saudis Saudis (; local dialects: , suʿūdiyyīn) or Saudi Arabians are the citizen population of the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who speak the Arabic language, a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language, and share a common Ancesto ...

(Arabic-speakers) of Bosnian Muslim origin. Those sharing this surname are the descendants of Bosnian Muslims, apprehensive of living under

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

rule after the

Austro-Hungarian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The campaign to establish Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina lasted from 29 July to 20 October 1878 against the local resistance fighters, Muslims and orthodox Serbs, supported unofficially by troops of the Ottoman Empire. The Austro ...

in 1878, immigrated to

Ottoman Syria Ottoman Syria () is a historiographical term used to describe the group of divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of the Levant, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Ara ...

. While not originally from one family, most Bosnian Muslims who immigrated to the Levant adopted Bushnak as a common surname, attesting to their origins.

History

Some Bosnian movement to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

occurred when Bosnian Muslim soldiers were brought to Palestine in the late 1800s to provide reinforcements for the Ottoman army. More substantial movement occurred after 1878, when the Austro-Hungarian empire, ruled by the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

, occupied Bosnia. Bosnian Muslim emigration continued through this period, escalating after the Austro-Hungarian's 1908 annexation of Bosnia. Many immigrated to parts of what is now modern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, while a smaller number settled in

(modern

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, Palestine,

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

). Bosnian immigrants settled predominantly in villages in the parts of the present day

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and

: Caesarea, Yanun,

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

and Tulkarem. Their descendants still live in these villages, their Bosnian heritage reflected in the Arab surname of Bushnak.

Notable people bearing the surname

Bushnag

* Mohammed Bushnag, Saudi Deputy Minister for the Tourism Human Capital at the Saudi Ministry of Tourism.

Bushnak

* Ramez Bushnak (1976–2000), an Israeli Arab civilian shot dead by Israeli police during the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada (; ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, was a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel and its Israeli-occupied territories, occupation from 2000. Starting as a civilian uprising in Jerusalem and October 2000 prot ...

Bushnaq

* Ali Bushnaq, Palestinian

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

climber * Alia Bushnaq (born 2000), Jordanian athlete * Suzan Bushnaq (born 1963), Kuwaiti painter, daughter of Mohammed Bushnaq * Suad Bushnaq (born 1982), Jordanian-Canadian film composer * Mohammed Bushnaq (1934–2017), Palestinian artist (painter and sculptor)

Bouchnak

* Lotfi Bouchnak (born 1952), Tunisian singer * Hamid Bouchnak (born 1969), Moroccan raï singer

Boushnak

* Laura Boushnak (born 1976), Kuwaiti-born Palestinian photographer

Notes and references

Bibliography

* {{surname Surnames of Bosnian origin Bosniak diaspora European diaspora in the Middle East European diaspora in Israel European diaspora in Lebanon European diaspora in Palestine European diaspora in Syria Sunni Islam