Orthodox-Muslim Interactions at 'Mixed Shrines' in Macedonia

In his profoundly influential 'The Clash of Civilizations?' Samuel Huntington asserts that 'Islam has bloody borders' (Huntington 1993: 35). Throughout all but the first three centuries of its existence, Orthodox Christianity has shared borders with Islam across immense stretches of territory extending at times from North Africa to the steppes of Asia. In this paper I look at Muslim Christian interaction in one small portion of that shared borderland, examining inter-communal interaction in the context of religious shrines used by both communities in Macedonia (a.k.a. FYROM). In so doing I demonstrate the potential range of interaction between Islam and Christianity -- from amicability to antagonism -- and analyse the grounds of both neighbourliness and inter-communal antagonism. I also, in investigating Orthodox communities in their encounters with 'their other', draw out elements of Orthodox belief and practice which prove less notable in more homogeneous settings.