Two thirds of Sandžak Bosniaks trace their ancestry to the regions of Montenegro proper , which they started departing first in 1687 , after Turkey lost Boka Kotorska . The trend continued in Old Montenegro after 1711 with the extermination of converts to Islam ( " istraga poturica " ) . Another contributing factor that spurred migration to Sandžak from the Old Montenegro was the fact that the old Orthodox population of Sandžak moved towards Serbia and Habsburg Monarchy ( Vojvodina ) in two waves , first after 1687 , and then , after 1740 , basically leaving Sandžak depopulated . The advance of increasingly stronger ethnic Montenegrins caused additional resettlements out of Montenegro proper in 1858 and 1878 , when , upon the Treaty of Berlin , Montenegro was recognized as an independent state . While only 20 Bosniak families remained in Nikšić after 1878 , the towns like Kolašin , Spuž , Grahovo , and others , completely lost their Bosniak population . The clan-organized Montenegrin army forcibly converted about 12,000 Bosniaks and Albanians to Christianity from the areas of Southern Sandžak , and Metohija , in 1912 , upon capturing those lands from the Turks in the Balkan Wars . Practically all of the converts , less a couple of families , converted back to Islam in 1913 , when , under international pressure , the public announcement was made giving them freedom to profess the faith of their choosing . The last major interethnic incident occurred in 1924 during Šahovići massacre in villages Šahovići and Pavino Polje ( present-day municipality of Bijelo Polje in Sandžak ) , when Montenegrin peasants massacred hundreds of Bosniaks , under the pretext that Bosniak outlaws murdered a local Montenegrin hero , presumably under false pretense
Šahovići massacre
Šahovići massacre
Bosniaks of Montenegro