Here in the Balkans you can hear from Serbs and Croats that Bosniaks are mostly islamized Serbs(and other Slavs plus Balkan inhabitants at the time). Bosniaks claim that they are people separate from Serbs and Croats that received Islam under Otoman occupation. I know that the Bosnian Church did exist but I don't know how or when was it created? Do Bosniaks have a connection with Serb and Croatian tribes that emigrated from White Serbia and White Croatia? Are there any genetic studies on the issue?
I'm curious to know what (some) Bosniaks claim they are if not South Slavs. Do they claim that they are of a separate Slavic tribe, separate from White Croatia and White Serbia, or do they claim that they are not Slavs at all, but other Balkan peoples that converted to Islam and switched to a Slavic language and culture? Or is the suggestion that they are mostly Turkish/Circassian/Albanian/etc, that is, Muslims that move to Bosnia?