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Pacifier, I think Seaver is more accurate with his starting point.
The hatred goes back centuries, to the Islamic invasion of Europe (leading to Christians in the area hating Muslims). I'd say it might even go back to the Roman days, when Christianity split into the eastern Orthodox part, and the western Catholic part (hatred between the Serbs and the Croats).
Over the centuries, the original cultural differences were more or less forgotten, or at least reduced. During times of inter-cultural conflict (break-up of Yugoslavia), such differences re-emerge, because they allow the ethnic groups to become self-aware. e.g.: When Milosovich promoted Serbian nationalism, he effectively promoted Croat and Muslim nationalism too, because they were seen as different. These groups then saw those differences as an essential part of their background.
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