Dervishes played an extremely important role in the process of Ottoman conquest of Byzantine and South Slavic areas and in the spread of Islam in those areas. However, this fact seems to have remained insufficiently emphasized, to a large extent even ssilenced when it comes to present day Montenegro and Bihor. To write the history of the area without reference to dervishes and their influence on political, cultural and educational circumstances seems to be scientifically unjustified. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate and present knowledge about them, their historical role and heritage in that part of present day Montenegro, with special reference to their influence on religious education of Muslim children, all based on historical sources, historiographical literature and material evidence. During the archival and field research, and with the application of analytical, comparative and synthetic methods, interesting facts were discovered indicating a rather broad range of influences dervishes had on the lifestyle of population in Bihor. Their presence in the Bihor area has been more pronounced from the beginning of the 18th century. In addition to the spread of Islam, the dervishes in Bihor began with the construction of the first catering facilities, follwed by a visible influence on the creation of literary tradition.
