SARAJEVO, Dec 28 (Hina) - The brutal murder of three members of a Croat family from the Herzegovina village of Kostajnica and bizarre posters which appeared in Mostar, calling on Muslims not to celebrate "the Christian New Year", have
reopened debates about Bosnia-Herzegovina as Europe's hotbed of radical interpretations of Islam.
SARAJEVO, Dec 28 (Hina) - The brutal murder of three members of a
Croat family from the Herzegovina village of Kostajnica and bizarre
posters which appeared in Mostar, calling on Muslims not to
celebrate "the Christian New Year", have reopened debates about
Bosnia-Herzegovina as Europe's hotbed of radical interpretations
of Islam. #L#
Representatives of Jamijetu-l-Furqan and the Active Islamic Youth
(AIO) organisations have resolutely dismissed the possibility that
Muamer Topalovic, who killed Andjelko Andjelic and his daughters
Mara and Zorka, was their member as suggested by the interior
minister of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, Goran Bilic.
AIO president Almin Foco issued a statement extending his
condolences to the Adjelic family and condemning the crime "which
is incomprehensible to a sane mind". "AIO has nothing to do with the
murder of the Andjelic family or the monstrous killer," Foco said.
Salko Osmic, head of the Al Furqan branch in Konjic, which
reportedly ceased to exist several months ago, also claims that
Topalovic only occasionally attended their lectures and was not an
active member.
The interior minister of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Ramo Maslesa, is the only official who claims that there is still no
evidence that Topalovic committed the murder out of religious
hatred. "The real motives are to be established in an
investigation," Maslesa said in an apparent attempt to calm down
tensions.
The head of the Islamic community in the country, Mustafa Ceric,
said during Friday's service at Sarajevo's central mosque that
Topalovic's crime aroused fear among the Muslim people.
"This is an act... which causes anxiety among Muslims and hampers
their sincere efforts to show their neighbours, regardless of their
religion, that they can live together in peace and safety," Ceric
said.
Ceric called on Bosnian Muslims to abide by the original principles
of Islam and avoid those who "do not want to understand the original
Islam or the way of life in our country".
The Bosnian Islamic community has been waging an undeclared war for
years with the interpreters of Islam who came to the country during
the war, mostly from Arab countries, together with weapons and
humanitarian aid.
What once was a necessity - because it was not possible to make
choices due to the fact that the country was blockaded - turned into
a millstone around the neck of the authorities in Sarajevo, which
became obvious after September 11, when first investigations into
the work of humanitarian organisations from Islamic countries
began.
The High Saudi Committee for Aid to Bosnia-Herzegovina, a
financially powerful organisation which closely co-operates with
the Saudi diplomacy, was mentioned in this context as well.
The murder of the three Croats prompted the charge d'affaires at the
Saudi Embassy in Bosnia, Favz al-Shubaili, to ask for a meeting with
Sulejman Tihic, member of the state presidency, at which he voiced
concern about the Committee being mentioned in newspaper and police
reports.
It is no secret that the Vahabite interpretation of Islam, which
advocates intolerance towards those who are different, arrived in
Bosnia from Saudi Arabia, fitting into the local environment as
much as the new, shiny Arab-architecture mosques fitted into
Bosnia's war ruins.
The AIO undoubtedly supports the radical interpretation of Islam in
Bosnia-Herzegovina, having proven its operative abilities by
trying to prevent the police to hand over six Algerians suspected of
cooperation with Al'Qaida earlier this year.
A member or not, Topalovic was a spiritual follower of what is
promoted by Islamic organisations, financed to spread a concrete
ideology which has little to do with the real faith in God.
The posters which appeared in Mostar ahead of New Year are a stark
reminder of how wrong the authorities in Bosnia were when they
flirted with radical Islam and tolerated its being imported in the
country in exchange for generous financial support.
The then president of the state presidency, Alija Izetbegovic,
called on Bosniaks himself after the war not to celebrate New Year
because "it is not our holiday".
Faced with numerous criticisms due to such statements, Izetbegovic
realised it was better to keep silent, but his thoughtless claims
apparently served as encouragement to the wrong people.
(hina) rml