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Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Asset or Obstacle?
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By Mirnes Kovac
Many today see Bosnia and Herzegovina (short: B&H, Bosnia) as a fragile state, problematic in terms of its long political impasse – but one can ask – is it really in such an unfavorable position? The situation on the ground is not even close to that which is being projected. In order to acquaint you with B&H, I shall first provide some background, and focus on one of its main peculiarities – the fact that it is the most-Western “majority-Muslim country” in Europe, and in a sense, the world.
According to the last official census in B&H conducted in 1991, 43.5% of the inhabitants of the country declared themselves to be ‘Muslims’ by nationality. Due to war-related death, expulsion and migration, the numbers and demographic distribution of ethnic groups within B&H have significantly changed.
A referendum on independence from Yugoslavia was held in Bosnia in February 1992 but boycotted by most Bosnian Serbs whose forces, assisted by Belgrade, initiated a bloody aggression against Bosnia in 1992-95. Estimates of the death toll of the war have ranged up to 300,000, with about 200,000 being the accepted figure. More than 83% of civilian deaths were Bosniaks, rising to nearly 95% in Eastern Bosnia. During the conflict, more than two million people fled their homes (including over one million to neighboring states and the West).
Bosnia and Herzegovina is secular state with no state religion. The Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina (ICBH) is the institution that has traditionally represented Islam in Bosnia. According to its own constitution: “the autonomy of ICBH is based on the religious and legal institutions of Bosnian Muslims from the time of Ottoman administration in Bosnia.” It is independent in the regulation of its activities and the management of its properties. There are approximately 1,700 mosques and masjids in B&H, all run by the ICBH. Many mosques are still under reconstruction after being destroyed or damaged during the war. It is reported that 613 mosques, 218 masjids, and various other properties were completely destroyed in the war of 1992-95. The institution also takes an active part in the Inter-religious Council of B&H, formed in 1997 to promote inter-religious dialogue, justice, peace and reconciliation.
In post-war Bosnia the greater presence of religion in the public arena is evident. Some welcome the religious revival as healthy assertions of identity after decades of de-Islamisation during the Communist period, while others see it as a rising threat to the secular and politically fragile state. This process has also exposed religious communities to new challenges arising from publicity and public critique.
Although many in the West see Bosnia as a model state in terms of the relationship between Islam and the state, unfortunately, its status of a ‘majority-Muslim state’ seems to be the cause of prejudices and fears.
The most recent issue which has arisen is the EU plan to lessen the visa procedures for the states of Western Balkan. Although significant improvement has been made in 14 years after the conflict ended, B&H has still not been approved for the so-called “white Schengen list” which implies that citizens of Bosnia can travel throughout Europe without visas. Some neighboring countries such as Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro, although at almost similar stages in reform, were already accepted on the “white Schengen list” in December 2009. Due to the complex structure of B&H and the frequent obstacles from within (which recently include even very dangerous prospects of secessionist tendencies in the Bosnian Serb entity aimed to lead to the creation of a mono-national fascist statelet cleansed of all non-Serbs) many of the reforms that are needed for EU integration have been blocked.
Also, the European stance towards recent history has not changed in terms of a clear recognition of failures, as well as the identification of perpetrators of war and genocide in Bosnia. The most recent example is the Hague trial of the former leader of the Bosnian Serbs, Radovan Karadzic. Europe does not want to realize that the trial of Karadzic is, to a degree, a trial of itself. It even has difficulty in pronouncing the term ‘genocide’ with reference to Srebrenica.
The only hope of the Bosnian Muslims today is to prevent any further injustice. Yes, clearly the trial in Hague is a positive legal process which has to be carried out for the sake of historical record. But it is unimaginable that war criminals responsible for mass killings dictate the flow of justice, or even worse, return home after their sentence in full glory and with a state tribute. The recent case in which the Prime Minister of the Serb Entity, Milorad Dodik, sent a government plane to pick up the prematurely-released war criminal, Biljana Plavsic, and returned her safely with the status of national hero, sends a scary message for the future – not just to Bosnia, but to the whole of Europe.
Europe was able to prevent the genocide in Srebrenica and other war crimes in B&H, but it did not. Now is the time to wake up and save people from falling further into an ethnocentric mindset. Serbs, both in Bosnia and Serbia, have not gone through any de-nazification process, and the highest priority of Europe should be to help them finally begin this thorough journey. Notably, the victims of genocide and mass killings in B&H have not asked for revenge against the crimes they suffered. They only want the same as Europe wanted after the Second World War – at the very least – the prevention of a the future climate for criminals.
The current European approach, “visas only for Muslims” policy, is a blatant example of an ‘appeasing and slashing’ stance to those who organized the worst mass killings and genocide in Europe after the Second World War. This signals a troublesome sign for the future of both the Western Balkans, and of Europe.
Mirnes Kovac is the editor of the bi-monthly Preporod Islamic Magazine published in Sarajevo. He graduated in Islamic Studies from the Faculty of Islamic Studies in Sarajevo University and has an MA in International Relations from the University of Sussex, UK. He is the author of the book “Islam as a Global Challenge” published in Bosnian in 2004.
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5 Comments
Mido
A highly informative article. It’s all too easy to forget about, what may seem to us as ‘remote’ parts of the world, when in fact they are a part of the very continent which we inhabit. Some of the homecoming parades for war criminals have been particularly grotesque, and it only serves to highlight the very deep-rooted ethno-fascism which still resides in parts of Europe.
jill starr
What It’s Like to Chill Out With Whom the World Considers the Most Ruthless Men in the World Ratko Mladic, Radovan Karadzic and Goran Hadzic (+) Confessions of a Female War Crimes Investigator
Retrospectively, it was all so simple, natural and matter of fact being on a boat restaurant in Belgrade, sitting with, laughing, drinking a two hundred bottle of wine and chatting about war and peace while Ratko Mladic held my hand. Mladic, a man considered the world’s most ruthless war criminal since Adolf Hitler, still at large and currently having a five million dollar bounty on his head for genocide by the international community. Yet there I was with my two best friends at the time, a former Serbian diplomat, his wife, and Ratko Mladic just chilling. There was no security, nothing you’d ordinarily expect in such circumstances. Referring to himself merely as, Sharko; this is the story of it all came about.
jill starr
Irrefutable Proof ICTY Is Corrupt Court/Irrefutable Proof the Hague Court Cannot Legitimately Prosecute Karadzic Case
http://picasaweb.google.com/lpcyusa/
(The Documentary Secret United Nations ICC Meeting Papers Scanned Images)
This legal technicality indicates the Hague must dismiss charges against Dr Karadzic and others awaiting trials in the Hague jail; like it or not.
Unfortunately for the Signatures Of the Rome Statute United Nations member states instituting the ICC & ICTY housed at the Hague, insofar as the, Radovan Karadzic, as with the other Hague cases awaiting trial there, I personally witnessed these United Nations member states openly speaking about trading judicial appointments and verdicts for financial funding when I attended the 2001 ICC Preparatory Meetings at the UN in Manhattan making the iCTY and ICC morally incapable trying Radovan Karazdic and others.
I witnessed with my own eyes and ears when attending the 2001 Preparatory Meetings to establish an newly emergent International Criminal Court, the exact caliber of criminal corruption running so very deeply at the Hague, that it was a perfectly viable topic of legitimate conversation in those meetings I attended to debate trading verdicts AND judicial appointments, for monetary funding.
Jilly wrote:*The rep from Spain became distraught and when her country’s proposal was not taken to well by the chair of the meeting , then Spain argued in a particularly loud and noticably strongly vocal manner, “Spain (my country) strongly believes if we contribute most financial support to the Hague’s highest court, that ought to give us and other countries feeding it financially MORE direct power over its decisions.”
((((((((((((((((((((((((( ((((((((((((((((((((((((( Instead of censoring the country representative from Spain for even bringing up this unjust, illegal and unfair judicial idea of bribery for international judicial verdicts and judicial appointments, all country representatives present in the meeting that day all treated the Spain proposition as a ”totally legitimate topic” discussed and debated it between each other for some time. I was quite shocked!
The idea was “let’s discuss it.” “It’s a great topic to discuss.”
Some countries agreed with Spain’s propositions while others did not. The point here is, bribery for judicial verdicts and judicial appointments was treated as a totally legitimate topic instead of an illegitimate toic which it is in the meeting that I attended in 2001 that day to establish the ground work for a newly emergent international criminal court.))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
In particular., since “Spain” was so overtly unafraid in bringing up this topic of trading financial funding the ICC for influence over its future judicial appointments and verdicts in front of every other UN member state present that day at the UN, “Spain” must have already known by previous experience the topic of bribery was “socially acceptable” for conversation that day. They must have previously spoke about bribing the ICTY and
ICC before in meetings; this is my take an international sociological honor student. SPAIN’s diplomatic gesture of international justice insofar as, Serbia, in all of this is, disgusting morally!
SPAIN HAS TAUGHT THE WORLD THE TRUE DEFINITION OF AN
“INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT.”
I remind everyone, when I attended those ICC Preparatory Meetings in 2001, witnessing first hand the country plenipotentiary representatives present with me discussing so openly, trading judicial funding of a new international criminal court, for its direct judicial appointments and judicial verdicts, those same state powers were
concurrently,
those same countries and people were already simultaneously, funding the already established ICTY which was issuing at that time, arrest warrants for Bosnian Serbs under false primary diplomatic pretenses.
The ICTY and ICC is just where it should be for once. Cornered and backed into and an international wall, scared like a corned animal (and I bet it reacts in the same way a rabid cornered animal does too in such circumstances). (ICTY associates)
http://sites.google.com/site/jillstarrsite/irrefutable-proof-icty-is-corrupt-court-irrefutable-proof-the-hague-court-cannot-legitimately-prosecute-karadzic-case/irrefutableproofictyiscorruptcourtirrefutableproofthehaguecourtcannotlegitimatelyprosecutekaradziccase
(Documents: Hague war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has destroyed all material evidence about the monsterous KLA Albanian/KLA organ trade in Kosovo).
I believe strongly that ICYU assocaites murdered former Serb President, Slobodan Milosevic, tried to murder me, as well and other Serbs prisoners and presently places , Doctor Radovan Karadzic’s life in direct danger as well as Ratko Mladic’s life
in danger should he be brought there.
The ICTY has no other choice than to halt all further court proceedings against, Doctor Radovan Karadzic, and others there both serving sentences and awaiting trials. Miss JIll Louise Starr (The UN Security Council has no choice but to act on this now).
I accuse the Hague ICTY war crimes tribunal of attempted assassination on my life and others, contempt of court and obstruction of international justice and “international witness tampering” in complicity with Richard Holbrook and Bill Clinton (Former US President of the USA) as well as political players in Spain and the Netherlands .
I represented the state interests’ of the Former Yugoslavia, in Darko Trifunovic’s absence in those meetings and I am proud to undertake this effort on Serbia’s behalf.
Gomes
Thank you Mirnes for your highly informative article.
my greatest regret is that while in Croatia you mainly find Croats,with a small Serb minority in Knin,and in Serbia only Serbs,Bosnians have been unfortunate to have to share their country such that they only ended up making a third of their country.Even the presidency has to be shared out with the Croat and Bosnian Serbs.You wouldn’t imagine a Bosnian being the president of Serbia or Croatia.That is unthinkable.Why did they have to be the ones fooled by the ‘Brotherhood and Unity’ mirage of Tito’s communism at the expense of their religious and ethnic identity,for which they almost ended up being wiped out, I think that is what made the other ethnic groups move to Bosnia over the decades such that by the time the war started in Yugoslavia the Bosnians were being out-numbered and out-gunned and almost ethnically cleansed to entirety.
Sad too that they are facing from Europe the same discrimination that was meted out to them in Tito’s Yugoslavia and even now in their own country.
This Europe is full of hogwash.Running battles around the world in the name of democracy and equality when in truth they are capable of offering none.Talk of preaching water and drinking wine.
I am far away from Bosnia, but my heart is always with you Bosniaks.
Very eye-opening. Shocking to see that after the atrocities, Bosnian’s are neither given equal rights nor justice – and war criminals as national heroes?!
Toleration of such treatment can only lead to it becoming acceptable and give scope for further injustices taking place. As you say – a troublesome sign for the future of the Western Balkans and Europe as a whole.