Wahhabi growth is worrisome in BiH

29/07/2010

The spread of radical Wahhabi Islam among some Bosniaks continues to be a cause for concern.

By Jusuf Ramadanovic for Southeast European Times in Sarajevo -- 29/07/10

Wahhabis attacked the Bugojno police station last month. [Getty Images]

The terrorist attack on a police station in the central Bosnian town of Bugojno late last month -- in which Officer Tarik Ljubuskic was killed and six others were wounded -- is indicative of the tension caused by the country's small, but increasingly aggressive, Wahhabi community.

The ongoing investigation reveals suspected bomber Haris Causevic and mastermind Naser Palislamovic have longstanding ties to the radical Islamic sect, as do the other three suspects who have been arrested.

The terrorist cell allegedly conducted the attack because it objects to a popular annual Muslim gathering in Ajvatovica to revere a holy man of the past.

"I think the basic goal of the Wahhabi movement is to create a religious state acceptable only for Muslims -- without Serbs and Croats," BiH Prime Minister Nikola Spiric told local media earlier this month.

Republika Srpska (RS) officials cautioned of similar terrorist attacks by the radical Islamists, who receive funding from Saudi Arabia and Iran. Officials also warned that the group's actions could have negative implications for BiH's European integration, including visa liberalisation.

Meanwhile, BiH's media has been stirring the pot by openly criticising the country's Islamic community and its Grand Mufti Mustafa Efendi Ceric, for not sufficiently distancing themselves from the Wahhabis.

The Islamic community rejects the accusations, calling on the government to introduce decisive measures throughout BiH. The Wahhabis' aim "is to cause mistrust, fear and concern, to distract us from ... [Euro-Atlantic] integrations", the community says.

Despite the assurances, a Bosniak who spoke to SETimes said that people are fearful. "Economic woes are compounded by the hatred and aggressive Wahhabi propaganda," he said, lamenting the success in attracting dissatisfied young Bosniaks.

"As a rule, they come from poor families with internal problems and conflicts, and are mentally unstable persons. Such is the case is with [suspected bomber Causevic]."

Others believe it is the country's ethnic division that presents the Wahhabis with an opportunity.

Marijana Grabovac, 56, described Bugojno as a "divided town" in which Catholics and Bosniaks go to their respective cafes. "The division extends to the workplace and in daily life and communications," she told SETimes.

"If something is not urgently done on the state level, even this little bit of co-existence remaining between the Catholics and Muslims will be ruined," said Bugojno resident Ivan Budimir.

The government seems to have taken such concerns seriously. Security Minister Sadik Ahmetovic promised decisive action, saying the attack sounded an alarm "to put the whole Wahhabi movement under control".