INTRA-RELIGIOUS RELATIONS

There remain several Salafi communities in Bosnia and Hercegovina, particularly around the north-eastern rural regions of Gornja Maoca and Bocinja. These communities are known not to adhere to the domestic legislature and secular constitution,^[1432] often declaring that their villages are governed by their own Shari’ah law.

While the resurgent mainstream Islam of Bosnia and Hercegovina shares Salafism’s disapproval of some of these ‘lewd’ practices, the tolerance indoctrinated by both the Sufi and years under Western leadership has ensured a more moderate and restrained approach. Up until recently, this has been led by the now retired re’is ul-ulema, Mustafa Ceric. During his time as re’is, Ceric’s primary focus had been on returning the post-socialist Bosnian population back to their religious roots. He has stressed that:

[a] Boshnyak without Islam would be ‘a spiritually illegitimate child’ and without Bosnia would be ‘a physically illegitimate child’. Consequently he must have his mother and father: his father is Islam, his mother is Bosnia, and he has been indolent to his parents so far.^[1434]

This demonstrates an acceptance of the prior half-hearted practice of their faith as pointed out by the mujahidin in the 1990s. However, while appreciating the assistance of the Saudis, Ceric credits both the rational­ity of Maturidi’s theology (kalam)^[1435] and the practicality of the Hanafi jurisprudence (fiqh) with the Islamic reformation in Bosnia.^[1436] Both of these doctrines were instead imported during the Ottoman occupation and highlight a fortitude to continue to interact with the West rather than adhere to the Salafi conservativism.

Known for adopting an Islamic realist approach, Ceric has identified that a policy of Islamic pluralism is an essential safeguard against future atrocities, such as genocide, which have historically plagued this region. Accompanying this policy, he calls for an inclusive theological approach whereby no religious community has the monopoly of the ‘Truth’.^[1438] This course of action is displayed through the Fatwa Council (‘Vijece za Fetve’) of Bosnia and Hercegovina.^[1439] The Council endeavours to be inclusive of all Sunni schools of thought (madhhabs), except in respect to devotional matters, where the Hanafi school will be given precedence.^[1440] The benefits for pursuing the Hanafi course within Europe have been explained above. However, this acknowledgement by the Council that there is no ‘one truth’ is a significant step forward towards an inclusive Islamic society.

Uncertainty remains in Bosnia regarding the Salafi influence. Gener­ally, Bosniaks finds this conservative approach confronting and a slight against their more liberal European culture and identity. They view Salafism as a form of ‘Arab’ or ‘desert’ Islam - an extension of Arabian culture, which has no place in the Balkans. A popular Bosnian phrase emphasises this point of view: ‘a palm tree cannot grow in Bosnia any more than a plum tree can in Arabia.’^[1441] Resid Hafizovic, a professor of Islamic sciences in Sarajevo, has gone so far as to describe Salafism as ‘a potentially fatal virus’ for Bosnian Islam.^[1442] However, one must caution against being drawn in by unfounded paranoia and the West’s generic fear and association of Salafism with terrorism. There are followers of the Salafi school who defend their ability to cooperate with the larger Islamic community if such interaction will benefit Islam and Muslims in general.

Semir Imamovic is one such Salafi representative. He openly encour­ages the need for dialogue between Islamic scholars and religious leaders of other faiths. Semir believes that religious tolerance is rooted in the Qur’an and Sunnah and has previously published fatwas issued by the European Council for Fatwas and Research in Salafi magazines.^[1443] He has also openly outlined arguments for Salafis to engage with Bosnian politics, to vote and to take part in elections.^[1444] In the wake of renewed Islamic radicalisation, these messages of integration and cooperation are particularly important. Only recently, an informal leader of the Salafi community in Bosnia, Husein Bilal Bosnic was sentenced to seven years in prison for public incitement of terrorist activities and recruitment of terrorists for Daesh. Further, around 150 Bosnians are confirmed to have left to fight in Syria since 2013. The international attention that this information attracts has only intensified the desire of some Bosnians to see the ‘foreign’ Salafis relocated. Yet the reality is that the vast majority with Salafist beliefs in Bosnia are locals to the region, often war veterans who fought alongside the mujahidin.^[1445] This is not something which the Balkans can escape.

Through his time as a leader of the Bosnia and Hercegovinan Islamic Community, Mustafa Ceric had gathered around him not only the traditional Bosnian Muslim believers but also Salafi reformists who wanted to distance themselves from their more radical brethren.^[1446] In a 2006 interview, Ceric described the current Salafi paranoia to that of the seventeenth century Salem witch hunts or McCarthy’s communist scare of the 1950s.^[1447] He argued that the West has grouped any concept of Islam that they consider extremist under the ‘Salafi’ banner and, in doing so, reject the beneficial contribution of people such as Imamovic. However, he does counsel against leaving these isolated communities to their own devices.

Unfortunately, we have individuals disturbing us with their attitude toward our Bosnian tradition. Furthermore, there are those who are in the area of takfir (disparaging others in faith) and hijrah (isolation), meaning that they are exclusivist in religion and inaccessible in communication. We must put an end to such practice.^[1448]

Ceric requests that Salafi followers within the Balkans respect the Bosnian principles of co-existence and tolerance and condemns the Salafi promotion of takfir and hijrah. In his words, ‘[n]o-one has the right to play with what the Bosnian Muslims have for centuries been building in patience and dedication in order to stay and survive in this part of the world’.^[1449] This approach by Ceric equally applies beyond the Balkans. It presents an important unifying message to the broader Islamic com­munity, while encouraging those Muslims living within Western societies to engage rather than reject. It sets an example for all religious and political leaders to interact and cooperate with non-violent conservatives so as to encourage integration.^[1450] To this end, the prominent Islamic American author and journalist Stephen Suleyman Schwartz has issued a timely reminder: while it is true that a Salafist can be an Islamic ‘extremist’ or ‘fundamentalist’, the reciprocal association cannot be freely made since Islamic fundamentalism is not homogenous.^[1451] Fear and reactions based on unfounded categorisations are sure to hurt and ostracise any minority to which they are directed.

V.