wahhabism as a militant form of islam on europe's doorstep
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Wahhabism as a Militant Form of Islam onEurope's DoorstepMarko Rakic a & Dragisa Jurisic aa Faculty of Security Studies , University of Belgrade , Belgrade ,SerbiaPublished online: 16 Aug 2012.
To cite this article: Marko Rakic & Dragisa Jurisic (2012) Wahhabism as a Militant Formof Islam on Europe's Doorstep, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 35:9, 650-663, DOI:10.1080/1057610X.2012.702671
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Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 35:650–663, 2012Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN: 1057-610X print / 1521-0731 onlineDOI: 10.1080/1057610X.2012.702671
Research Note
Wahhabism as a Militant Form of Islam onEurope’s Doorstep
MARKO RAKICDRAGISA JURISIC
Faculty of Security StudiesUniversity of BelgradeBelgrade, Serbia
This article examines the impact of the spreading of Wahhabism (as one of the mostmilitant religious teachings) on the escalation of international terrorism on Europeansoil. It tries to point out potential hazards and propose possible measures to protectWestern Europe from further penetration of this conservative Islamic movement throughthe Balkans. In order to elaborate the stated interdependency, this article includes ouranalysis of the phenomenon and spreading of Wahhabism throughout the Balkans, moreconcretely—on the territories of the Republic of Serbia, Montenegro, as well as Bosniaand Herzegovina. This is precisely the region where Wahhabism has made its first stepto “conquer” Europe.
The Genesis of Wahhabism and Manifestation of Wahhabi Teachings in theTerritory of the Balkan Peninsula
Wahhabism was founded in the first half of the eighteenth century in the province of Najd, awide desert area of Central Arabia.1 The founder of this movement, Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab (1702–1792), after whom the Wahhabi movement got its name, was teaching thatevery true believer had to make efforts in order to purify Islam from the theological inno-vations, superstitions, heresy, and similar issues. According to his belief, these phenomenaare characteristic for the Jahiliya (the age of “ignorance”) or the situation that existed inthe pre-Islamic era. He was preoccupied with efforts to restore the vitality of the Islamicfaith due to which he established the concept of monotheism as the paramount principle.2
In other words, Wahhabism is defined as an influential religious movement within theSunni branch of Islam, which advocates for the return to basic principles of the Islamicreligion. In fact, supporters of this religious movement believe that Muslims should behaveand act in accordance with the Quran and Sunnah along with religious teachings and rulesthat existed at the time of prophet Mohammed and “the pious ancestors” of the first threeMuslim generations. Therefore, this is a conservative and puritan movement that can be
Received 18 August 2011; accepted 20 November 2011.Address correspondence to Marko Rakic, Faculty of Security Studies, University of Belgrade,
Palmira Toljatija 30/19, 11 000 Belgrade, Serbia. E-mail: [email protected]
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described as fundamentalist, because it advocates for a return to ancient Islamic teachings,with strong intolerance toward Shi’as, Dervishes, and Sufism, as well as liberal Islamicteachings.
Wahhabism is now the official and dominant religion in Saudi Arabia and Qatar,but it also has strong presence in other Islamic countries (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran,Iraq, Egypt).3 Modern Wahhabism openly advocates religious and inter-ethnic intolerance.Members of this very movement have called the faithful to jihad (“the holy war”) in order toforcibly set “the opponents” on the right track (this includes Muslims who do not follow theteachings of Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab).4 In fact, contemporary Wahhabism createsa climate suitable for the birth of extremism, creation of closed and fanatical groups thatexit the takfir practice (condemnation of other religious groups) and get into the phase ofdestruction and demolition, in accordance with the “Al Qaeda” strategy. In the beginningof the twenty-first-century Wahhabi groups’ terrorist activities have led American authorStephen Schwartz to conclude that “Not all Muslims are suicide bombers, but all Muslimsuicide bombers are Wahhabis.”5
Until the beginning of the twenty-first century, particularly before the terrorist attackson 11 September 2001 in the United States, Wahhabism had not attracted the attention ofthe world public, even a vast majority people were not familiar with the meaning of theterm. Shortly after this terrible terrorist attack, in which more than 3,000 people lost theirlives, governments, scientific elites, political analysts, and the media identified Wahhabismas the biggest threat to further survival and superiority of the Western civilization.
When it comes to the Balkan Peninsula, large penetration of Wahhabis into this areabegan in the early 1980s; activities of this conservative Islamic movement were dividedinto several phases.6 In the first phase, which lasted until the end of the Cold War, ormore correctly—before the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) broke out in 1992,the promoters of Wahhabi teachings in this area were graduates of Islamic Studies sentfrom their home countries to study in Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries where theyfinished universities under the influence of Wahhabism. This stage was characterized by asignificant increase in donations from Islamic countries for construction of Islamic centers,religious schools, and mosques in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Agood example was the case of building an Islamic Centre in Zagreb under the supervision ofSaudi Arabia.7 Concurrently the activities of “Rabita”8 and other Pan-Islamic organizationswere being reinforced, which led to strengthening of their relations and activities withIslamic Ulema9 in the same area. At this stage tensions were increasing between localMuslims and the followers of Wahhabi teachings, because Muslims from the territoryof the Balkan Peninsula saw Wahhabism as a kind of a threat to their own identity.10 TheIslamic religious community in Bosnia and Herzegovina pointed out dangers of Wahhabismin the article published in 1991 in journal “Preporod” (Renaissance) under the title “This isWahhabism.” The article highlighted dangers proclaimed by Wahhabi teachings and pointedout that religious, social, and political principles of Wahhabis have the motto: Either youare with us or we will kill you, seize your property, and enslave your family.11
The civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992–1995) created favorable conditionsfor the second phase of expansion of Wahhabi teachings in the territory of the BalkanPeninsula. The war led to overcoming the preexisting “disagreements” between traditionalIslam and Wahhabism in the region. During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina there arrivedthousands of volunteers from all around the Islamic world, including a large number ofWahhabi supporters. Although many of them returned to their home countries after the war,plenty of Wahhabis remained in the Balkan area. Some of them settled within the territory of
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Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a certain amount occupied parts of Southern Serbia (Kosovo,Sanjak) and northern parts of Montenegro.12
Having arrived in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the civil war (1992–1995) as draftees,humanitarians, and missionaries, Wahhabis had a secret ultimate goal. Apart from givingsupport to Bosnian Muslims in the civil war, their main mission was to find followersamongst the local population and create an organization that would spread the Wahhabiideology. Their final goal was to spread the network and connect Wahhabi centers world-wide (from California, the United States, to European centers in England, France, andItaly, to Islamic states in Asia where Wahhabism is the dominant religious teaching) withorganizations founded by Wahhabis during and after the war in Bosnia and Herzegov-ina (1992–1995). Lately the so-called Islamic awakening—connection of adherents’ ofthe Wahhabi ideology worldwide presents a great danger with regard to possible terror-ist actions taken by various Wahhabi movements—both within a state as well as on aregional level.13 The second phase was also characterized by activities of Islamic non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and humanitarian organizations that, thanks to theirhuge financial means,14 had a crucial role in the Wahhabi ideology propaganda in theBalkans.
The third phase of the Wahhabi penetration into the Balkans between 1996 and 2002was also launched from Bosnia and Herzegovina, in order to increase the number of Wahhabifollowers among the local Muslims. A characteristic of this phase was the appearance of thefirst local Wahhabi organizations, one of the most famous certainly being “Active IslamicYouth.” The organization was founded by Bosnian Muslims and Arab Mujahideen, whowere allies during the civil war in the early 1990s. The ultimate aim of that organizationwas to establish an Islamic state on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which wouldbe built on the model of Saudi Arabia. In addition to this organization, after the civilwar in Bosnia and Herzegovina a large number of associations with similar programswere established such as: “Jamaliet Furqan,” “Nedva,” “Wahhabi,” “Elbard Bosnia,” andothers.15
The fourth phase of spreading of Wahhabi ideology throughout the Balkan Peninsulastarted after the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 in the United States (9/11). After9/11, the great powers took numerous measures to suppress almost all Islamic movementsand organizations in the region. The evidence of the connection between Bosniak andSanjak Islamic groups with global Islamic organizations encouraged the major powers andglobal intergovernmental organizations to take more radical steps to suppress activitiesof foreign Islamists in the Balkan region. This stage is characterized by a reduction ofIslamic organizations’ humanitarian activities in the region, and further work was forbiddenfor many of them. There was a significant decrease of financial donations from Islamiccountries, but cooperation in student exchange and their education continued with the sameintensity as in the previous phases.16
At the beginning of 2003 the Wahhabi activities in the Balkans have begun to strengthensignificantly, influenced by a number of missionaries from Qatar, Pakistan, and SaudiArabia. While on the subject, Wahhabi ideology is now present in all Balkan countries whereMuslims live,17 but in this research we will focus on its influence in Serbia, Montenegro, andBosnia and Herzegovina. The starting point is that Wahhabis have reinforced their activitiesin the Balkans in recent years, primarily through Islamic religious centers, Islamic schoolsand Islamic charity organizations.18 Predictions are that Wahhabism will continue to spreadto the Western European developed countries, which indicates the necessity of regionalcooperation in fight against this “dangerous novelty.”
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Wahhabism in the Territories of the Republic of Serbia and the Republicof Montenegro
Wahhabism in Serbia and Montenegro (the area of Ras and Polimlje, Northern Kosovo,and the north of Montenegro) came from Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the middle of 1990s.When the civil war ended in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992–1995), the Mujahideen whosettled in Maglaj19 founded a religious school in the vicinity. The first students from theformer Yugoslavia were inhabitants of Sjenica, including doctor Alia Mahmutovic. He laterbecame one of the Wahhabi leaders in Sanjak. The school was closed after several years,but even today four-month summer courses are held there.20 Camps were formed on theshore of Otrozac Lake near Maglaj and Zenica. The Camps were organized by the office ofSaudi charities “Taibah International.” It is believed that students, apart from the knowledgeabout Wahhabism, received terrorist training as well.
More aggressive actions of Wahhabis in Serbia and Montenegro started to manifest in2005 and 2006,21 and came to their peak in the spring of 2007 in the region of Novi Pazar.Serbian Security Forces carried out the action and arrested a multi-member terrorist group,which consisted of supporters of the Wahhabi movement in Novi Pazar. The leader of thisgroup, Ismail Prentic, was killed in this action.22 Detection and arrest of the Wahhabi terror-ist group in Novi Pazar, and detection of their training camp on the mountain Ninaji, wherelarge quantities of weapons, explosives, and other equipment were seized,23 indicated thatlinks had been established and strengthening between members of international terrorismand extremist and terrorist members in the area of Ras and Polimlje, Kosovo and Metohia,northern Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Incidentally, in the area of Ras and Polimlje and in Northern Montenegro in munici-palities of Rozaje, Plav, and Gusinje the Wahhabi movement is very active. The group hasabout 400 members and the number increases daily.24 The Montenegrin Police confiscateda video material in 2007, with footage about terrorist actions in Afghanistan and the MiddleEast, which Talibans and Al Qaeda sent to the Montenegrin Wahhabis. Most of the filmswere related to assassinations and suicide attacks directed toward the international mili-tary forces and embassy buildings.25 In the same year, the Montenegrin National SecurityAgency detected one of the Wahhabi camps near the border with Sanjak, where membersof Islamic extremist organizations from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegrowere gathering. The main Wahhabi gathering point is in place Ostrvo at the Plav Lake.26
Significant Wahhabi strongholds are located in Kosovo and Metohia. Most of them arein Prizren, the southern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, Drenica, Pec, Mokra Gora, Ropotovo,Urosevac, and Kacanik.27 They appeared in this region as early as twenty years ago, buttheir presence began to be noticeable only at the beginning of twenty-first century. Themain teachers of Wahhabi teachings in Kosovo and Metohia are graduates who attendedIslamic universities in Arab countries and “humanitarian” Islamic organizations. They haveapplied the same strategy to put pressure on Imams28 and believers in Kosovo and Metohiaas they have done in other countries of the former Yugoslavia, to bring them back on theright track.
In recent years in many areas of Kosovo and Metohia we have seen increased efforts toconvert young Albanians to Wahhabism. This can be concluded on the basis of their shorthair, beard, and clothes.29 Recruitment of new believers is done in many ways. One of themis to give a monthly financial remuneration (costs borne by Wahhabi organizations); inturn, new believers have to accept the Wahhabi way of praying or to distribute advertisingmaterial in mosques (advertising material is distributed in order to attract new followers ofthe Wahhabi ideology).30 The protagonists of these activities are Arabs from the Middle East
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and France, most likely leaders of certain Wahhabi groups. What is particularly alarming isthe link between these group leaders and international terrorist organizations. According tothe information given by foreign intelligence services, a member of “Al Qaeda” was livingin Pec. His name was Arfan Qadeer Bhatti, a citizen of Pakistan, later arrested in Oslo forplanning attacks on the embassies of the United States and Israel.31
A very important question can be posed: Why is there a registered increase of Wahhabisupporters in Kosovo and Metohia in recent years? An increase in the number of supportersof the conservative Islamic teaching comes primarily because of growing social disparitiesand poor people find their exit in terrorism. Next, Wahhabis use the internal instabilityand chaos that occurred after the unilateral declaration of independence in Kosovo andMetohia and the crisis of the Sunni Islamic community. A special danger to the securityof the Balkan countries and also to Europe is the spread of Wahhabism from Kosovo andMetohia to the northern and northeastern parts of Albania, because the very supporters ofthis conservative Islamic movement are protagonists of the idea to create the Great Albaniaon the Balkan Peninsula.32
Holders of the project (The Great Albania on the Balkan Peninsula) operate as aninformal group called “the National Committee for the Liberation and Defense of AlbanianTerritories.” According to the plan of this extremist group, the project of creating the so-called Great Albanian state in the Balkans has to be achieved in five stages: (1) annexationof Presevo, Bujanovac, and Medvedja municipalities in the southeast of Serbia, and thenthe northern parts of Montenegro, Macedonia, and Greece; (2) defense of those territories(Kosovo and Metohia, as well as certain municipalities in Macedonia); (3) achieving inde-pendence of Kosovo and Metohia; (4) unification of all Albanian lands; and (5) creation ofa joint independent Albanian state in the Balkans.33
It is important to emphasize that the penetration of Islamic militants into the territoriesof Serbia and Montenegro has been assisted and supported ideologically, organizationally,and financially by certain international “humanitarian” organizations (“Taibah Interna-tional,” “High Saudi Committee for Refugee Assistance,” “Al-Haramain,” “Society of theRevival of Islamic Heritage” and others), by international terrorist organizations (Al Qaeda,Hamas, and others), and some extremist political circles in Saudi Arabia and other Islamiccountries. When it comes to the financial support, it is primarily related to the constructionof numerous religious sites and cultural centers, some of them being constructed in theareas where Serbs live, in order to encourage their migration and to create an ethnicallyclean area.34
With regard to actions of the Wahhabi “charitable” organizations in Serbia, it shouldbe noted that offices of these organizations are associated with their offices in other Balkancountries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Croatia) for the purpose of illegal weaponsdelivery and terrorists training. For example, during the arrest of eleven associates from“humanitarian” organization “United Aid for Kosovo” and two associates from “charitable”organization “Global Relief Foundation” because of their association with international ter-rorism, photos were found showing Enaam Arnaout, the founder of “Charity” organization“Benevolence International Foundation”, seen in the company of Osama bin Laden andother “holy warriors,” which directly confirms the connection of the Balkan Wahhabis withinternational terrorists.35
Such activities of extremist and terrorist organizations are a part of implementation ofthe strategic objectives of Islamic extremism, which are the creation of a single Islamic statein the Balkans and the construction of the so-called Green transversal. According to theextremist plan, the composition of the Islamic state includes the area of Ras and Polimlje (theso-called State of Sanjak), a part of Montenegro (Bijelo Polje, Rozaje, Plav, Gusinje) and
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Kosovo and Metohia (the “Independent Kosovo”). These territories together with Bosniaand Herzegovina, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Turkey would link European Muslimswith Islamic countries in the Middle East. The creation of “the State of Sanjak” would beachieved in two phases: the first phase relates to the requirements for the formation of Sanjakas a region with a high degree of autonomy, while in the second phase requirements wouldbe radicalized in terms of demands for a stronger connection with Bosnia and Herzegovinaand leading Islamic countries.36
Wahhabism in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Before analyzing Wahhabism in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is necessary to explain a fewkey terms so as to make the further exposure clear. Firstly, in a number of articles theterm “Bosnia” is used as the name for the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It causessome terminological and substantive problems in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as acountry with two entities and three constitutive peoples. Especially in scientific articles thereis a need for clear boundaries between the state name, which is Bosnia and Herzegovina,and the terms for two geographical regions, Bosnia in the north and Herzegovina in thesouth. Also, a terminological distinction must be made between the terms Bosnian andBosniak. A Bosnian can be considered to be only a member of the northern part of Bosniaand Herzegovina, which is called Bosnia, and a Herzegovinian—a man who lives in thegeographical area known as Herzegovina, while Bosniak is a member of one of the threeconstitutive peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina of the exclusively Muslim religion. Termssuch as Bosnia and Bosnians cannot be related to the state name and the name of the nation,because there is neither a state called Bosnia, nor a nation called Bosnians.
The religion of Islam was brought to Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Ottoman Empire.The Ottoman Empire was in power in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1463 until 1878, whenit was handed over to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, according to the decision reached atthe Berlin Congress. It is clear that the development of Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovinais directly related to the Ottoman Empire presence in its territory. Before Turkish arrivalthere were no Muslims in the region. Today the following groups live in Bosnia andHerzegovina: Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks, among which—Sunni, Shi’as, and WahhabiMuslims. Ethnically speaking, the Muslim population in the Balkans is of Slavic origin.There are around 3.5 million of them and they are descendants of those who embraced Islamduring the centuries under the Ottoman Empire. Slavic Muslims constitute the majority ofthe Muslim population in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosniaks).37
The School of Islamic religion brought by the Ottoman Empire in Bosnia and Herze-govina was Sunni-Hanafi. Hanafi school is one of the four legal teachings within SunniIslam. This school is the most common and almost 30 percent of the world’s Muslim popu-lation are its followers. This teaching is dominant in Turkey, northern Egypt, and especiallyamong Muslims in the Balkans, Central and South Asia, China, Russia, and Ukraine. “Formore than 500 years Bosnian Muslims have maintained the Hanafi tradition, following amoderate and open-minded version of Islam: rich in tradition, tolerant of other communitiesand compatible with western values.”38
During the period between the Two World Wars, a movement called “Young Muslims”appeared in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The movement was officially established in March1941, but secret meetings began as early as in 1939. Members of this movement wereradical and had a role model in the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt who were fighting toestablish a pan-Islamic government, restoration of the Caliphate based on the Koran andSharia law. Muslims from Bosnia and Herzegovina established contacts with them during
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their education at Al-Ahzar Islamic University in Cairo. Like the Muslim Brotherhood,their goal was to create a Muslim state, but in this case in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Atthe beginning of the Second World War the “Young Muslims” had an idea of Muslimautonomy within the Third Reich. The Independent State of Croatia, a quisling formationof the Third Reich, accepted Muslims into its units. Because of this, during 1941 and 1942the Ustasha units in Bosnia and Herzegovina had more Muslims than Croats.39 The reasonfor this is the fact that the Independent State of Croatia recognized Muslims from Bosniaand Herzegovina as a privileged minority and called them “Croatian Flowers.” Thus theywere recognized as Croats of Muslim faith. In 1943 the 13th Handzar SS Division wasformed.40 The unit had about 20,000 members and it was characterized by great brutalitytoward the Serbs and the Partisans. “Division was eagerly supported by Bosnian Islamistsincluding Young Muslims, who were encouraging their members to join the SS unit.”41
After the Second World War and during the 1950s, the “Young Muslims” publishedthe “Mujahid” magazine, which was the reason for their arrest and conviction as a terroristorganization by the authorities of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Their mottowas “Our way is jihad!” After that they went underground for the next 40 years. In theearly 1980s after the revolution in Iran, the “Young Muslims” were increasingly coming outof illegality; they were the so-called second generation of the “Young Muslims.” RadicalIslamic ideas about Bosnia and Herzegovina as a Muslim country were sublimated in “TheIslamic Declaration” written by Alija Izetbegovic.42
Wahhabism in Bosnia-Herzegovina is not something new that emerged with the civilwar. Even before the war in the former Yugoslavia, Wahhabism found its footing. It wasbrought by Muslims from Bosnia and Herzegovina who had studied in Saudi Arabia,Yemen, and Egypt.43 During the 1980s about 250 local Muslims per year attended schoolsof radical mullahs.44 During the 1990s that was the source for the creation of the “ActiveIslamic Youth” or the so-called third generation of the “Young Muslims.” Also in 1990, twoyears before the outbreak of the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Islamic organization“Dawah” was formed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which initially worked illegally. It had atask to direct the local Muslims to “the true Muslim religion” and customs. “Aid was givenby Arabs and the result was a large number of Muslim women with burkas and niqabs onthe town streets of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”45
A large number of reports have been written about several thousand Mujahideen or“holy warriors” from the Arab world and Afghanistan, who came to fight alongside thelocal Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1992–1995 war. They formed a unitcalled “El Mujahid,” having the same name as the newspaper that Izetbegovic issued in1946, in which there were both foreign and local Muslim extremists. Religiously motivated,they brought some new radical ideas trying to implement them in the territory of Bosniaand Herzegovina among the local Muslims. Freedom of speech and freedom to spreadtheir radical ideas during the four years of war were guaranteed. At that time the ideas ofWahhabism were widely introduced in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the first time. When“the Dayton Agreement” was signed on 21 November 1995, the United States demandedof the Bosnia and Herzegovina government to expel all foreign fighters from its territory,but that did not happen. Obtaining passports and citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina,several hundred Mujahideen remained in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the war. Accordingto the International Crisis Group about 12,000 passports of Bosnia and Herzegovina weregiven to foreign fighters during and after the war.46
After the 9/11 attacks on the United States, the local authorities invaded the SaudiHigh Commission for Relief to Bosnia and Herzegovina and found documents that di-rectly connect them with the financing the Saudi Wahhabi–jihad activities and bin Laden’s
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operations.47 The year 2001 was a turning point at which the United States decided to pressMuslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina to expel the Mujahideen from this area. However,it seems now that it was too late, because the Wahhabis have already taken root and gotthe right to religious freedom in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Still, on the list of terroristorganizations published by the UN Security Council on 24 December 2010 there are sevenorganizations registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the same number of individualsliving in the country who are identified as a threat to world security.48
In interview to the Serbian daily “Politika,” Leo Plockinic, the president of “CroatiaLibertas,” claims that on the Bosniak territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina there havebeen registered more than 50,000 Wahhabis who are ready to follow the path of sehits,fighters who will die for their faith in terrorist attacks or potential new conflicts. He warnsabout discoveries of illegal weapons storage and increasingly frequent theft of weaponsand ammunition from military depots that remain undiscovered, so that no one knowswhere they ended up.49 A more realistic story has been presented by Dzevad Galijasevic,a member of the Southeast Europe Expert Group for Fight Against Terrorism, who claimsthat among the total number of Bosniaks (Muslims) there are 5 percent of the followers ofthe new religious movement, the Wahhabis—about 100,000 members. He says that not allare terrorists or potentially dangerous but only 2–3 percent of them, which is around 3,000radical Islamists. The Intelligence and Security Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina alsocome out with the same figure: “there are about 3,000 followers of Wahhabism in Bosniaand Herzegovina”—says Almir Dzuvo, the Chief of Intelligence and Security Agency inBosnia and Herzegovina.50
According to the data so far gathered by research company “Prism Research,” about70 percent of two million Bosnian Muslims reject Wahhabi teachings, whereas 13 percentagree with it.51 According to the research by the same agency and conveyed by EdinaBecirevic, 3.3 percent of Muslim men declare themselves as Wahhabis, whereas 12.5percent support the idea of Wahhabism.52 As outlined by professor Adnan Silajdzic: “We inthe Islamic community must realize that old forms of Islamic education are obsolete and thenew generations have a radically different mentality, different sensibility and understandingof the world. So, to a large extent the institutions of the Islamic community are to blame,because large numbers of young people choose the Wahhabi movement.”53
Today the Wahhabis are unevenly distributed on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegov-ina. They have come together in a few locations that are recognized as such and represent aseparate Islamic community. “If they realize that the situation is not convenient to achievetheir goal, they may move to isolated areas where they can practice their version of Islam,biding their time to continue the ‘mission,’ which means the establishment of Bosnia andHerzegovina as a unitary Islamic state, based solely on Sharia principles of law.”54 TheWahhabi communities existing around Buzim and Bosanska Krupa (in the Bihac area—NWB&H), Gornja Maoca (around District Brcko), Seric, and Zelezno Polje (near Zenica) havedecided to isolate themselves from the Islamic community in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Gornja Maoca, the largest and most important community of the Wahhabis in Bosniaand Herzegovina, was formed in 2002. Members of the community were Wahhabis fromBosnia and Herzegovina and foreign followers. A similar community was closed in thevillage of Donja Bocinja in 2001. This community was closed by the local authoritiesunder the U.S. pressure. The Wahhabis comprising this group left Serbian houses in DonjaBocinja and settled in Gornja Maoca. Around thirty Wahhabi families have been living inGornja Maoca. They are isolated, without television or telephone. The community lives bySharia law and their children are educated “in local schools in the Arabic language accordingto the model of the Jordanian school system.”55 All signs in the village are in Arabic and
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the new mosque was built with money from Saudi Arabia and Jordan and is not under thecontrol of the Islamic community in Bosnia and Herzegovina. “The village meeting” is heldtwice a year, and about 500 militants—radical Muslims from Croatia, Slovenia, Germany,Austria, and other states attend that meeting.56 What has been negotiated at these meetingsis a secret for the public. In early February 2010 in a police operation in the village theleader of the Wahhabi movement in Bosnia and Herzegovina was arrested, together withsix other persons, one of whom was a foreigner without a registered place of residence inBosnia and Herzegovina. Weapons, ammunition, explosives, military uniforms, CDs, andDVDs in Arabic and a large amount of money were found in the village.57
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Wahhabis have primary focus on the work with youngpeople and conversion of youth to Wahhabism using any means available. It is very impor-tant to point out that Wahhabism in Bosnia and Herzegovina is still at the beginning, butwe have to do something to keep it under control. The problem of the Wahhabi ideologyspreading is not only in the hands of the Islamic community of Bosnia and Herzegov-ina, but also in the hands of the state and especially the security services, too. It is veryimportant to note that not all Wahhabis are terrorists and the fact that they belong to theBosnian people does not mean that this nation supports terrorism and extremism. It isclear that there are no terrorist nations and terrorist religions. However, self-criticism helpsto fight and do preventative actions against Wahhabis. Preventive actions are the basis ofanti-Wahhabi actions together with the development of a “security culture,” cooperation inthe region and certainly with the help of the European Union. The last terrorist attack onthe Embassy of US in Sarajevo on 28 October 2011 showed that Wahhabis in the Balkanscan perform large-scale actions and in the near future they can cross the border of Bosniaand Herzegovina and attack some targets in Europe.
Wahhabis and the European Way
Globalization, modern means of communication, and the growing democratization opensup new opportunities for expansion of the Wahhabi movement around the world. The freeflow of people, ideas, and goods (primarily cash), open markets, and free rights to religiousexpression offer Wahhabism the possibility for further expansion. Yong men from Bosniaand Herzegovina with European look and often without typical Muslim family namesor even first names have a possibility of free movement around the world and with theliberalization of visa-free travel58; it is even easier without additional checks.
The bad economic situation, many young people without parents or with a single parentand the desire to follow world trends are the basis for easy recruitment and the spread ofradical ideas. Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia have become a soil for recruitment ofWahhabis. At the beginning of the 1980s very few Wahhabis were present in Bosnia andHerzegovina; nowadays there are around 100,000 Wahhabis and the situation is similar inSerbia. An increase in the number of Wahhabis in the Balkan region should be carefullyconsidered.
It is very important to note that Wahhabi centers also exist near Buzim and BosanskaKrupa, in the northwestern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This area is like a wedge driveninto the territory of Croatia and it is the westernmost Wahhabi base. It is also the nearest baseto the European Union (EU), because from the borders between Bosnia and Herzegovinaand Croatia to the Slovenian border there is only about a 50-kilometer distance. WhenCroatia becomes a member of the EU, the Wahhabi center will be on the the EU’s doorstep.
The Wahhabis today in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are members of the localpopulation who were converted to the new Islamic movement by the foreign Mujahideen
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during the civil war and in the postwar period. It is important to emphasize that these arepeople who were very young during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and young peoplewith a very poor existence have been very fertile ground to plant the seeds of Wahhabism.With a small monthly allowance of EUR 150, maybe a new lap-top or MP4 player, theybecome easy targets for the promoters of Wahhabi teachings. This is not just the case inBosnia and Herzegovina, says John Schindler, who writes for the Nixon Center Study,which followed 373 Mujahideen operating in the west from 1992 to 2004. In this groupthere were more people from the United Kingdom than from Yemen, Sudan, Lebanon, andLibya, and twice as many French citizens than Saudi Arabian. A quarter of them were bornin Western Europe, and many are second- or even third-generation immigrants.59 However,their introduction to Wahhabism and radical Islam came after the war, and it was made byforeign mercenaries who remained in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the war. Data show thatthere are about 200 Wahhabi “scouts” in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia finding thosewho would become Wahhabis and still actively working on it, and because of religiousfreedom protection no one can do anything.60 The attraction of jihad is growing not onlyin Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. The Balkans is still a favorable environment for itsdevelopment. The cases such as preparation for the attack on the Pope,61 “Bektasevic andothers,”62 the “Algerian group,”63 the attack on U.S. troops in Frankfurt,64 preparation forthe attack on the American marine base,65 and attacks in Bosnia and Herzegovina such asa bomb in a shopping mall in Vitez,66 the bomb attack on the police station in Bugojno,67
and the last attack on the American embassy in Sarajevo are real proof that something isgoing wrong in the Balkans.
Conclusion
Wahhabism represents the most radical branch of Islam. They advocate a “return to theoriginal faith,” which can be achieved by their literal reading of the Quran and Hadith. Anexpansion of this branch of Islam over the last dozen years has been supported by financialdonations of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Hence a large number of traditional Sunni imams’conversion to Wahhabism. This trend has continued in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbiaas poverty-stricken societies, where Muslim religious dignitaries are not doing anything toresist this invasion out of respect for Saudi Arabia that helped them during the 1992–1995war.
Generally speaking, all major Muslim countries are in favor of democracy and do notsupport radical Islamism. This trend has to exist in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, too.The time to revere foreign Islamic fanatics for services they did to the Muslims in Bosniaand Herzegovina and Serbia during the 1990s is over. It is time that Muslims in Bosnia andHerzegovina and Serbia turn to themselves and realize that Wahhabis are the disruptionfactor on the way to the EU and that they must be integrated into a global Islamic trend toreject radical Islamism. Changes must be radical in the relation of the Islamic communityto Wahhabism and that is the key to a victory over the radical Islamist movement.
It’s no secret that a large number of Muslim extremists exist in other EUcountries—even in London the struggle and jihad are openly advocated and preached.Still, the difference is that in these countries the public and preventive security forces re-spond together to such extremist threats, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina reactions in theFederation of Bosnia and Herzegovina are not appropriate and timely. Apart from Serbiaand Bosnia and Herzegovina, Wahhabis are on the offensive in other Balkan countries interms of the traditional Islamic religious community. Nevertheless, the resistance to thataggression in Bosnia and Herzegovina is very poor, whereas in Central Serbia it is very
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strong. Still, in Kosovo and Sanjak there are problems similar to those in Bosnia andHerzegovina.
With regard to Al Qaeda and its taking control of certain parts of the country inMarch 2011, the Yemeni scenario is a worry for the Balkan states—especially Serbia withKosovo and Metohia, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina. Poverty and rebellion against thegovernments gave maneuvering space to the terrorists to get weapons and transform someparts of the countries into bases for terrorist operations. According to a professor from theFaculty of Islamic Studies in Sarajevo and reported by World Politics Review, the Wahhabisare a sect that is a “potentially lethal virus” for the Muslims in Bosnia and Hercegovina,68
and all Muslims in the Balkans.According to some individuals’ statements, Bosnia and Herzegovina has been described
as a major terrorist base in Europe. During the war many people were training here to useweapons and explosives. There are still secret weapon caches and it is not a problem to getthem. The situation is identical in Kosovo and Sanjak. Consequently, the risk of terrorismis more pronounced in the Balkan region than in other countries, not only in terms of itsperformance but also in terms of recruitment, harboring, training, and transit of terrorists.
Notes
1. For emergence of Wahhabism see more in: Natana J. DeLong-Bas, Wahhabi Islam: FromRevival and Reform to Global Jihad (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), pp. 7–40.
2. Oliver Potezica, Wahhabis—Between Truth and Prejudice (Belgrade: Filip Visnjic, 2007).3. Ibid., pp. 221–222.4. Ibid., pp. 118–140.5. Stephen Schwartz, “Defeating Wahhabism.” The front page magazine, October 25, 2002.
Available at http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=21514 (accessed January20, 2011).
6. According to the subject matter and purpose of this study, the article will discuss theoccurrence and strengthening of Wahhabism among Muslims in Serbia (Kosovo and Metohia, Sanjak,and the area of Ras) and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
7. Potezica, Wahhabis, p. 170.8. Rabita—The Muslim World League.9. Ulema—the Arabic term for an expert in religion—it indicates important imams in mosques,
judges (kadis), teachers at religious schools (madrassas), and religious dignitaries.10. Miroljub Jevtic, “Jihad in Domestic and International Public,” Publication of the Matica
srpska for Social Sciences, No. 116–117/2004, pp. 79–92.11. Ibid.12. Potezica, Wahhabis, p. 171.13. For more on this phase see: Esad Hecimovic, Garibi: Mujahideen in BiH 1992–1999
(Belgrade: Dan graf, South East European Media Organisation—SEEMO, 2009).14. Direct donations from Saudi Arabia were measured in hundreds of millions of dollars,
Potezica, Wahhabis, p. 173.15. On the Development of Islamic organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina see more in:
Dragomir Andan, “The Development of Islamic Terrorism in Bosnia and Herzegovina.” Paper pre-sented at the International Conference on Terrorist Threats in South-East Europe, Serbia, Belgrade,27–28 April 2005.
16. Potezica, Wahhabis, pp. 179–180.17. Wahhabis are now present in Albania (which is probably the center for the southern Balkans),
in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia (the area of Ras and Polimlje, southern Serbia, Kosovoand Metohia), Montenegro, and Macedonia.
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18. It is important to notice activities of the Saudi “International Islamic Relief Organization,” aswell as numerous charitable organizations in Qatar. These organizations generally operate in Albaniaand Bosnia and Herzegovina.
19. Maglaj is a town and municipality in the northern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina.20. The courses are held between April and August each year.21. In early June 2006 in Plav, Northern Montenegro, there was a mass meeting held of the
Wahhabis from the region called “The sixth meeting of Sanjak Islamic Youth.” The Congress wasattended by Wahhabis from Plav, Gusinje, Podgorica, Rozaje, Bijelo Polje, Berane, Novi Pazar,Sjenica, Prijepolje, Bar and Vitomirica near Pec. The venue of the gathering was the restored MosqueSultana in Plav.
22. From an interview with the analyst of the special antiterrorist unit of the Republic of Serbia(Operational document named: Actions of the radical Islamist Wahhabi movement within the regionof Ras and Polimlje, with special review of detecting a terrorist group in Novi Pazar), Serbia, Belgrade,16. March 2011.
23. Ibid.24. Ibid.25. Ibid.26. Ibid.27. Potezica, Wahhabis, p. 203.28. Imam is a word of Arabic origin; it means “leader.”29. Russell Gordon, “Behind Kosovo’s Facade.” Available at http://www.serbianna.com/
columns/gordon/004.shtml (accessed February 14, 2011).30. Potezica, Wahhabis, p. 203.31. Ibid., p. 204.32. From an interview with the analyst of the special antiterrorist unit of the Republic of Serbia,
Serbia, Belgrade, 16 March 2011.33. Ibid.34. Ibid.35. Potezica, Wahhabis, p. 207.36. From an interview with the analyst of the special antiterrorist unit of the Republic of Serbia,
Serbia, Belgrade, 16 March 2011.37. Huseyn Abiva, “A Glimpse at Sufism in the Balkans.” 22 March 2010. Avail-
able at http://www.navrelumudrosti.com/index.php/tekstovi/razno/203-kratak-pregled-sufizma-na-balkanu-huseyin-abiva?8c38866addfbd7f0582d4930f210d643=mppwgvui (accessed 19 February2011).
38. Juan Carlos Antunez, “Wahhabism in Bosnia-Herzegovina.” Bosnian Institute, 16 Septem-ber 2008. Available at http://www.bosnia.org.uk/news/news body.cfm?newsid=2468 (accessed 21January 2011).
39. Ivica Mlivoncic, Al-Qaeda is Tempered in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Tomislavgrad: NasaOgnjista, 2007), p. 30.
40. Even in the last war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992–1995) the Handzar Divisionwas once again formed in Fojnica. Most members were from Kosovo and Metohia and San-jak in Serbia, while the division was led and commanded by Mujahideen from Pakistan andAfghanistan.
41. John R. Schindler, Unholy Terror—Bosnia, Al-Qa’ida and the Rise of Global Jihad (Bel-grade: Official Gazette, 2009), p. 30.
42. See more in Alija Izetbegovic, “The Islamic Declaration—A Programme for the Islamiza-tion of Muslims and the Muslims Peoples.” Sarajevo: 1990. Available at http://infideltheamerican.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/islamic-declaration.pdf (accessed 12 February 2011).
43. Schindler, Unholy Terror, p. 72.44. Domagoj Margetic, “Bosnia and Herzegovina: European Polygon for Secret Iranian Is-
lamist Organizations.” 4 February 2008. Available at http://www.necenzurirano.com/index.php?option=com content&task=view&id=674&Itemid=1 (accessed 8 February 2011).
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45. Mlivoncic, Al-Qaeda is Tempered in Bosnia and Herzegovina, p. 132.46. Kenneth Morrison, “Wahhabism in the Balkans.” Defence Academy of the United King-
dom, Shrivenham, February 2008. Available at http://www.da.mod.uk/colleges/arag/document-listings/balkan/08(06)KM.pdf/view (accessed 5 January 2011), p. 5.
47. Stephen Schwartz, “Wahhabism and al-Qaeda in Bosnia-Herzegovina.” TerrorismMonitor 2(20) (2004). Available at http://www.jamestown.org/programs/gta/single/?tx ttnews%5Btt news%5D=27034&tx ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=179&no cache=1 (accessed 17 January2011).
48. Edina Becirevic, “Bosnian Approach in the Fight Against Terrorism.” Paper presented at themeeting on Crisis Management and Counter-Terrorism in the Western Balkans, Slovenija, Ljubljana,20–21 April 2007.
49. Leo Plockinic, “Criminal charges against Izetbegovic, Komsic and Tihic,” Newspaper Poli-tika, 11 February 2011, p. 4.
50. Zarko Markovic, “In Bosnia and Herzegovina 3.000 Terrorists.” 14 July 2010.http://www.akademediasrbija.com/index.php?option=com content&view=article&id=637:almir-duvo-u-bih-3000-terorista&catid=38:cat-komentari-vesti&Itemid=54 (accessed 28 January2011).
51. Boris Kanzleiter, “Wahhabi Rules: Islamic Extremism Comes to Bosnia,” World PoliticsReview, 2 May 2007. Accessed January 12, 2011. http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/747/wahhabi-rules-islamic-extremism-comes-to-bosnia.
52. Becirevic, “Bosnian Approach in the Fight Against Terrorism.”53. Adnan Silajdzic, “Wahhabism in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be Stronger and more Ag-
gressive.” 11 November 2006. Available at http://www.zeriislam.com/artikulli.php?id=884 (accessed3 March 2011).
54. Antunez, “Wahhabism in Bosnia-Herzegovina.”55. Anes Alic, “Bosnian Force Conduct Massive Wahhabi Raid.” ISN Security Watch,
Sarajevo, 8 February 2010. Available at http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch-Archive/Detail/?ots591=4888CAA0-B3DB-1461–98B9-E20E7B9C13D4&lng=en&id=112328(accessed 3 February 2011).
56. Ibid.57. Dzenana Halimovic, “Wahhabis in Bosnia and Herzegovina: From Bocinje to Maoce.” 6
February 2010. Available at http://www.slobodnaevropa.org/content/maoca vehabije selefije akcijasvjetlost/1950070.html (accessed 25 December 2010).
58. Council of European Union, “Visa Liberalization for Albania and Bosnia and Herze-govina.” 8 November 2010. http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms data/docs/pressdata/en/jha/117555.pdf (accessed 21 January 2011).
59. Schindler, Unholy Terror, p. 251.60. See in: Teodora Popescu, “Tackling Terrorism in the Balkans.” Available at http://docs.
google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:v82QHc1uQkwJ:www.hks.harvard.edu/kokkalis/GSW9/Popescu paper.pdf+tackling+Terrorism+in+the+bosnia&hl=sr&gl=ba&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjXYJU9aSt7NSQG96XnVqbR4I wLseqKtwNPPVDOPBsfnYBsgoGOm8QJ2VDOc0jtTWO6ULIPrxPh3BgCSmbrWlx9G2tH3pbRoU-57O13wDD8F7R2bGEYeAg2o5bzu4roj8hX3g&sig=AHIEtbTqU87YHX3XZLfO4avUZSfBsUj1ng (accessed 24 February 2011).
61. BBC on the Web, “1997: Bosnian Bomb Plot Fails to Stop Pope.” 12 April 2011. Availableat http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/12/newsid 4022000/4022841.stm (accessed25 April 2011).
62. “The State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina managed to prosecute the first case of terrorismand the First Instance Judgment was pronounced on January 10, 2007. The judgment in the case‘Bektasevic and others’ is very significant since that it is the first successfully prosecuted case onterrorism charges in the whole region. In many ways the judgment was a result of internationalcooperation, considering that the very first operational information which the Federal Ministry ofInterior received was from the Danish police. Apparently Bektasevic was in contact with a militantimam from Denmark, named Abdul Basid. Bektasevic was sentenced to 15 years and 4 months,
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Research Note 663
while Abdulkadir Cesur was sentenced to 13 years and 4 months. Bosnian citizen Bajro Ikanovic,who was also proven guilty on charges of terrorism, was given an 8-year sentence. The fourth personindicted, Senad Hasanovic, who cooperated with the Prosecution was charged with illegal possessionof arms, and he was given 2 and a half years’ sentence. All members of this group were followers ofWahhabism.” According to: Becirevic, “Bosnian Approach in the Fight Against Terrorism.”
63. Anes Alic and Damir Kaletovic, “Bosnia: The Algerian Six Prepare Their Cases.” ISNSecurity Watch, Sarajevo. Available at http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch-Archive/Detail/%20?id=90942&lng=en (accessed 3 July 2011).
64. Associated Press, “2 U.S. Airmen Shot Dead at Airport in Germany.” 3 February 2011.Available at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41868361/ns/world news-europe/t/us-airmen-shot-dead-airport-germany/ (accessed 7 March 2011).
65. Douglas McNabb, “Arrest in Kosovo: US Extradition Pending.” International ExtraditionLawyers, 22 June 2010. Available at http://internationalextraditionblog.com/category/%20attack-on-us-marine-base/ (accessed 12 February 2011).
66. Devan Jazvic, “Salafi Movement Plotting Terrorist Attack in B-H.” Croatian daily Vecernjilist, 23 November 2008.
67. Anes Alic, “Police Targeted in Bugojno Terror Attack.” ISN Security Watch, Sarajevo, June27, 2010. Accessed February 17, 2011. http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch-Archive/Detail/%20?lng=en&id=118664
68. Kanzleiter, “Wahhabi Rules: Islamic Extremism Comes to Bosnia.”
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