| Submit your comments on this article |
| Europe |
| Bosnia to shut down Islamist groups after imam threatened |
| 2016-03-01 |
| [RFE/RL] Bosnian officials said they will shut down Muslim groups that advocate extremism and refuse to affiliate with the state-recognized Islamic Community organization by March 1. The move to shut down extremist groups came after Daesh issued a death threat earlier in the week against Bosnia's top cleric, Grand Mufti Husein Kavazovic. Scores of groups have formed outside the official structure in recent years, attracting an estimated 3,000 followers mostly in rural areas. Some pursue radical interpretations of Islam not traditional among Bosnia's nearly two million Muslims. Police say such groups have become hotbeds of Islamism, sending an estimated 150 members to Syria to join with Daesh. Moreover, police estimate that more than 50 Daesh fighters have returned to Bosnia. The Islamic Community urged members of such groups to abandon self-proclaimed imams who are luring people into a "monstrous" ideology. Last month, the community sent envoys to the groups urging them to switch to an official congregation. |
| Posted by:ryuge |