darko trifunović: origins of terrorism in bosnia
TRANSCRIPT
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ORIGINS OF TERRORISM INBOSNIA
AND HERZEGOVINA AND ITS CLASSIC SHAPES
The History of terrorism in B-H
The terrorist actions of Islamic fundamentalists in Bosnia-Herzegovina were
preceded by the methods of terror used by the Croats who were followers of the
Ustaša movement. The principle goal of the Ustašamovement was to create the
―Independent State of Croatia‖ and it was successful in it‘s goal by acquiring theindependence of theRepublic of Croatia at the end of 20
thcentury. Combining
people from the extreme left-wing to the extreme right-wing - for the Ustašemovement ideology was not important; instead it was the political aim which
was to be realized. One of the very first terrorist actions carried out by the
members of Ustaše movement occurred in 1972.
The group consisted of 19 terrorists[30], made up of Croatian immigrants and
members of the terrorist organization the ―Croatian Revolutionary Brotherhood‖which operated in Europe,Australia, and the USA. The aim of this group was the
―liberation of Croatia by creating an armed rebellion‖[31]. Leaders of the group
were Pavle Vegar and Ambrozije Andrić. Other members of thegroup[32] gathered near Gratz in Austria in order to perform the necessary
preparations that included terrorist training and the acquisition of equipment.From there they shifted themselves by foot, to the territory known at the time as
SFRY, near Dravograd. The group was surrounded and broken up on the
mountain Raduša, near Bugojno, B-H, for which it was originally named
―Bugojanska group‖. During the attack of the security forces fifteen members of the group perished, and four were arrested. After the trial process that took place
in Sarajevo on 21.12. 1972., all four of them were condemned to the death
penalty.
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The history and destinies of the Balkan people are inseparable. The Balkans was
and remains not only the crossroad of people, but also the crossroad of various
political interests for great powers. A special place in the history of the Balkans
belongs to Bosnia and Herzegovina. For the whole Balkans as well as for Bosnia
and Herzegovina, ―rewinding the historical clock‖ began with the eruption of theOttomans in the XV century. Islamization of the local people was growingrapidly.
Jovan Cvijić talks about it: [33] “Bosnian mujaheddins have lived under uniqueclauses and so they have different physical traits then other Slovene renegades
of the Balkan Peninsula. They are entirely different then Pomaks or mujaheddin
transformed Slovenes of south and old Serbia, Macedonia and Bulgaria. It is
known that Bosnian Mussulmans are Serbs, mostly Serbian nobility that
changed their religion (mainly Bogomil and Orthodox) and lost their nation's
consciousness. Past esquires remained esquires under the Turkish sway. For centuries Bosnia has been a peripheral Turkish country, the most distant from
Anadol and Tsar Grad, Osmanlis were able to notably restrain it since they
were connived over Bosnian mujaheddins who often had actual autonomy.
These mujaheddins lapsing from creed and Serbian national consciousness
aimed to show worthy new religion and positions and so contradicted their compatriots, who remained with their old religion. The latter was done because
of the disgrace that is exhibit with all regents, and which causes their tendency
to alienate from their own roots and to extirpate the relations and feelings that
bonded them together. Many have developed the traits of arrogance,boastfulness and fake Turkism. It is known how they treated Vlachs. They
shaped themselves to be more Turk-like and they believed that they were better Turks than Osmanlis. Furthermore, they believed that even Sultans were not as
good as they were. Such powers and apocryphal Turkism could not have
developed with any other Islamized group of Slovenes of the Balkan Peninsula.
Besides that, their Serbian nature was embedded by oriental manners and
moods; and their domestic and personal lives were diverse and versatile. Harmony, as well as serenity and calm were established. Besides that, more
than any other national group in the peninsula, they preserved petrified,medieval ways of thinking; they are non-critical in the mass, are fantasists, and
keen to believe in the impossible. A bolt from the blue could not surprise and
change apocryphal Turks of Bosnia and Herzegovina as temporary occupation
and annexation socially have unsettled them. Not just that they fell under theChristian state but also that they fell under a Christian state with clerical
tendencies and a rigid bureaucratic regime. Even being favored for quite some
time by the Bosnian government did not help improve their psychological
condition. Occupation and everything that followed was throwing insults on
them, and they were being insulted from all around.”
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The national identity crisis that caused the alteration of historical facts, led some
Muslim intellectuals to start with projects of creating ―the new nation‖, alanguage, culture and other influences in order to demonstrate autochthonous
characteristic of peoples that lived or live on the territory of the Balkans,
especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The pitch of historical-political perversion is visible in the manners that are represented by Mustafa Banović,Ante Herceg, and Muhamed Filipović in ― Development of Balkan
Peoples‖[34] where it says: ― Bošnjaks of various religions have lived in
the territory of Bosnia within the memory of men… As for the Christian
Orthodox Church in the Bosnian territory, it did not exist there before the
arrival of Turks, it had a more important role in Herzegovina. It is important toemphasize that today‟s Bosnian Serb s – because of assimilation of a portion of
the Vlachs – are a major component of the population of Bosnia-Herzegovina
that have non-Slavic origins. As for the Vlachs, they are almost nonexistent
today in Bosnia.Through the course of history, Vlachs have preserved
theirindigenousness and sovereignty only in the East of Serbia…According totheir historical and cultural norms, today‘s Bosnian Serbs should have declaredthemselves as Bošnjaks of the Christian Orthodox creed, or part of them asBosnian Vlachs. Unfortunately, the situation here is that old Bošnjaks of theChristian Orthodox creed (i.e. forcedly christened heretical Bošnjaks) andVlachs have forgotten, or of their own accord rejected to the oblivion their
ancestral Bošnjaks‘s (and partially Vlachs‘s) belonging, wherefore theyconjoined in international framework.‖
In its commentary the national TV of Great Britain or otherwise knownas BBC – World Service,[35] says: ―The irony rests in the fact that Muslimsin Bosnia and Herzegovina, even though they are a religious group, had for the
first time been proclaimed as a separate nation during the atheist communist
rule of Josip Broz Tito. It was under his rule that they received equal rights with
all other nations within the Yugoslavian federation... Since the war that ran on
between 1992 and 1995, Muslims preferred to be called Bošnjaks, which isindeed the definition that in essence does not have a religious meaning. In fact,
for the numerous citizens of such orientation, the awareness about their Muslimidentity is linked more with cultural heritage than it is with religious beliefs...
Most of the Muslims on the Balkans are descendants of Christians; either
Orthodox or Roman Catholic, who changed their religion because of different
incentives. Muslims in the Ottoman Empire had many privileges – they paid lower taxes, gained easier employment in king‟s offices, and they had the right
to carry a weapon or to take upon themselves various occupations and sale. Of course, there were cases of forcible change of religion“.
In piece Muslims of our blood in south Serbia[36] in the beginning of 20th century, Dr. Jovan Hadzi Vasiljević says: “In general, our nation is shared
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among two religions; Christian and Muslim. Those of the Christian religion are
split mainly among two churches; and those of the Muslim religion among
several sects... Since the beginning, the Turkism of our people was two-sided: by
force or by will, and as seen later, it was undertaken in masses or individually“.
From represented lines of Muslim historians, it is obvious that there is a need for
a quest in order to get to our own roots or identity. In science, this appearance is
not new, and it is present with nations or parts of nations that had to relinquish
their history, religion or origin several times in order to survive or in some cases
in order to retain certain privileges. That identity quest in the 21st century and
the rediscovering of ties with peoples and civilizations which are for different
reasons behind modern civilization, has led to the creation of an ideal ground for
those forces, especially in extreme streams of Islam that want to enliven the idea
of recovering the caliphate. The question remains open; Will modern civilization
have patience or not, or will it be able to preserve its values against new advent,
coated with religious zealotry seen in madrasas of the Middle or Far East?
The appearance of religiously coated fanaticism has unfortunately become a
reality of the entire Balkan region, especially of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was
exactly that linkage which is repeatedly insisted on in radical Islamic countries
like Iran, Saudi Arabia,Pakistan, or within Islamic scopes in Turkey and Egypt,
that led to the sharp radicalization of the Muslim population of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Because of the absence of their own identity and desire for
idealization of the past, some of the leaders of Bosnian Muslims were driven to
share their similarities in religion and fanaticism with those that are likeminded,
regardless of where they are coming from, now or in the past. With regard to the
situation that the Balkan region is ―The meeting point or clash of civilizations‖,
Muslim peoples or their groups in Balkans (with no identity, since Moslem, assomeone who believes in Islam, is not indicative of national belonging) have
been easily manipulated in the past and the present. Century‘s long occupationof Turks has left marks not only on the culture, but has also left horrible traces
on the entire nations. During the Second World War even Nazi Adolf Hitler had
noticed, not only on the Balkans, the desire of certain Muslim communities for
expansion and intrusion of their extreme religious attitudes.
Islamic fundamentalists were practicing and convoying their ideology of violence by all possible means. Processes and acts in which Islamic
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fundamentalists‘ cir cles reached their peak followed the revolution in Iran. The
main goal of Islamic fundamentalists was the establishment of a Muslim state in
the heart of Europe that would be regulated by Islamic standards. Whether it was
about political activities or various forms of violence, the end sanctifies the
means. The civil war in B-H between 1992 and 1995 showed that Islamic
fundamentalists had organized entire terrorist-guerilla units that arrived
from Afghanistan in order to fight in a jihad together with other like-minded
people. During the civil war, the first nucleuses of terrorist cells of Islamic
fundamentalists in the territory of B-H were established with their specifics that
are reflected in these acts. These specifics are not only ethnic and cultural-
geographical. The fact is that these are completely new ways of creating a global
terrorist network such as what we today call ―Al-Qaeda‖, but more precisely its branch in B-H. The transformation of the first guerilla units of Islamic
fundamentalists into terrorist cells capable of conducting terrorist attacks at
anytime and anywhere in the world is particularly interesting to monitor.
Second World War and origins of Islamic terrorism
Nazi “Handžar SS Division”
Alongside the formation of the Nazi puppet government ofCroatia, or NDH,
during the Second World War, a particular SS unit consisting solely of Muslims
was created in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In order to spread congenial ideas of
Nazism and Islamic fundamentalism, Ante Pavelić[37] ordered the building of
the mentioned mosque, which was called ―Head‘s Mosque‖, in order to assurethe union of his ideas and his military made up of Bosnian Muslims, which this
military criminal often called the ―Flowers of Croatia‖. Therefore, in August of 1941, the Muslim delegation guided by spiritual leader Reis-ul Ulema Fehim ef.
Spaho arrived in Zagreb to visit Ante Pavelić. Nazi Ante Pavelić was promisedfull loyalty and support by the Bosnian Muslims, and in return, most of them
received important positions in the newborn Nazi state of Croatia (NSC). The
president of that former Nazi state was Bosnian Muslim Osman Dţaferbeg
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Kulenović, a member of the government was Dr. Mehmed Alabegović, and theUstaša commissioner of Bosnia and Herzegovina was Hakija Hadzić.
Before the creation of the SS Handţar divison, which was part of Nazi units,
there already existed units composed only of Muslims, who were
committing terrible crimes towards civilians, primarily Serbs, Roms and Jews. It
was these units: "Hadziefendić Legion" under the rule of MuhamedHadziefendić; ―Green Cadres‖, a Nazi formation formed by Domobrancideserters who‘s head was Nedzad Topić; the ―Young Muslims‖, who‘s member was Alija Izetbegović;[38] ― Huska Miljković's Muslim Army‖; and ―Goražde-
Foča Muslim policing units‖. All these units were in the service of the Nazi
formation in context of the Third Reich.
The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Al Mohamed Effendi Amin el Huseini, a
fanatical leader who was supporting genocide over Jews and other people, had
many things in common with Adolf Hitler and his closest collaborators,
especially Himmler. Still before the war, this fanatical religious leader had been
the host and organizer of the ―Pan Islamic Conference‖ held in December of 1931 in Jerusalem, where Mehmed Spaho and Uzegira Hadzihasanović had
participated. The Mufti of Jerusalem had on that occasion, in the spirit of
Muslim brotherhood, promised to help all the Muslims of B-H and give
assistance to the greatest Nazis at that time.
Already in October of 1942, a delegation of Bosnian Muslims[39]was visiting
in Rome with another big Nazi figure, Benito Mussolini, who had in the
meantime proclaimed himself as the protector of Islam. From Mussolini they
requested his help to enable them to create a fascist protectorate in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, following the Albanian model, which would comprise Kosovo and
west Macedonia. Talks with Mussolini did not work out for them, so for the
carriers of the idea of radical Islam in B-H there was one more chance to be had
but this time with the Nazi number one of that time – Adolf Hitler.
In convincing Hitler to form the SS unit composed of Bosnian Muslims, the key
role had the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Huseini[40] and Himmler personally
involved. Himmler was fascinated by the readiness of Muslim soldiers to die for
a ―Holy War‖ (Jihad). In a conversation with Joseph Goebbels, Himmlerssaid “…nothing against Islam, because Islam teaches a man in his division (SS
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handžar) for me and promises them paradise if they fight and are killed in
action. It is a very practical and attractive religion for soldiers”.
Himmler was fascinated both with the idea of Islam and jihad but also had
another strategic advantage on his mind. If he succeeded to attract all Bosnian
Muslims in his SS 120 units, that would serve for him as an attractive model for
Turkey and its (then) 40 million Muslims. He was very familiar with links
between Turkey and Bosnian Muslims, and Turkey was important in order to
unsettle England in the region of Middle East.
Himmler presented the plan of the inclusion of Bosnian Muslims in SS units to
Hitler, in a way that prior to that he was explaining to him that Bosnian Muslims
are, in fact racially Aryans and culturally Arab-Turkish, regardless of the fact
that they speak Serbo-Croatian. This way Himmler had become the real creator
of the large Muslim ideology in B-H, by observing the great number of
similarities and common goals between Nazism and Islamic fanaticism.[41]
After the big preparations on December 6th
1942, Himmler had officially
proposed to Adolf Hitler the formation of SS divisions composed of Bosnian
Muslims. Hitler approved the plan on February 10th
1943. The ―SS handţar
division‖ was in the context of the Nazi formation of Croatia (NDH). During1944, two ―SS handţar divisions‖ had been established, composed of over
26,000 soldiers.
The Mufti of Jerusalem, El Huseini had played not only an important role in the
forming of this Nazi unit, but also had actively recruited Islamists for it. On his
trip between March through April 1943, El Huseini had visited Albania, Kosovo
and Metohija, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. On that occasion, he met with
prominent Islamists of Bosnia of that time; Uzeirag Hadţihasanović and hadţi-Mujag Merhemić. After an igneous speech in Bey's mosque in Sarajevo, he
invited those gathered to join the ―SS handţar units‖. For his plans, the Mufti ElHuseini had gained broad support from Bosnian reis ul-ulema Hazif Muhamed
Pandţa, who had propagated ideas of the Third Reich amongst scholarlyMuslims in Sarajevo and other cities of B-H.
Soon after, already about mid March of 1943, recruitment centers for the ―SS
handţar‖ division had been established in the majority of cities in B-H. The
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main recruitment centers were Sarajevo, Tuzla, Mostar, Doboj, Brčko, andBihać. Beyond the borders of present day B-H, and within the borders of past
Nazi NDH, recruitment centers were in Zemun, Zagreb, Osijek, and Slavonski
Brod. Within the ―SS handţar‖ unit were also ethnic Albanians from the Kosovoregion. They trained and they fought in B-H, but the majority returned to
Albania and Kosovo and there formed another SS division known under the
name ―21 Waffen Gebirgs-Division der SS Skanderbeg‖.
2.2.2 The Nazi “SS Skenderbeg Division”
The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Hadţi Amin el Huseini had an ambition for the
Muslims that lived in the Balkans in the region between Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Kosovo and Metohija, to form one big Islamic state. The
groundwork for this plan was the creation of the ―SS handţar division‖ in B-H,
so soon after, the formation of similar units had started in the region of Kosovo
and Metohija and Albania. The Muslim leader of the Albanians, extremist Bedri
Pejani, who was the president of the Albanian National Committee, was
interceding for the ethnic cleansing of Orthodox Christians – Serbs from Kosovo
and Metohija, and together with other like minded individuals he gave full
support to the foundation of the ―SS Skenderbeg Divison‖.
Germans, who in the beginning were against this plan, due to the given
circumstances were forced to occupy Albania[42] during the withdrawal of the
Italian forces, after the capitulation of Italy. The Nazi SS General Staff was
planning to recruit around 10.000 people, but the response of the people
recruited by the Albanian National Committee exceeded all expectations. On the
enrollment lists were 11,398 recruits. The ―SS Skenderbeg division‖ was formedon April 17, 1944, composed mostly of recruits who were Albanians from
Kosovo and Metohija. This division was actively included in the Nazi politics of
genocide and ethnic cleansing directed towards the non Albanian population,
mostly in the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, but also in the territory that is
today called the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which at that time
was located in South Serbia.
2.3 Period between the Second World War until the Civil War in B-H
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During the Second World War, Alija Izatbegović was a member of the Islamic
fundamentalist organization ―El Hidaia‖ which belonged to the organization―Young Muslims‖.[43] From the year 1943 Alija Izatbegović was the partner of the Nazi occupation forces of Germany as well as one of the main organizers for
the recruitment of young Muslims for the Nazi ―SS Handţar‖ division. He wasactively operating with Hitler‘s secret service (Abver and the Gestapo), and hewas closely working with The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Hadj Amin al Husseini.
In the after-war period he continued with his activities, whose main goal was
spreading Islamic fundamentalism, after which Alija Izatbegović would becomethe first president of the Bosnian Muslims in the beginning of the year 1990[44];
in November of that same year, he became president of the presidency of B-H.
The units that made up the "SS Handţar‖ division had committed numerous war crimes over the Serbian people. On June 15, 1946, Alija Izatbegović wasconvicted by the Supreme Military Court SFRJ 566/46 and was sentenced to
five years in prison for war crimes against people and the state. After serving the
sentence, Alija Izatbegović continued his activities aimed at the racial andreligious animosity of the people of the former Yugoslavia. His activities and
those of other like-minded people were based on propagation of the differences
between people, spreading Islamic fundamentalism, and the formation of afundamentalist Islamic state in the heart of Europe.
In Alija Izatbegović‘s piece ―Islamic Declaration‖ it says the following:― Between Islamic religion and non-Islamic social and political institutions there
is no peace.” He further states, “Having the right to establish its own world,
Islam clearly excludes any foreign ideology‟s right and option of acting in its
domain. Hence, there is no layman principle, and the state should be the way
out and should support moral concepts of religion.‘[45]
Despite the fact that some extreme Muslim theoreticians want to present it in a
different spirit, the messages that Alija Izatbegović had emphasized in his piece,the essential importance phrases by which regular citizens, Muslims or non-
Muslims, were able to understand and conclude for themselves the real meaning
behind his thoughts. Taking the single sentences out of the context is not
reliable, but the sentences or the thoughts that are expressed in them and their
interpretation is often simple and easily understood and have one direct, singlemeaning. The standpoint of Alija Izatbegović: ― I am sending this message to all
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Muslims of the world; we are stressing clearly that the Promised Land does not
exist, wizards and Mehdi. There is only the road of hard work, fight and
victims.”
From the very beginning, Alija Izatbegović had sympathies towards the Shiite
version of radical Islam. [46] The messages that Iranian clerics had been
referring to as the ―world community‖ were filled with hate and intolerance.Generations of terrorists had been trained for years by the Iranian regime – and
not only terrorists, but also the entire terrorist network that had the goal to
enable and justify their actions. Members of that network were Alija Izatbegovićand his likeminded comrades (Haris Silajdţić, Hasan Čengić, MuhamedŠaćirbej/Šećerbegović, Muhamed Filipović etc.). Former Iranian religious leader and President Ayatollah Khomeini was publicly interceding the idea that Iran
had to be the leader of the global Islamic revolution.
On January 14, 1980, in the Iranian holy city Qom, in front of the 120 lined up
Pakistani officers who resided there due to the terrorist-diversionary training, he
said: ―We are in the war against infidels. Take this message along with you. I
am calling for all Islamic nations, all Muslims, all Islamic armies and all
Islamic presidents to unite in the holly war. Many enemies exist who need to be
killed or abolished. Jihad has to be triumphant .‖[47] As a spiritual leader or
terrorist, or both, Ayatollah Khomeini had realized the idea linked to the attacks
on so called: ―Western Targets‖ with suicide bombers, far before the others, butat the same time he was aiming to expand the influence of radical Islam in all
directions, especially towards Bosnia and Herzegovina – towards Europe.
The man who had entirely adopted the learning of the Iranian clerics had found
himself once again in the place of the accused. By the decision of the Supreme
Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on March 14, 1983, Alija Izatbegović hadonce more been proclaimed as guilty and sentenced to twelve years in prison for
serious criminal acts.[48] The verdict of 1983 was preceded by the visit of the
Islamists tightest circle from B-H to Iran, led by Hussein Ţivalj who would later become one of the key figures of the extreme militant form of Islam in the
Balkans. Because of his anticommunist attitudes, Izatbegović‘s radical-Muslim
standpoints, as well as the political program contained in his works, had gone
mostly unnoticed in the West, where communism had been viewed as the biggest planetary evil, until the events ofSeptember 11, 2001.
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The document about Alija Izatbegović, which was prepared for the members of the British parliament,[49] specifies that Izatbegović in his works and throughhis efforts supported the following ideas:
- Enliven the overall moral of Islam and regeneration of religion
- Resumption to the real values of Islam
- Re-Islamization of Muslims
- Creation and strengthening of the various aspects of unity in Islam
- The battle for the creation of an Islamic system through political means and
war. Also domination in countries where Muslims constituted the
majority or the approximate majority of the population.
In his work Islamic Declaration, Izatbegović says, ―… From Morocco to
Indonesia – the United Islamic community must be established ‖; with the clear conception of enlivening the idea of the Islamic caliphate, or the idea which is
represented practically by all Islamic extremists, and that is the creation of the
global Islamic state which they call uma (umma). According to Izatbegović, PanIslamism represented the highest goal of Islam, so according to it every
mussulman had the sacred duty, as one that ―devoted himself and complied togod‖, to spread the ideas of unification of all Muslims in the world. Further, it isstated: ―The Islamic movement has to and is capable of undertaking the political
dominion as soon as it is morally and numerically stronger, and not only that it
can destroy present non-Islamic authority, it can create a new Islamic one‖.
The writings and standpoints of Alija Izatbegović were completely accepted inIslamic radical circles, especially those grouped around the Coordination
Committee of Islamic Youth Organization, which included: ―The Youth Unionof Islamic Society of B-H‖, ―Young Muslims‖[50], the citizens party ―AlFurqan‖, the militants organization ―Fatih‖ and ―The Bosnian Academic Club‖.All these, and other Islamic organizations were experiencing Alija Izatbegovićas the father of their nation, but not in the same sense as Ataturk who was seen
as the father of the Turkish nation.[51] Alija Izatbegović had acutely criticized
Ataturk, because, unlike him, Izatbegovic interceded for the global Muslim
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nation and state, based on Islamic principles in which other religions and nations
have only a minor role.
― Non-Muslim minorities in Islamic states, with the condition of loyalty can enjoy
freedom of religion and full protection.‖ This of course referr ed to the position
of the non-Muslims in Bosnia, who Alija Izatbegović had forecasted as thefuture minority. In the declaration, it is also emphasized: "The Establishment of
Islamic order shows the utmost act of democracy, because it means the
realization of the deepest aspirations of the Muslim nation, but also the regular
man‖. Based not on the democratic, but on religious principles, the Islamic order shows what kind of social constitution Izatbegović and his successors intercededfor.
When he talks fur ther about the Islamic legality, Alija Izatbegović says: ― Islamic
order can be achieved only in those countries where Muslims represent the
majority of the population. Without this majority, Islamic order comes down
only to the authority (due to the lack of other elements – Islamic society) and
can grow into violence.‖ What Izatbegović meant by ―violence‖ remainedunclear, but the fact that he meant that violence was intended against Muslims
was perfectly clear.
The West Balkans was for decades the center of interest of the Islamic
fundamentalists. Numerous Muslim populations that lived in the territory of the
so-called ―green transversal‖ represented an excellent stronghold for therecruitment of young Islamic fundamentalists, as well as for performing terrorist
actions in Western Europe. Alija Izatbegović and those likeminded people,completely conscious of this fact, were trying and are trying by utilizing the
strategy of Islamic fundamentalists, to undertake territories, by expanding the
Muslim population. In these scenarios when the Muslim population is the
minority the idea is to expand using the population growth rate, which is by
multiplying greater than it is with other non-Muslim populations.
After the popular ―takeover‖ of the territories, Islamic f undamentalists were
applying the rule ―on the land of Allah, the rules and law of
Allah‖.[52] Therefore, in mid-1994, Bosnian reis ul-ulema Mustafa Cerić hadannounced the decree (fatwa) which orders Bosnian Muslims to procreate at
least five children.[53]
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In the book Islam between East and West , published first in the USA in 1984
and later in Turkey, Alija Izatbegović also developed his thesis about thesuperiority of Islam compared to other religions, cultures, ideologies, and
philosophies. In all his works, Alija Izatbegović was negating the existence of nations, and as a sparkling example he appoints the medieval structure of
Turkey, in which the nations were treated as minor religious communities, and
the population was divided to orthodox (Muslim) and non-orthodox (all others).
The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Hadţi Amen el Huseini had an ambition to form
the great Islamic state together with Muslims who live in the Balkans from
Bosnia and Herzegovina to Kosovo and Metohija. His ideas and objectives were
well accepted by the Muslim intellectual elite of that time, since for that,
historical prerequisites already existed. One of the key moments, yet not a
precedent one was the fact that Turkish rulers were using the Muslim population
of the Balkans, especially Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They gave great
privileges to them after their acceptance of Islam, for wars, as well as for
suppressing mutinies of the majority of the Christian population, especially the
Serbs. One such event was the insurrection by the Serbs in the year 1804. In his
piece Jihad [54] Miroljub Jevtić emphasizes, ―Sultan – caliph realizes that Serbs
want to separate the part of Dar al-Islam, acquired in the holy war, so in thisway, Serbian insurrection becomes an attack on God‟s will and right. Because
of that, it is mandatory for all Muslims to take part in suppressing the
rebellion.‖[55]
In the beginning of the XX century, a particular extreme wing of Islamic
fundamentalists had formed the organization the ―Young Muslims‖. This kind of approach and radicalization, especially of the youth, which is by nature in all
societies aggressive in its advent, served well to certain ideas and ambitions toaffirm i.e. isolate from others those religious groups, not ethnic ones, which did
not have or did not want to admit their national identity.[56]Privileges that
Christians in the Balkans who converted to Islam had during the Ottoman
Empire had vanished overnight due to the annexation of B-H by Austro
Hungary, which was a Christian country. Reminiscences of the times of the
Ottoman Empire will never vanish from the heads of Balkan Muslims, just like
the links with Turkey. Having regard to the circumstance that only religion
remained as a factor that bonded numerous Islamic populations together after more than five hundred years of Turkish presence. In the Balkans, religion has
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become the main factor of synthesis – the synthesis that not only comprehended
the territories of inhabitance of the Balkan Muslims, but in a way that also
represented their bond with the rest of the Muslim world. The religion, in this
case Islam, was dictating the whole list of religious rules that were practiced in
regular life, and beside religious traditions, the customs and particularities that
were brought and left behind by the invaders, the Osmanlis, were practiced too.
In this way, not only the religious, but also the custom, cultural, and civilization
differences arose among the population of the same ethnic origins. Culture or
any other difference among people make the society richer, and differences
among nations and civilizations embody what the world today represents as
beautiful and challenging. However, for the Islamic fundamentalists, the
differences or existence of other religions and concepts opposite of theirs is not
acceptable. Islamic fundamentalists call the people of other religions ―infidels‖,a term that they use for Christians or ―Jewish pigs, the term, which they use for Jews.[57] While he was still teaching at the ―Al Azhar‖ University in Cairo,
blind sheik Omar Abdel Rahman said in one of his lectures: ― A whole chapter in
the Qur'an exists with the title „War prize‟. There is no chapter with the name
for example „Peace‟. Jihad and killings is the head of Islam. If you cut it out of
Islam, you cut the head of Islam.‖[58]
The views cited and similar ones of the Islamic fundamentalists reveal the hatred
they hold towards other religions and maybe would never have such strength if
moderate religious leaders of Islam would have publicly and loudly doomed
them. Lack of public disapproval leaves space for others to listen with disbelief
to the stories of how Islam is a religion of peace. A stronghold for these unwise
concepts is the Qur'an. For example, in the chapter ―Bekare‖ it says: ―… Do they
think (those who do not want to believe in the right religion) that melecs and god will come on the sky clouds? And the decision (of their punishment and their
end) is brought .‖[59] Another example: ― Kill them wherever you find them and
exile them from where ever they exiled you! Suspicion is heavier than
killing …‖[60] Quotes, just like public statements and declarations of the
Balkan‘s Islamic fundamentalists have contributed to the spread of hatred
among people of different religions, especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
One of the reasons that this caused this kind of state and process betweencommunities of different religious orientations in the Balkans is the
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homogenization of Muslims, who, due to famous historical events, remained an
undefined population group without the direct help of Turkey, to whom they
faithfully served, as it is stated above, religion is a key conjunctive element.
Religion i.e. Islam, besides its conjugative role, has obtained a new meaning in
the hands of Islamic fundamentalists. These are different interpretations of
certain instances by religious leaders, just like the interpretation of religion by
fundamentalists for their needs. Regardless of the manner of interpretation some
religious leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina were interpreting the meaning of
jihad. For generations of Islamic fundamentalists Jihad represented a ―protectivewar‖, a defense from genocide, aggression e.g. protection of state‘s sovereignty,etc. For this reason all means of combat were allowed according to the law and
religion, and were justified by the political and religious authority of BosnianMuslims. Except that the defense of ―sovereignty‖ did not mean the defense of
the region where Muslims once lived, but in reality it was being used to justify
the idea of invading the biggest part of Bosnia and Herzegovina where
Christians live, together with invading the neighboring regions – Raška,Montenegro and Kosovo and Metohija.
People belonging to different religions in Bosnia and Herzegovina did not live
one next to other, but alongside each other. Variants of jihad that was developed by the Islamic fundamentalists from Bosnia and Herzegovina[61] is only a
reflection of the global strategy of the terrorist network ―Al Qaeda‖, whichforemost terrorizes Islam as a religion, and then the entire ―modern civilization‖.Elfatih Hassanein[62], an Islamic fundamentalist and close friend of Alija
Izatbegović, in his statements calls for the creation of an Islamic state in Bosniaand Herzegovina. In an interview in 1994 with one Islamic magazine (fragments
were published by the press in Sarajevo)[63] he says: ― Bosnia has to end up as a
Muslim state, because unless that does not happen, the whole war looses its point, and would be fought for nothing. The war in B-H should help those
Bošnjaks who are not religious or are not religious enough, to awake.
Principally, the situation is still not good and I think that we have to find
appropriate methods for spreading the correct teachings of Islam among
Bosnian Muslims.‖
Balkan Islamic fundamentalists are tightly bound to the Islamic fundamentalist‘s
network, which today exists around the world. The announcement of jihad, theholy war in B-H (religiously) obligates every Muslim in the world to join it.
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Even in the past, after the tendencies of Arab nationalism to separate from the
Turkish influence, religious commands or fatwa‘s used to be issued, wh ich
regarded the battles against Christians. One of the most significant fatwa‘s wasissued in Baghdad.[64] In the mentioned fatwa, it says ― Muslims, wake up and
forget your dissensions, revenge to the nonbelievers and pursue them from your
land.‖
Miroljub Jevtić explains: [65] ―In order to understand why Arabs considered
that Kosovo, Macedonia and other countries belong to them, we will say the
following: ‗ According to shari‟a the value of a country will be the order that
rules there. Because of that, once the shari‟a legislation is presented in some
territory, that country is forever Muslim, even if the vast majorities in it are non-
Muslims‖. Calling of Muslim fundamentalists from Bosnia and Herzegovina,Sandţak and Kosovo for Jihad in the beginning of the nineties, were sent to allIslamic fundamentalist circles, and was warmly accepted and supported by a big
number of Muslim countries.
2.4 Period from the beginning of the civil war in B-H till today
During the trial process of Islamists, in 1993, when twelve Muslims from Bosnia
and Herzegovina were sentenced to 90 years in prison in total, the phrase ―ethniccleansing‖ was used for the first time. Dr. Fuad Muhić, who was also the judgefor Izatbegović for this process, alleged in the justification of the verdict that themembers of the Islamic fundamentalists group, with Alija Izatbegović at thefront, were upholding the thesis of an ethnically clean Bosnia and Herzegovina.
However, this trial and the verdict were just the continuation of the activities for
which Alija Izatbegović and those like-minded people were liable for and have
served their sentences from the year 1946 – except that on this occasion, the
convicts seated besides Alija Izatbegović, were also newcomers, all members of the ―Young Muslims‖.
During his studies in Belgrade in the beginning of the seventies, Alija
Izatbegović met Elfatih Hassanein, an Islamic scholar studying medicine. Stillduring his studies, Hassanein was in touch with his colleagues from other
Islamic countries[66], and together with Muslims from SFRJ, he propagated the
idea of radical Islamic fundamentalism, emphasizing the importance of the
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Muslims from the Balkans for the establishment of the Umma or Islamic world
community.
In the mid-seventies, a reorganization of the ―Young Muslims‖ organization
happened, as well as the spreading of the idea of Islamic fundamentalism,
especially among the young in B-H. In this period, Alija Izatbegović writeshis Islamic Declaration. The group of radical Islamists, together with Alija
Izatbegović was led by Muhamed Jahić, Ismet Serdarević, Huso Ţivalj, EdhemBičakčić, Meliha Salikbegović, Amila Omersoftić, father and son Halid andHasan Čengić, brothers Dţamaludin and Nenad Latić and others. This group
established an organization the ―Muslim Youth Association – MYA‖, whosemembers were youngsters of the ―Muslim Brothers‖. In the beginning of theeighties, just before the trial, parts of the group‘s members were visiting Iran. Itis believed that on that occasion, members of the group completed training in the
Najfabadi terrorist camp in the city Kom. This terrorist camp was under the
command of Mula Haeri. For the operation of this camp, Islamists from so-
called ―third world countries‖ were recruited, e.g. countries where the Muslim
population was not dominant.[67] Together with classic terrorist techniques,
attendants were trained in the extreme religious ideology, whose purpose was
―brainwashing‖.
Financial and other aid for the operation of this group was mostly provided by
so-called humanitarian organizations for Muslims, such as ―TWRA‖ (ThirdWorld Relief Agency) with its headquarters in Vienna. This organization, which
was later discovered to be a terrorist organization, was founded in 1987. The
head of it was Elfatih al Hasanein,[68] a member of the Sudanese leading party
―Islamic National Front‖. This extreme fundamentalist party was founded by Dr.
Hassan Abdallah Turabi,[69] a man who it is believed to be, based on hisreligious leanings, have created Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and
(recently killed in Iraq) Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most wanted and the most
notorious terrorists of present.
Funds for working and functioning of ―TWRA‖[70] were acquired by donations
from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Sudan, Brunei, Malaysia, and Pakistan.
―TWRA‖ was maintaining close links with numerous radical Islamic
organizations or particular fanatical people. One of the prominent Middle EastIslamic fundamentalists was Sheikh Mohamed Al Ghazali who with his actions
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was behind the formation of the Islamic fundamentalists network in the Balkans.
From the beginning of the eighties of last century until today, he maintained the
connections with religious radical leaders of Muslims who lived in the territory
of the Balkans and with his teachings; he signified the important role of
Muslims from the Balkans in the Islamic world.
In his efforts to find, key people and organizations together with respective
leaders with religious prefix who would support ideas of Islamic
fundamentalism that Sheikh Mohamed Al Ghazali had, besides Elfatih al
Hasanein who was the main executor, was Dr. Umair al Zubair .[71] The aim of
the ―TWRA‖ actions was indeed the territory of the Balkans and the Muslimswho lived in that area. ―TWRA‖ has played the key role in supplying weapons
to Bosnian Islamists, despite the UN embargo. [72]
Insight of the ―TWRA‖ documentation[73] corroborated that the key members
of this organization were people who would largely by their activities lead to the
beginning of the civil war in B-H. Due to their actions, the war in B-H from
1992-1995 took the character of a religious war e.g. jihad. According to the data
of the Austrian police,[74] the following persons are responsible.
Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, an Egyptian radical imam, was found guilty for
planning and organizing the first terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in
New York in 1993. In ―TWRA‖ documentation confiscated by the Austrian police, records that link this Islamic fundamentalist directly to ―TWRA‖ werefound. By these records, ―TWRA‖ was supposed to be the distributor of video-
and audio-tapes[75] containing speeches of Omar Abdel Rahman, and were to
be sold or distributed among Mosques around Europe.
American jurisdictional bodies link Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman directly with
Ayman al Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden. Besides Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman,
members of ―TWRA‖ were Osama bin Laden, the most wanted terrorist today,
who is suspected to be the financier, Irfan Ljevaković, Alija Izatbegović, HasanČengić, Dţemal Merdan, Husein (Huso) Ţivalj, and Faris Nanić. Of this group,Hasan Čengić[76] and Dţemal Merdan were in charge of the connections withAfghanistan and other mujaheddin movements. These connections date from the
1980s, at which time under the influence of the ―Iranian Revolution‖, membersof the ―Muslim Brothers of Bosnia and Herzegovina‖ used to leave for studies to
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that country or would meet with students who were coming to the former SFRJ
to study.
This was not the case with the Iranian students, but also with others from the
Islamic world. An example of this occurred in March 1982 when the informal
leader of the Egyptian ―Muslim Brothers‖ in exile Hassan Nasser, son of GamalAbdel Nasser, the former Egyptian president and close friend of Josip Broz Tito,
resided in the former SFRJ. Despite the fact that Egypt officially demanded
from Interpol to hand over Hassan Nasser [77] to the country, Yugoslavian
authorities responded that Hassan Nasser had never resided in SFRJ, what was
untrue. [78] This Islamic fundamentalist was in charge of bringing to the
territory of SFRJ, actually hiding ihvans – members of the ―Muslim Brothers‖,and jihad-organization from Egypt, whose members participated in the
assassination of Egyptian president Anwar al Sadat[79]. Members of this
organization were massively relegated in Egypt and were prosecuted under
death penalties. These people were publicly seen as students in SFRJ, but in
reality, only a small number of them actually studied.
One of the key spots in the organizing and functioning of the Islamic
fundamentalists‘ network in the Balkans, and which was under direct influenceof ―TWRA‖ from Vienna belongs to Derviš ĐurĎević. He was the main tie
between the organizations the ―Muslim Brothers‖ and the ―Young Muslims‖ inSarajevo. Still during the foundation of ―TWRA‖ in Vienna in 1987, ĐurĎević,together with twelve other Islamic fundamentalists, in the beginning of the ‘80s,was arrested in B-H and sentenced to five years in prison. After serving his
sentence, he left to go to Vienna. The reason for his arrest was, inter alia, the
capture of his close friend Duha Abdel Fata, to whom ĐurĎević had rented the
apartment in Sarajevo where Islamists from various meridians used to gather for so-called ―schooling‖. Duha Abdel Fata was arrested because of a flyer and
pamphlet scattering which called for ―Islamic revolution in the world‖. The year
after arresting ĐurĎević and Fata, Halil Mehtić was also arrested under the
charge that he was spreading the ideas of Islamic fundamentalism and messages
of the ―Muslim Brothers‖ among Muslim believers in B-H. His first collaborator
Halid Tulić succeeded to escape to Jordan.[80]
Bosnia and Herzegovina, just like the entire area of the Balkans, in the period between the two wars was the main scope of the operation of Islamic
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fundamentalists. Because of their actions and connections with the global
network of Islamic fundamentalists, B-H and the entire Balkan region has
become an unavoidable stop for numerous Islamic fundamentalists on their path
to Europe. With a well-developed infrastructure, a huge amount of funds
secured by Islamic countries, as well as Islamic fundamentalists‘ generalintentions to create an umma, members of the network considerably contributed
to the rise of the bloody civil war led in B-H.
2.5 The New Islamic international
The Islamic international is nothing new, and the concept of ―The New Islamic
international‖ means the actions of various Islamic fundamentalist movements
in modern conditions. The phrase is about not only the movements; various
extreme Islamic fundamentalist terrorist organizations, but also the state-
sponsors of Islamic fundamentalism which are Iran, Syria, Pakistan, Saudi
Arabia and other countries. That the ―Islamic international‖ truly exists, and issponsored by some Muslim countries, in the territory of the Balkans had become
clear with the first appearance of the mujaheddins, who came from all over the
world to fight a jihad in the beginning of the ‗90s. Causes of the ―Islamicinternational‖ most often are cited as these factors:
- Islamic revolution in Iran and its export around the world;
- The ―Muslim Brotherhood‖ with entirely radicalized approaches and
specific ideology;
- Emergence of greater and greater number of various Islamic fundamentalist
groups with their own interpretation of the Qur'an by the principle of
―new-discovered Islam‖;
- Islamic volunteers ―mujaheddins‖ and their presence around the world;
- In addition, other events that followed such as the downfall of SSSR, the
situation in the Middle East, worsened economic situation in many
countries, etc.
The creation and consolidation of the ―Islamic international‖ contributed to thespreading of the ideology of hatred by Islamic fundamentalists, and numerous
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battlefields, as the outcome of the conflict between Muslims and non-Muslims
around the world. This mainly regards the clashes between Israelis and
Palestinian Arabs, Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo,
Kashmir, Chechnya, etc. On these battlefields, Islamic terrorists who were
coming there from all parts of the world were drilled and trained. In this way,
those who call themselves ―mujaheddins‖ were becoming internationals fromvarious locales. As an example, in Islamic circles, the war that was led in
Afghanistan was perceived as ―the holy war‖. Because of these Islamicfundamentalists, who started arriving from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt, Iran,
Sudan, Syria, Pakistan and other countries. Civil war in B-H was treated in the
same way. That is why it is not surprising that a large portion of mujaheddins
who fought in B-H had come to that country with prior knowledge from variousother wars, through which Islamic fundamentalists considered to fight a jihad.
Experiences from Afghanistan showed that despite many differences the
―Islamic international‖ has colligated into one powerful organization whoselinking factor was religion. Not only the terrorist organizations of Islamic
orientation, but also bigger countries such as Egypt, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia
and others have shown a readiness to cooperate on the question which they saw
as of the overall interest (helping Islamic brothers in trouble). As an example,the entire action on behalf of the Islamic fundamentalists in Afghanistan against
the USSR led by Makatab al-Khidamat (МАК), together with Abdul Azam andOsama bin Laden on the front. MAK coordinated delivering to the ―brothers‖ inAfghanistan, large portions of help and resources coming from the entire
Muslim world, as well as the recruitment of Islamic fundamentalists.
With the help of the USA, Egypt as a state had an advantage in sending
armament and instructors to Afghanistan. The entire action was performed in thespirit of Islamic solidarity, and experts from the Egyptian army were coming
and training mujaheddins. Egypt and other Arab countries were sending, either
secretly or publicly, their military experts to Afghanistan. The entire program
started to grow to wider scales in the mid ‗80s, when thousands of Arabs of Islamic fundamentalist groups started to arrive to the battlefields and training
camps in Afghanistan. A great number of Islamic terrorist organizations were
sending their highly positioned members to missions called ―Studies of
jihad‖.[81] Very soon after, as result of the presence of a big number of Islamicfundamentalists from all parts of the world in one place (Afghanistan), the
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―international jihad-organization‖ was founded, as a precedent of the ―Islamicinternational‖. The territories of Afghanistan and Pakistan were a solidstronghold of this organization for its operation around the world.
The idea of an all-Islamic brotherhood and need for organizing an Islamic
terrorist network required for fighting jihad against all opponents of Islam was
promoted in the Afghanistan conflict. By the conception of its creators, this
terrorist network was supposed to gather all Muslims of the world, so that its
operation will have a global character. A global scope is necessary in order to
one day establish the world Muslim state in peoples mind, managed by the
Qu‘ran regulations. The striking core of the Islamic fundamentalist international
consists of a chain of terrorist organizations, with ―Al Qaeda‖ on the top. Theseorganizations are supposed to be presented as protectors of all Muslims and their
interests. In reality, the above mentioned terrorist organization‘s activitiesincluding ―Al Qaeda‖ are being covered by many secret services of Islamiccountries.
War in B-H has shown, just like the one in Afghanistan, the unity of circles of
Islamic fundamentalism. The possibility to build an Islamic state in the heart of
Europe, based on the fundamentalist principles of Alija Izatbegović‘s ―IslamicDeclaration‖, is attractive enough for Islamists from all meridians of the world.The Islamic international has established specific forms of organizing in every
segment, which will be further elaborated on in the following context. However
if we pay attention only to how, for example, certain Muslim countries shared
and each of them actively participated in the development of the Islamic
fundamentalist‘s network in the Balkans, then it becomes clear that this is a well
organized network which covers all segments of subversive war
fighting. Instructors (religious and terrorist) were arriving from Iran and Turkey,money came from Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Malaysia, Pakistan and Brunei, and
mujaheddins – from Afghanistan.
Data and information available to the investigative bodies in different countries
point to the degree to which Islamic jihad-terrorists are connected.[82] It is not
only about the concept that underlines the way the terrorist network of Islamic
fundamentalists in the Balkans is organized, and whose members are in constant
relationships with a similar networks of terrorists, for example, in Central Asia.Security agencies in some Balkan countries have had the ability for some time
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now to track intensive contacts between groups of Islamic fundamentalists from
the Balkans and their like-minded terrorists in Central Asia, including the
Chinese province Xinjiang.
The model which is used to create a ―clean Islamic state‖ in the territory of Central Asia is similar to the model, which was used when so called ―greentransversal‖, was being shaped in the Balkans. A specialized and wider public is
already well aware that Islamic jihad-warriors took part in instituting the
terrorist network in the Balkans, and that their true intention is establishing an
Islamic state ranging between: Albania, Kosovo, Raška, parts of Macedonia, andBosnia and Herzegovina. The primary goal is creating prerequisites for the
penetration of Islam‘s extreme form in the heart of Europe and further towardsthe USA.
Similar intentions are held by religion and violence like-minded, who are trying
to set up a unique Islamic state in Central Asia. The centers of Islamic terrorism
which took part in creating ―green transversal‖ in the Balkans, are active again,except their activity is focused in a different direction now. First, the word is
about Islamic fundamentalist centers in Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia,
Malaysia, and Afghanistan. In these mentioned actions, not only are members of
extreme Islamic organizations taking part, but in these processes of spreading
―the idea of Umma‖ and Islamic fundamentalism numerous Muslim countriesactively participate.
In the framework of the mujaheddin units that fought in the Bosnia and
Herzegovina region, regular units of the Iranian army participated, for example
the Seventh Revolutionary Guardian Brigade, and also parts of special units of
the Iranian secret service, VEVAK. During the civil war in B-H, in the
beginning of the ‗90s, the Iranian secret service VEVAK deployed the entireagency of its network around Bosnian villages with the goal to support terrorist
activities of Islamic fundamentalists. [83] Similar activities took place in the
Central Asia region, where, active members of the Pakistani secret service (ISI)
were spotted, apart from other secret services that operated there. This secret
service is involved in establishing great number Islamic fundamentalist terrorist
organizations in Central Asia. ISI is engaged in consolidating work and training
for Islamists of various organizations. In this way, direct support was given tothe terrorist organization the ―Islamic armed movement‖ AIO, whose head is
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Muhamed Ibrahim al Makavi,[84] who, in order to cover his activities, has
founded and led one so called ―Humanitarian Organization‖ in Peshawar.
The secret service of Kyrgyzstan (KNB)[85] has identified in February 2003 the
existence of a transnational Central Asian extreme group named LIVO, which
was founded in May, 2001, under the sponsorship of Osama bin Laden and the
organization ―Al Qaeda‖. The primary source of this information was ŠeraliAkbotojev,[86] Kyrgyz, one of the leading people in the Islamic movement of
Uzbekistan (IMU).[87] Akbotojev was arrested in Afghanistan in mid 2002, and
then extradited to the capital city Biškek, where he was condemned to 25 years
in prison. During the hearing in front of the investigative organs, Akbotojev
admitted that in May 2001 Taliban leader Mula Muhamad Omar and Osama bin
Laden formed a new international organization of Islamic fundamentalists,
known as LIVO, whose goal was to ―set free‖ Central Asia from ―nonbelievers‖.The meaning of term LIVO is unknown until today.
Akbotojev has defined the declared aim of LIVO as the ―creation of a uniqueIslamic state which will in its principles comprise Kazahstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the Chinese province of Xinjiang‖.One of the founders of the organization LIVO and a close ally of Osama bin
Laden, Juma Namangani[88] was nominated as head of LIVO. Besides being
the head man, LIVO had also a supreme council in its structure, whose members
were: Mula Muhamed Omar (Taliban‘s – Afghanistan), Osama bin Laden,
Takhir Juldešef (another IMU leader), Hasan Ujgur (one of the master leaders of
separatists from Xinjiang) and two Taliban commandants known by the names
Ubajdolo and Ajmani.[89]
Essentiality all of the LIVO organizations activities is to speed up and organize
training of terrorists and their allocation around Central Asia. The principle of
their acts comes down to the recruitment of the local population. During the
process of recruitment, Islamic fundamentalists provide a certain amount of
money as compensation to the families, which serves as a stimulation for
joining. After the recruitment and training, a command cadre is appointed for
each unit. Units are allocated with no distinction regarding what regions recruits
are coming from. After completing the training in which the main segment is
religious indoctrination, members of these units are going back to the areas
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where they came from,[90] where later, secret distribution of weapons is
performed.
Possession of weapons in the Central Asia regions is a practice, and weaponry is
bought in the same way as any other kind of goods in bazaars. Depending on the
situation, certain units are sent to perform militant actions wherever they are
needed, and it is mostly to Afghanistan, Iraq, Kashmir, or Bosnia. During the
inquisition, Akbotojev confirmed several times that the biggest number of LIVO
members at this moment are mujaheddins from Uzbekistan, but that soon after,
members from all Central Asia started joining, including Arabs, better known as
―Afghanistans‖. During Akbotojev‘s arrestment, LIVO already had a widelyoutspread network across Central Asia. LIVO members survived the American
attack on Afghanistan and cogent indications exist which imply that this terrorist
organization will continue to grow as an active armed formation, organized as it
is mentioned before, as a serious threat to peace and stability in Central Asia.
A similar situation was also recorded in the Balkan areas when Albanians from
Kosovo and Metohija and Muslims from Raška(Novopazarski Sandţak) were
participating in war clashes in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina and
Croatia, in order to attain certain fighting proficiencies, which later were used on
other occasions, especially when performing terrorist actions in Kosovo and
Metohija. In Kosovo,[91] with the help of Islamic fundamentalists‘ terroristssourcing from Islamic countries, the first mujaheddin unit called ―Abu Bakir Sadik‖ was formed. The unit‘s staff was stationed in the location called Donja
Prekaza, and the unit itself numbered about 120 mujaheddins from Saudi
Arabia, Egypt, Albania, Macedonia and Iran. The commander of one section of
this unit was Abu Ismailji, a former member of the ―El mujahid‖ squad from B-
H. The main instructor of the ―Abu Bakir Sadik‖ unit was Abu AbdurahmanEnigmani from Syria, who during the war in B-H was also the main commander
of the mujaheddin camp for training in B-H together with Jamel Lamrani[92],
an Algerian who was also a representative of the ―Humanitarian‖ Organization―Igasa‖. One of the mujaheddins in the group that arrived from B-H to Kosovo
and Metohija was Abu Hamza,[93] a Palestinian, who was in charge of all
activities linked to the transfer of mujaheddins from B-H to Kosovo and
Metohija – so, it was arranged Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo and at the end
Macedonia. One of the roles of the mujaheddins was also the training of
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a global terrorist network which we call today ―Al-Qaeda‖, or more precisely its branch in B-H. The transformation of guerilla units of Islamic fundamentalists
into terrorist cells capable of conducting terrorist attacks at anytime and
anywhere in the world is particularly interesting to monitor.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, just like the entire area of the Balkans, in the period
between the two wars was the main scope of operation of Islamic
fundamentalists.. As result of their actions and connections with the global
network of Islamic fundamentalists, B-H and the entire Balkan region has
become an unavoidable stop for numerous Islamic fundamentalists on their path
to Europe. With well-developed infrastructure, huge amount of funds secured by
Islamic countries, as well as with Islamic fundamentalists‘ general intentions to
create an umma, members of the network considerably contributed to the rise of
the bloody civil war led in B-H.
The Islamic international is nothing new, and the concept of―The New Islamicinternational‖ means the actions of various Islamic fundamentalist movements
in modern conditions. The word is about not only the movements; various
extreme Islamic fundamentalist terrorist organizations, but also the states-
sponsors of Islamic fundamentalism which are Iran, Syria, Pakistan, Saudi
Arabia and other countries. That the ―Islamic international‖ truly exists, and thatit is sponsored by some Muslim countries, in the territory of the Balkans,
became clear with the first appearance of mujaheddins, who came from all over
the world to fight a jihad in the beginning of the ‗90s.
The creation and consolidation of the ―Islamic international‖ contributed to thespreading of the ideology of hatred by Islamic fundamentalists, and on
numerous battlefields, as the outcome of the conflict between Muslims and non-
Muslims around the world. This is in regards mainly to the clashes between
Israelis and Palestinian Arabs, Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Kosovo, Kashmir, Chechnya etc. On these battlefields, Islamic terrorists who
were coming there from all parts of world were drilled and trained. In this way,
those who call themselves ―mujaheddins‖ were becoming internationals fromvarious locales, especially from the one in B-H.
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[30] Attachment, photo no. 1.
[31] ―WE REVEAL the trial process in Sarajevo of four captives out of 19
members of CRB, emigrant Bugojanska group which enteredYugoslavia in
1972‖. Zvonimir Despot, 24. 5. 2005. Več ernji list,Zagreb, Croatia.
[32] Adolf Andrić, Ilija Glavaš, Djuro Horvat, Vejsil Keškić, Viktor Kancijanić,Petar Bakula, Ludvig Pavolović, Mirko Vlasnović, Ilija Lovrić, Filip Bešlić,Stipe Ljubaš,l Vlado Miletić, Vinko Knez, Ivan Prlić, Nikola Antunac, VilimEršek, Vidak Buntić.
[33] Jovan Cvijić, Speaches and Articles, Collected works, Book 3, (volume
1), Serbian Academy of Sciences and Art, Belgrade, 1987.
[34] Ante Herceg and Mustafa Banović, ―Development of Balkan Peoples‖, jun/july 2002, chapter: ―History of Bosnians Serbs‖, Scientif ic journal of
southeastern Europe history, pg. 244-249.
[35] BBC World Service, Bush House, Strand, London WC2B 4PH,UK.
[36] Vasiljevilć, Hadzi Jovan, Muslims of our blood in southSerbia, ―St.Sava‖, Belgrade, 1924. pg. 2.
[37] In order to satisfy religious wants of people of muslim religion, Ante
Pavelić ordered building the mentioned mosque. In order to strenthten his
influence over muslims even more, Pavelić put Adem-aga Mesić in position of his helper, in old times was called procurator.
[38] Alija Izetbegović is war criminal that succeeded to avoid justice thanks to
political circumstanced of that time. Crimes for which he is responsible are
linked to the civil war in B-H in 1992. He is personally responsible for tens
concentration camps in B-H, as well as for bringing Islamic terrorists in B-H.
This prominent Islamic fundamentalist was born on 8. 8. 1925. in Bosanski
Šamac, small town which was at that time part of Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and
Slovenes. In his birth certificate is recorded that Izetbegović family was alleged
as Serbs.
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[39] The delegation was consisted of: the big mufti of Mostar, Omer Dzabić,Ibrahim Fejić, hadzi-Ahmed Karab and Oman Šehić.
[40] In 1943, big mufti of Jerusalem, El Huseini received from Hitler personally
honorary title ―SS Gruppenführer ‖.
[41] These cultural-historical swindles and malpractices are, unfortunately
accepted by numerous muslim intellectuals from B-H, and as a result, this Nazi
propaganda and ambition has remained active in so called ―muslim intellectualcircles‖ in B-H till today.
[42] German forces were under the command of general Paulo Bader, who was
at the top of the 21st
mountain corpus which included: 1. the Mountain division;2. 100th Jaeger division; 3. 297th Infantry division.
[43] ― the ―Young Muslims‖ is the organization similar to ―As-Subhan Al-
Muslimun‖ or ―Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimun‖. One of the five key points of the―Young Muslims‖ program is ―an insisting on unity of muslim world though thecreation of the big muslim state on an international level‖.
[44] On the first multi party democratic elections in B-H in the beginning of theyear 1990, the majority of the votes of muslim population of B-H has got
tradesman Fikret Abdić. However, avaling himselif with the election teft andmanipulations Alija Izatbegović has secured his place as the president of B-H.
[45] The entry of criminal denouncement against Alija Izatbegović, Naser Obrić,and Sefer Halilovi, was submited by the foreign comission of law experts of
Republika Srpska in 1996, to the International Criminal Tribunal for
former Yugoslavia.
[46] Alija Izatbegović: His background and philosophies. A briefing paper
produced for Members for the 1992/3 Session of the British Parliament , Monday
21 December, 1992.
[47] Bodansky, Yossef, Target America, SPI Books, 1993, pg. 2 – 3.
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[48] Partnering for the enemy acts, article 133, state 2 of Criminal law of former
SFRJ and criminal act of the enemy propaganda of article 133, state 1 of
Criminal law.
[49] Briefing paper produced for Members for the 1992/3 Session of the British
Parliament , Monday, December 21, 1992.
[50] Far more radical in its appearance and views is organization ―Youngmuslims‖ to which Alija Izatbegović himself belonged.This extreme Islamic
organization bases its standpoints on the thesys that islam is philosopphicaly and
religiously superior religion comparing to other religions. Islam is offered as an
optimal – third – way for public and social arrangement. Because if this kind
of social ground, formed by the acts of the organization like this one and ones
with similar orientation, various radical Islamic orientations options have found
their sympathizers in B-H and Balkans, whose ideologically-pragmatic range of
action spreads from vahabism, Islamic revolution of Iranian type, all the way
until talibanism.
[51] Ataturk, the creator of the modern Turkish state, has introduced and
implemented European laws in Turkey (by the Swiss legislation model),
and Turkey itself he saw as the strong national state.
[52] See: Trifunović, Darko, Islamic Fundamentalists, Global Network - Modus
Operandi - Model Bosnia, Republican Secretariat for Relations with the
International Crimes Tribunal in Hague & Investigation of War Crimes, Banja
Luka, 2002. In contrast to the countries where they are minority, in the countries
where they are majority, Islamic fanatics are discriminating people who belong
to other religions by initiating the Laws of Sheriyat and other methods, affecting
the conditions of non-muslim people‘s life impossible, and are causing them tomove out, or are affecting the non-muslim population to decrease in number
until their complete disappearance.
[53] Miloev Velko, Салата од глухарцета, Босна между две войни, София,1999, pg. 79 – 80.
[54] Jevtić Miroljub, Jihad- modern jihad as a war, New book,Belgrade, pg. 41.
Prof. dr. Miroljub Jevtić is seen as one of the best experts of islamicfundamentalism in Serbia.
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[55] One of the first announcements of Jihad, ―the holy war‖ against non-
muslims, for B-H was in Istanbul in year 1804. With that fatva, muslims around
the Balkans were called upon to go in Jihad against rebellious Serbs, and that
they (vassals) may be killed like foreign enemies.
[56] Serbian Christian Orthodox Church was not familiar with the possibility
that someone can be Serb if he is of other religion. In contrast to the orthodoxy,
the Catholic Church was permitting this option.
[57] These terms were used by Omar Abdel Rahman, at the time when he was
lecturing at the University ― Al Azhar‖ in Cairo. This blind sheik was teaching
the ―Kuran interpretation‖.
[58] Gabriel A. Mark, Islam and Terrorism, Charisma House, LakeMary, 2002,
pg. 34.
[59] Hazif Muhamed Pandza and Dţemaludin Čaušević, honorable Quran,Reality, Zagreb. 1978, 25/210, pg. 47.
[60] Ibid., pg. 44.
[61] Attachment, photo no. 2.
[62] Elfatih Hassanein is a member of Sudanese National Islamic front. On the
behalf of this party, whose members are mostly Islamic fundamentalists, he was
in charge of carrying out the politics of that party in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Afghanistan, andPakistan. In the year 1987 he establishes so
called: ―humanitarian‖ organization under the name TWRA locatedinVienna. The organization was dealing with illegal import of weapons to B-H,
and was operating from the positions of Islamic fanaticism, while supporting,
among the others, muslim terrorists around the world.
[63] Newspaper Gazi Husrev-beg, which used to be published during 1994
in Kuala Lumpur.
[64] Jevtić Miroljub, Jihad, Modern Jihad as a war, New book,Belgrade, pg. 49.
[65] Ibid., pg.49,footnote.
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[66] In that time SFRJ was one of the leaders od the Movement of nonaligned,
and for that reason a big number of young people have studied in Belgrade and
other university centers, especially youngsters from Islamic countries.
[67] Bodansky, Yossef, Target America, SPI, 1993, pg. 82.
[68] Elfatih al Hasanein obtained diplomatic passport from Sudanafter the
establishment of ―TWRA‖ and was put in the position of Cultural attaché of theembassy of Sudan in Vienna.
[69] Dr. Hassan Abdallah Turabi is a professor in the LawUniversity in
Khartum. He devoted his whole life to the methods of bringing out sheriyat in
muslim countries, as well as the battle against secular muslim regimes. He isconsidered to be very dangerous Islamic fanatic, who have thought the entire
generations of students, among the other, the hatred against others (non-
muslims).
[70] Attachment, document 1.
[71] Dr. Umair al Zubair is known as ―the friend‖ of Bosnia. The friend means
the supporter of the idea of religious Islamic fundamentalism. Together withsheik Saleh al Suhaibani and Alija al Dţurejasi, dr. Zubair have played the key
role in helping to build the terrorist infrastructure of Islamic fundamentalists on
Balkans.
[72] Attachment, document 2.
[73] The documentation of Ministry of Interior of Austria, the Counterterrorism
Department, 5. September 1995
[74] Ibid .
[75] In 1996, tapes were distributed, containing speeches of this islamist which
stress the central role of B-H in spreading islam towards the West.
[76] Islamic spiritual leader who used his connections with Iran in order to bring
vast amounts of veapon in B-H despite the UN embargo.
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[77] Hassan Nasser was convicted in Egypt as one of the planners of the
assassination Egyptian president Anwar Al Sadat in 1981.
[78] Free Bosnia, no. 254, 27. September 2001. By available data, Hassan
Nasser was first stationed in a house in village Mošćenička Draga, and then inan apartmant in Zagreb.
[79] Rosie George, The Directory of International Terrorism, Paragon
House, New York, 1987, pg. 254, 255.
[80] Ibid.
[81] Bodansky, Yossef, Target America, SPI Books, 1993, pg. 141.
[82] Data that the Secretariat of Republic of Srpska Government fot Relations
with the International Crimes Tribunal & Investigation of War Crimes, the data
which is in hands of ―FBI‖, ―CIA‖. FSB, and some other specialized institutionslike JKB, ISSA, ICT, and others.
[83] Darko Trifunović et al., Islamic Fundamentalists, Global Network and
Modus Operandi: Model Bosnia, Buerou od Government of RS, Banja Luka,
2002, pg. 60, 61.
[84] Muhamed Ibrahim al Makavi is former colonel of Egyptian army, who
arrived to Pakistan in 1989.
[85] National security committee (KNB) is national secret service
of Kyrgyzstan, responsible to the president of the country which is represented
on the cabinet-level through the chief of KNB.
[86] Šerali Akbotojev, 33 years old, joined IMU in August 1999, when part of IMU ocuppied area of Batken, Kyrgyzstan, and collected local young men to
join islamic revolution.
[87] Organization IMU was close ally of ―Al Qaeda‖. During 1990s IMU hasorganized several terrorist attacks within Uzbekistan andKyrgyzstan in an
attempt to set up extreme muslim regime in those countries by Taliban model
in Afghanistan.
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[88] Juma Namangani was, by some sources, killed at the end of 2001
in Afghanistan, where he fought on Taliban‘s side.
[89] International Strategic Study Association, GIS, Special report about
organization LIVO.
[90] It often happens that these trained terrorist are sent to different war zones
around the world in order to attain additional training.
[91] Attachment, photo no. 3.
[92] Jamel Lamrani has came to Kosovo and Metohija from station in Konjice,
were yonder mujaheddin were situated. Even though he was representativeof ―Humanitarian‖ organization ―Igasa‖ which finance ―Al Qaeda‖, it is
believed that Jamrani is also connected with terrorist organization ―Dţemijet elFurkan―, which also practised funding ―Al Qaeda‖.
[93] Former mujaheddin leader of extreme Islamic community in Donja
Bočinja – he was identified as key leader of vahabi movement.
[94] Attachment, photo no. 4.
[95] Mujahedin In Macedonia, or, an Enormous Embarrassment For the West ,
by Christopher Deliso, March 12, 2002http://antiwar.com/orig/deliso36.html
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Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Dr Darko Trifunovic - Seven Key Al Qaeda from Bosnia
SEVEN KEY AL-QAEDA MEMBERS
WHO DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY
TOOK PART IN 9/11 AND ARE LINKED
TO BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
• Nawaf al Hazmi, a Saudi. He was a September 11th hijacker. He fought in BiH in 1995.
• Khalid al-Mihdhar, from Yemen. He also was
a September 11th hijacker. He also fought in
BiH with the foreign mujahideen battalion in
Bosnia in 1995
• Sheikh Omar abd-al Rahman (convicted of the 1993 attack on the WTC) was
connected with the so-called humanitarian organization TWRA, which was a
cover for terrorists. Bosnian president Alija Izetbegovic made personal
guarantees for TWRA‘s general director and personal friend Elfatih Hassanein,so he could open an account with Die Erste Osterreich Bank in Vienna, Austria
in 1993.
• Mohammed Haydar Zammar, who recruited Mohamed Atta into Al-Qaeda,
had a terrorist base in Bosnia. Zammar is also responsible for recruiting two of
Atta‘s lieutenants, Ramzi Binalsahib and Said Bahaji.
• Osama bin Laden received a Bosnian passport from the Embassy in Vienna,Austria. Many other Al-Qaeda members were issued B-H passports, which
enabled them to continue their terrorist activities.
• Abu al-Ma‘ali (Abdelkader Mokhtari), a senior Al-Qaeda operative, was
stationed in Bosnia until recently. Just a few years ago, US officials used to call
him ―Osama Bin Laden, Jr.‖
• Bensayah Belkacem was arrested in Bosnia in October 2001. Numbers saved
in his cell phone connected him with at least one top-rank associate of Bin
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Laden.
Al-Qaeda‘s role in radical Islamic activities and events in Bosnia has been
frequently mentioned in US media and official government reports since the
9/11 tragedy.
REPORT OF THE JOINT INQUIRY INTO THE TERRORIST
ATTACKS OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 –
BY THE HOUSE PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON
INTELLIGENCE AND THE
SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE
Posted by dr Darko Trifunovic - US against White Al Qaeda at 10:20 PM
r Darko Trifunovic discover who is Dr. Richard Johnstone
This days over the Internet Bosnian Muslim branch of Al Qaeda started to
post lies about Dr.Darko Trifunovic in order to prevent him to participate
11th European Police Congress.
Behind the name of Richard Johnston is World known terrorist FATEH
KAMEL
One of the favorit lies is as below:
1. Darko Trifunovic - Srebrenica Genocide Denier & "Terrorism Expert"
This is post by phantom Dr. Richard Johnstone. This person do not exist and all
is part of Bosnian radical Muslim propaganda.
In reality it is a case of Internet base murder because behind the name of
Dr.Richard Johnstone, (this name is misuse by terrorist) is world know
terrorist KAMEL FATEH
BEHIND THE NAME DR RICHARD JOHNSTONE IS AL QAEDA
HIGH OPERATIVE AND FUGITIVE KAMEL FATEH –
wanted by Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS)
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So call dr Richard Johnstone spreading lies and waging Internet Jihad against dr
Darko Trifunovic. STOP THE TERRORIST FROM BOSNIA NOW!!!
1. A brief insight into some of the more flowery death threats against
Trifunovic, posted at Bosnjaci.net:This is truly Al Qaeda style. Threats to life is serious crime. We need toinform FBI about this case.
This is not a first time that Bosnian Muslim Mujaheddin misusing theInternet. We call the Jihadinet.
―Help us God to erase Trifunovic and entire his family from Earth - We
must teach our kids from age of 5 how to use pistols and guns, and that
they hold in one hand (knjiga) K u‘ran and in another hand a gun ready for
use - If Darko Trifunovci goes to the 11th Police Congress in Berlin, Godhelp that all Muslims finish him - Such individuals as Darko Trifunovic,we need to harass him, and we need to continue to discredit him by all
means and to very end, until others dare not show up to talk about
terrorism‖
I have no comment on above mentioned threat to life. MURDERS, JUSTA MURDERS
Comment by Bo Line — January 15, 2008 #
1. FROM OC EURO POLICE CONGRESS
Dr Darko Trifunovic
AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT:
Prof. Dr. Darko Trifunovic, University of Belgrade, Faculty of SecurityStudies, informed us that he will not be able to come to Berlin and to
speak at the 11th European Police Congress, since he has been put under
pressure by radical groups. He received very dangerous death threats. For this reason he decided not expose himself and endanger the congress.
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This kind of illegitimate pressure do not belonged to our European culture
or civilization. Furthermore death threat show real face of those extremegroup and we need to pay more attention on them in future.
Comment by General Reimar Scherz — January 12, 2008 #
Early 1990s: Al-Kifah’s Bosnia War Branch Is Connected to TerroristAttacks and Brooklyn Office
Fateh Kamel. [Source: Radio Canada]The Al-Kifah Refugee Center in
Brooklyn has an office in Zagreb, Croatia, also called the Al-Kifah Refugee
Center, and the links between the two are very close. Both are connected to
Maktab al-Khidamat/Al-Kifah in Pakistan, which is an al-Qaeda charity front.Hassan Hakim, deputy director of the Zagreb office, says his office is linkedonly to the Brooklyn office. This is important because the Zagreb office is
closely involved in assisting mujaheddin in the Bosnian war and the Brooklyn
office is closely linked to the CIA, suggesting the CIA could be assisting the
Bosnia mujaheddin through the relationship between Brooklyn and Zagreb
offices. [Washington Post, 3 August 1993.')" onmouseout="returnnd()">Washington Post, 8/3/1993; Al-Qaida\'s Jihad in Europe: The Afghan-
Bosnian Network (New York: Berg Publishers, 2004)., 41.')"
onmouseout="return nd()">Kohlmann, 2004, pp. 41 ] The Zagreb office willremain open after the Brooklyn office is closed in the wake of the 1993 WTC
bombing (see February 26, 1993), as all of the bombers were connected to thatoffice. A Washington Post journalist who visits it in August 1993 describes it as
being ―housed in a modern, two-story building staffed by Arabs who identified
themselves as Algerians.‖ [Washington Post, 3 August 1993.')"
onmouseout="return nd()">Washington Post, 8/3/1993] Like the Brooklyn
office, the Zagreb office appears to be staffed with many militants involved inillegal activities:
Fateh Kamel will reportedly be involved in many attacks and is considered aleader for Ahmed Ressam, who will attempt to bomb the Los Angeles airport
(see December 14, 1999).
Lionel Dumont is involved in numerous al-Qaeda plots, even as far afield as
Japan.
Hocine Senoussaoui is connected with Al-Gama‘a al-Islamiyya and the GIAand will be arrested in France in 1996. [ Al-Qaida\'s Jihad in Europe: The
Afghan-Bosnian Network (New York: Berg Publishers, 2004)., 164, 186, 189,
195.')" onmouseout="return nd()">Kohlmann, 2004, pp. 164, 186, 189, 195 ]
Kamar Eddine Kherbane, head of the Zagreb office, is a known al-Qaeda
operative as well as a leader of an Algerian extremist group, and allegedly will
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be involved in the 9/11 attacks (see September 18-20, 2001).
Hassan Hakim. A 1996 CIA report will say that he is a senior member of
Algerian extremist groups and was arrested in France for weapons smuggling in
July 1994.
In 1996, a CIA report will say that an Algerian national connected to theZagreb office is ―preparing for an unspecified terrorist attack in Europe…‖[ CIA Report.')" onmouseout="return nd()">Central Intelligence Agency, 1/1996 ]
1992: Bin Laden’s Main Charity Front in US Turns Focus to Supporting
Bosnian War
―A Call for Jihad in Bosnia‖ flyer published by the Al-Kifah Refugee Center‘sBoston branch.[Source: Public domain]The Al-Kifah Refugee Center inBrooklyn, New York, is al-Qaeda‘s main foothold in the US and most of the1993 WTC bombers are closely tied to it. It had been formed in the 1980s to
send militants to fight in Afghanistan and also help veteran fighters settle in the
US (see 1986-1993). But the Afghanistan war against the Soviets ended in early
1989 and the winning factions soon began fighting amongst themselves(see February 15, 1989). But a new cause is on the horizon as Yugoslavia starts
falling apart. By 1991, the center‘s parent organization in Pakistan, Maktab al-
Khidamat(MAK)/Al-Kifah begins setting up al-Qaeda charity fronts in theBosnia region (see 1991). The main regional MAK/Al-Kifah branch in Zagreb,
Croatia, is also called the Al-Kifah Refugee Center like the Brooklyn branch andhas very close ties with that branch (see Early 1990s). In 1992, war breaks out in
Bosnia (see April 6, 1992) and the Al-Kifah Refugee Center in Brooklyn shifts
its focus fully to the Bosnia cause. For instance, the Boston branch publishes ―ACall for Jihad in Bosnia.‖ It claims that more than 100,000 Bosnians had beenkilled and that thousands of Muslim girls had been kidnapped and kept in
Yugoslav army camps for sex. It urges readers who wish ―to provide the
emerging jihad movement in Bosnia with more than food and shelter‖ to sendtheir donations to Al-Kifah. And just as Al-Kifah led the effort to send US-based
militants to fight in Afghanistan, it appears to do the same for Bosnia. Vanity
Fair will later claim, ―Dozens and perhaps hundreds of US residents are reported
to have joined appeals to fight the Serbs in Bosnia.‖ [Vanity Fair, March
2005.')" onmouseout="return nd()">Vanity Fair, 3/2005] The head of the Al-
Kifah Refugee Center‘s Zagreb branch, Kamer Eddine Kherbane, apparently isalso one of the leaders of the mujaheddin fighters in Bosnia around this time
(see 1990 and 1991). The CIA had ties to Al-Kifah during the Afghan war
(see Late 1980s and After ) and there is some circumstantial evidence of US
government ties to it during the Bosnia war. In 1992, Ali Mohamed, a double
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agent and ex-US Special Forces officer with close ties to Al-Kifah, leads a group
of US militants who are all ex-US soldiers to train and fight in Bosnia
(see December 1992). Abu Ubaidah Yahya, an ex-US marine and security chief
at the Brooklyn branch, will lead a second group of US militants to fight in
Bosnia (see Spring 1993).