Bosnia Struggles to Control 'Rebel' Mosques

A number of 'unofficial' mosques - some accused of fostering terrorism - still refuse to accept the authority of the Bosnian Islamic Community, raising the spectre of state intervention.

The leader of the IZ Husein Kavazovic | Photo: Islamska Zajednica

A total of 22 “unofficial” mosques operate beyond the control of Bosnia’s official Islamic Community, the IZ, some of which are reportedly connected to the radicalisation of Bosnian Muslims and their conversion to the cause of Islamic jihad.

The inability of the country’s official Islamic institutions to deal with the issue has also raised questions about possible intervention by state authorities.

“Bosnian institutions can only deal directly with this topic where there is evidence that these ‘unofficial mosques’ promote radicalisation and are somehow connected to terrorism,” Goran Kovacevic, professor at the Sarajevo Faculty of Criminal Science and security expert, told BIRN on Monday.

According to Kovacevic, the issue for now should be considered an internal matter of the Islamic Community and the state should not mingle with religious affairs. “The IZ has enough resources to solve this quarrel autonomously”, Kovacevic argued.

During the past three months, Bosnian IZ actively engaged to re-establish its authority over dozens of “unofficial” mosques, locally known as paradzemati – para-mosques – whose leaders and believers operate outside its authority.

So far, however, its effort has borne little fruit. During its last session over the weekend in Sarajevo, the Council of the IZ adopted a final report on the negotiations conducted so far, noting that only 14 of the rebel groups had accepted its authority.

“The IZ has conducted negotiations with a total of 38 groups … of these, 14 decided to sign the protocol and be included in the Community … [whereas] 22 of these groups did not sign this protocol”, the report reads, stating that the talks have now “formally ended”.

The need to regain control over these communities has increased owing to fears that Bosnian jihadist fighters had been radicalised in these unofficial mosques.

Representatives of the free mosques have denied such accusations, claiming that they are only asking to pray following their own rules.

“Our intentions are pure … we don’t want to endanger anything or anyone, just as we don’t want anybody to endanger our serenity and those freedoms that are granted to every Bosnian citizen,” leaders of these parallel communities wrote in a letter to the IZ in late February.

However, Bosnia’s Minister of Security, Dragan Mektic, has warned that the security forces are ready to take responsibility for the issue if the Islamic Community is not able to regain control over these communities on its own.

“If they are excommunicated from the IZ, they become a problem of the state,” Mektic told the media on Sunday.

The para-mosques “are exhibiting extreme nationalism without recognising the law … and they will be dealt with for sure by the security organs of the state”, he added.

A source from the Ministry of Security confirmed to BIRN that the ministry is considering its own actions to control the para-mosques.

“If no solution is found in the near future, the Bosnian authorities will probably agree on an action strategy together with the IZ, especially against those communities that are in connection with radicalisation,” the source said.

Goran Kovacevic, however, said that the issue remained extremely sensitive.

“Everybody has the right to practice his religious convictions freely,” Kovacevic noted, adding that “further dialogue will be required to find a solution for this.”