Original scientific paper
Radical Islam on Europe’s Frontier - Bosnia & Herzegovina
Steven Oluic
Abstract
President Bush warned in a 2005 address to the National Endowment for Democracy that one of Islamism's goals is a trans-national Muslim theocracy, technically a Caliphate - "a radical Islamic empire that spans from Spain to Indonesia." Bosnia and Herzegovina is located at this expansive Caliphate’s frontier, representing a legitimate radical Islamic threat to the region. The ethno-religious nature of the 1990s Bosnian civil war introduced materiel, moral and financial support from oil-rich Islamic Gulf states to support the beleaguered Bosnian Muslim government - with it came Saudi and Wahhabi influence. More importantly was the entrance of Islamic foreign fighters, or mujahadeen, bringing radical Islamic ideologies and, according
to some sources, the Al Qaeda network into Europe itself. The growth and spread of Bosnia’s radical Islam, although limited, can be seen in activities of Saudi sponsored Islamic institutions, the presence of mujahadeen, and the recent arrests of Bosnians implicated in planning and sponsoring terrorist attacks. Even though the International Community is focused on Iraq and Afghanistan as the US struggles in the Global War on Terror, the Balkans, with its historical linkage to Islam and recent radical Islamic activity merits
close scrutiny. This paper investigates the distinct historical and spatial pattern(s) associated with the growth and phenomena of Bosnia’s radical Islam and concludes with a discussion of the actual threat emanating from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
21138
URI
Publication date:
1.3.2008.
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