Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

World

Balkans launch fight against jihadist recruitment

-

With the world on high alert over foreign fighters joining jihadist ranks in Syria and Iraq, Balkan states are launching efforts to clamp down on recruiting in their region, considered fertile ground by Islamists.

Of the more than 20 million people in southeast Europe, more than five million are Muslims, and an economic slump in weak states battered by past wars has fired up some of the disenfranchised.

They live in countries formed from the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, whose economies were devastated by the wars of the 1990s, as well as Albania, one of the poorest states in Europe.

According to local media quoting a recent report of the CIA, hundreds of men from the Balkans have joined the Islamic State (IS) group -- adding to the waves coming from Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.

In Kosovo, a mostly Muslim territory that unilaterally seceded from Serbia in 2008, deep political crisis and endemic corruption has fuelled hopelessness among young people, said Blerim Latifi, an expert on religious issues at the University of Pristina.

"A very important factor is the lack of economic opportunities for youths in Kosovo, which opens the way for brainwashing by opaque groups," he said.

Fuad Ramiqi  chairman of radical Islamic political party (LISBA)  attends a protest in Kosovo capita...
Fuad Ramiqi, chairman of radical Islamic political party (LISBA), attends a protest in Kosovo capital Pristina in August 2014
Armend Nimani, AFP

The indoctrination and recruitment efforts are focused on the poorest among the population as well as on high school students, said Visar Duriqi, a journalist covering issues related to Islam who was recently threatened with decapitation by Kosovo Islamists.

"Radical imams, who often complete their studies in Arab states, are tasked with this. It is financed from abroad. The most preferred targets are high schoolers without perspectives who hope to improve their social status by accepting fanatism," he asserted.

- Imported Islamic doctrines -

In nearby Bosnia, hundreds of Islamist fighters joined Bosnian Muslim forces during the 1992-1995 inter-ethnic war.

After the war, a number of Bosnian Muslims, a normally moderate religious community, adopted doctrines inspired by the strict Saudi brand of Islam called Wahhabism, which was nonexistent in the country before the war.

In parts of Serbia and Macedonia where Muslim populations live, the situation is similar.

"The ideological chasm that opened with the break-up of Yugoslavia has been filled by radical religious programmes and nationalists," Serbian orientalist Darko Tanaskovic said.

Kosovo police during mid-September raids in capital Pristina  when they arrested a dozen imams on su...
Kosovo police during mid-September raids in capital Pristina, when they arrested a dozen imams on suspicion of recruting people to join the jihad in Iraq and Syria
Armend Nimani, AFP

The moderate form of Islam that Balkan Muslims adhered to after the disintegration of Yugoslavia, which had been a mostly secular country, was radicalised in some parts by the brutality of war, he said.

"The conflicts in Bosnia and Kosovo allowed more radical elements, theologians, activists or 'fighters of Allah' to deploy in the region," Tanaskovic said.

"Under certain circumstances these movements could provoke serious problems," he warned. The Balkans for radical Islamists represented "a kind of soft underbelly from where they could act against Europe".

- Crackdown on Islamists -

States in the region have stepped up to counter the growing threat of radical Islam, making arrests and toughening laws.

Earlier in September, police in Bosnia arrested 16 people on charges of joining European-based Islamists and helping them travel to fight in Syria and Iraq. In April, the country passed a law giving prison terms of up to 10 years for convicted Islamists and their recruiters.

Kosovo's top radical cleric and imam of the Grand Mosque in Pristina  Shefqet Krasniqi leaves c...
Kosovo's top radical cleric and imam of the Grand Mosque in Pristina, Shefqet Krasniqi leaves court on September 17, 2014 his arrest on suspicion of recruting people to join the jihad in Iraq and Syria
Armend Nimani, AFP

In Kosovo, some 55 Islamists were arrested on suspicion of wooing people to join their jihad, including a dozen imams led by a top religious leader, Shefqet Krasniqi of the Grand Mosque in Pristina.

Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia are considering amendments to their criminal codes to make it punishable for their citizens to fight abroad.

In Serbia it will impact not only to possible jihadists but also Serbian Christian Orthodox volunteers, dozens of whom have been fighting in Ukraine, mostly on the side of pro-Russian separatists.

With the world on high alert over foreign fighters joining jihadist ranks in Syria and Iraq, Balkan states are launching efforts to clamp down on recruiting in their region, considered fertile ground by Islamists.

Of the more than 20 million people in southeast Europe, more than five million are Muslims, and an economic slump in weak states battered by past wars has fired up some of the disenfranchised.

They live in countries formed from the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, whose economies were devastated by the wars of the 1990s, as well as Albania, one of the poorest states in Europe.

According to local media quoting a recent report of the CIA, hundreds of men from the Balkans have joined the Islamic State (IS) group — adding to the waves coming from Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia.

In Kosovo, a mostly Muslim territory that unilaterally seceded from Serbia in 2008, deep political crisis and endemic corruption has fuelled hopelessness among young people, said Blerim Latifi, an expert on religious issues at the University of Pristina.

“A very important factor is the lack of economic opportunities for youths in Kosovo, which opens the way for brainwashing by opaque groups,” he said.

Fuad Ramiqi  chairman of radical Islamic political party (LISBA)  attends a protest in Kosovo capita...

Fuad Ramiqi, chairman of radical Islamic political party (LISBA), attends a protest in Kosovo capital Pristina in August 2014
Armend Nimani, AFP

The indoctrination and recruitment efforts are focused on the poorest among the population as well as on high school students, said Visar Duriqi, a journalist covering issues related to Islam who was recently threatened with decapitation by Kosovo Islamists.

“Radical imams, who often complete their studies in Arab states, are tasked with this. It is financed from abroad. The most preferred targets are high schoolers without perspectives who hope to improve their social status by accepting fanatism,” he asserted.

– Imported Islamic doctrines –

In nearby Bosnia, hundreds of Islamist fighters joined Bosnian Muslim forces during the 1992-1995 inter-ethnic war.

After the war, a number of Bosnian Muslims, a normally moderate religious community, adopted doctrines inspired by the strict Saudi brand of Islam called Wahhabism, which was nonexistent in the country before the war.

In parts of Serbia and Macedonia where Muslim populations live, the situation is similar.

“The ideological chasm that opened with the break-up of Yugoslavia has been filled by radical religious programmes and nationalists,” Serbian orientalist Darko Tanaskovic said.

Kosovo police during mid-September raids in capital Pristina  when they arrested a dozen imams on su...

Kosovo police during mid-September raids in capital Pristina, when they arrested a dozen imams on suspicion of recruting people to join the jihad in Iraq and Syria
Armend Nimani, AFP

The moderate form of Islam that Balkan Muslims adhered to after the disintegration of Yugoslavia, which had been a mostly secular country, was radicalised in some parts by the brutality of war, he said.

“The conflicts in Bosnia and Kosovo allowed more radical elements, theologians, activists or ‘fighters of Allah’ to deploy in the region,” Tanaskovic said.

“Under certain circumstances these movements could provoke serious problems,” he warned. The Balkans for radical Islamists represented “a kind of soft underbelly from where they could act against Europe”.

– Crackdown on Islamists –

States in the region have stepped up to counter the growing threat of radical Islam, making arrests and toughening laws.

Earlier in September, police in Bosnia arrested 16 people on charges of joining European-based Islamists and helping them travel to fight in Syria and Iraq. In April, the country passed a law giving prison terms of up to 10 years for convicted Islamists and their recruiters.

Kosovo's top radical cleric and imam of the Grand Mosque in Pristina  Shefqet Krasniqi leaves c...

Kosovo's top radical cleric and imam of the Grand Mosque in Pristina, Shefqet Krasniqi leaves court on September 17, 2014 his arrest on suspicion of recruting people to join the jihad in Iraq and Syria
Armend Nimani, AFP

In Kosovo, some 55 Islamists were arrested on suspicion of wooing people to join their jihad, including a dozen imams led by a top religious leader, Shefqet Krasniqi of the Grand Mosque in Pristina.

Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia are considering amendments to their criminal codes to make it punishable for their citizens to fight abroad.

In Serbia it will impact not only to possible jihadists but also Serbian Christian Orthodox volunteers, dozens of whom have been fighting in Ukraine, mostly on the side of pro-Russian separatists.

AFP
Written By

With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

You may also like:

Tech & Science

Under new legislation that passed the House of Representatives last week, TikTok could be banned in the United States.

Social Media

Wanna buy some ignorance? You’re in luck.

Life

Platforms like Instagram and Pinterest often suggest travel destinations based on your likes and viewing habits.

Business

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said the carrier was reviewing recent incidents and would redouble safety initiatives as needed - Copyright AFP Logan CyrusUnited...