Zagreb, February 24, 2003 (IKA) — The president of the Islamic community in Croatia, Mufti Sevko Omerbasic, in an interview with the daily Croatian newspaper Vjesnik (Sunday, February 23), spoke about the eventual Anglo-American attack on Iraq, expressing the fear that terrorism will become “even more vampire-like.” He predicted that the relations between Christians and Muslims will deteriorate to a certain extent if the war occurs. These relations, in his opinion, will not worsen dramatically but it is indisputable that they will become more strained. In the religious sense, Christians and Muslims understand that they are fairly helpless to influence political currents, which are directed by other structures, explained the Rev. Omerbasic.
In reference to the Vatican position regarding the Iraqi crisis, he said that the Pope has always been among the foremost champions of peace and calls attention to the most serious potential consequence of the war, how it will be comprehended by the Islamic world of a billion and three hundred million members. There is a real danger that the relations between the Islamic world and the West will deteriorate dangerously. The Mufti said that for him this was the most lucid warning concerning the consequences of the war.
In response to a question concerning his attitude toward the fact that Croatia in principle supports US policies regarding the Iraq crisis, and not the French-German-European axis, he said that he does not consider this decision to be unfriendly toward the Arab and Islamic world but as one of the obligations that the Croatian Government has undertaken as a part of the international community. Iraq and its disarmament are problems of the United Nations, and this must be understood, regardless of what we think about American intentions in the war against Iraq, said Mufti Omerbasic. However, he stated that the Government should support a position similar to that of President Mesic, especially because these days it has submitted a request to the European Union for membership, noting that France has sharply rebuked several candidates from Eastern Europe.
In the interview, Mufti Omerbasic referred to the crime in Kostajnica (on Christmas Eve 2002, a murderer who asserts that he was acting from religious motives killed three members of the Catholic Anđelic family) and the burning of a Christmas nativity scene in Mostar, noting that the Islamic communities in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia had condemned both acts. He said it was an insult to assert that the crime in Kostajnica was committed by a radical Muslim. It was, in his opinion, committed by a deranged individual and has nothing to do with religion. Regarding the burning of the nativity scene in Mostar, he feels that this act should also be condemned because it is unacceptable to Islam and has no connection whatsoever with the laws of Islam. He emphasized that it is necessary to discourage those among us who condemn others and if extremists do not find support in their own milieu, they will not dare attack.