WAHHABISM IN BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA - Part 5

WAHHABISM AT THE DOORSTEPS OF EUROPE

Aktivna Islamnka Omladina (Active Islamic Youth, or AIO) weekly print and on line publication SAFF Magazine

WAHHABI LINKS TO INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM.

 By Juan Carlos Antúnez

The potential threat of terrorism in BIH is totally linked to the spread of extremist religious ideas in the country. Despite the fact that Wahhabism and Terrorism must not be merged, most people detained in BIH because of suspected terrorist activities have also been linked to Wahhabi groups. Wahhabi communities are used by terrorist networks to recruit new members, to provide logistic bases for transient terrorists and as a front to cover their activities.

Different articles appearing in local and international mass media have commented about the role of BIH in different issues related with international terrorist networks. Most of this information is unconfirmed. The substance of follow-on media coverage is variously both true and false. Terrorist cells are no less likely to be present in BIH than in any other state. BOSNIAN Serb and Serbian media outlets regularly misappropriate such reporting, and the information is generalized to the point of suggesting that BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA  (BIH) is a significant threat to ethno-national security because it allegedly harbours foreign Islamic terrorists. This is nationalist propaganda that deliberately obscures the facts in two areas: first, the symptoms of global security threats are confused with the causes of BOSNIAN state weakness; and second, deliberate state-level support to terrorism rather than the weak state’s inability to police itself. 

POTENTIAL FOR INSTABILITY EXISTS IN BIH, FOSTER BY CERTAIN NGOS, RADICAL COMMUNITIES AND THE CITIZENSHIP ISSUE.

The terrorist phenomenon in BIH is no more developed, and the risk of a terrorist attack is not higher than in other parts of the world. It is possible to assess that the international presence in BIH, the growing interest of local and foreign police agencies in this issue, especially after September 11th, and the special characteristics of the Muslim population have reduced the possibility of the establishment of a Jihadi base in BIH. But it is necessary to remark that the potential for instability exists in BIH, for example, the presence of some NGOs, some radical communities, the citizenship issue, the historical links between BIH and some suspicious countries and the problem of a weak border control, may provide an environment suitable for such establishment to occur, in a significant and widespread way.

Though Islamic terrorist acts cannot be excluded from BIH, it is assessed that they are very unlikely. Until now there has never been a direct threat against the International Community (IC) in BIH. Taking into account the reported long-term goal of the major ‘Islamic players’ to turn BIH into an Islamic society, it is considered that a terrorist attack in BIH could have a negative impact on achieving this goal. The predicted reaction of the IC might change the now favorable environment significantly.

According to different sources BIH is used by international terrorist organizations mainly for the following purposes:

- Islamic bridgehead in to Europe,

- Logistic base,

- Recruiting base,

- Rest and recuperation area

- Transit country.

REPORTS IN LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIA KEEP PERSISTENTLY EMERGING OF ALLEGED PRESENCE OF TERRORIST TRAINING CAMPS IN BIH.

Various analysts and commentators have offered wildly differing opinions on the implications of individual foreign terrorists being present in BIH, while local authorities have denied that there are any terrorist training facilities operating in BIH. Because extremely limited international and domestic collection assets and capabilities, there is insufficient information available to confirm or deny the presence of paramilitary training camps in BIH. The focus on ‘training camps’ however is, in part, a red herring. 

RUGGED TERRAIN OF BIH NOT NECESSARILY THE GATEWAY FOR CLANDESTINE TRAINING CAMPS.

Although BOSNIAN terrain is extremely rugged and suitable to clandestine insurgent-style operations, known extremists have also conducted training in classrooms, prison cells, sporting clubs, and via the Internet. Such approaches to training do not require open-air facilities, cleared fields, firing ranges, tented camps, or sites otherwise identifiable in military terms. Summer youth camps are often reported as terrorist training camps. Although the potential for indoctrination exists at such locations, they are not the same as paramilitary facilities used for training in terrorist methods and equipment.

According to 2006 Country Reports on Terrorism, released by the Office of the US Coordinator for Counterterrorism:

‘BIH’s Law enforcements organizations cooperated with the UNITED STATES on international counterterrorism. BIH remained a weak state, however, with multiple semi-autonomous centres of power, vulnerable to exploitation as a terrorist safe haven or a potential staging ground for terrorist operations in EUROPE. Nevertheless, there were notable signs of increased local operational capability to combat terrorism and terrorism finance’.

The reports also states that

- ‘BOSNIAN authorities continued to strengthen existing counterterrorism mechanisms and develop new ones. The Inter-Ministerial Counterterrorism Task Force (IMCTF), formed in December 2004, and currently responsible for coordinating all State level institutions with counterterrorism responsibilities, directed two successful terrorism-related deportations in 2006. Despite these successes the Task Force’s operational effectiveness was generally hampered by insufficient coordination, such as infrequent communication and a lack of clear divisions of labour among the agencies’.

- Is also reported the work of the Citizenship Review Commission (CRC).

- The only reported terrorist activity in BIH during 2006 is ‘the trial against the three individuals that were arrested in October 2005 and charged with terrorism, and two others charged with illegal possession of explosives. The charged people were supposedly preparing to attack unspecified European targets’.

- ‘The BOSNIAN organization Aktivna Islamnka Omladina (Active Islamic Youth, or AIO) spread extremist and anti-American rhetoric through its weekly print and on line publication SAFF Magazine.There were indications that AIO conducted youth outreach in BIH during the year and maintained a presence in Western Europe’.

According to this report, it is possible to assess that:

- BIH’s Law enforcements organizations cooperate on international counterterrorism. There are notable signs of increased local operational capability to combat terrorism.

- BOSNIAN authorities continue to strengthen existing counterterrorism mechanisms and develop new ones, although coordination among the different agencies has to be increased.