00`02
Serajevo is a gateway to the East. Islam was introduced here with the arrival of the Turks, over five hundred years ago and now 50% of its inhabitants are Muslim. Sarajevo’s Islam is a moderate European version –not the Islamic fundamentalism of further East.
00`20
Businessman Asim Hadziomerovic is a typical exponent of Islam Bosnia style. He runs a wholesale beverage business. He assures us that he goes to the mosque for prayers and observes Ramadan. Bosnian Muslims are quite happy to drink beer as well as stronger alcoholic beverages. It is a good business.
00`40
OT Asim Hadziomerovic, beverage merchant
Unemployment used to be very high here. Now they can afford brandy, whisky and beer. Of course, that is not in accordance with Muslim thought but it is a good business and it enables me to provide my family with a good living.
01`07
But Sarajevo has also a second, more radical side to it. Strict followers of the Koran do not approve of a faith which allows personal interpretation of Islam.
01`25
They adhere to a literal interpretation of the Koran. We are at the house of Abu Hamza, a Syrian religious warrior, who came to Bosnia in the early nineties, to fight against the Serbs. At the time Abu Hamza felt that it was his obligation to defend his brothers in faith. He brought with him his strict moral conventions and sacred practices.
01`49
OT Abu Hamza, former Mujaheddin fighter
Islam has prescribed a Jihad, a holy war. It is mandatory, in order to defend ourselves. If someone should stand in your path when you are spreading Islam then it is your duty to impose it and proceed by use of force. First Islam is offered. If it is rejected and not accepted voluntarily, there is the possibility of negotiation. Failing that, it is open war.
02`15
(Insert top left – ORF Archive)
A rare picture of a Mujaheddin unit on parade during the Bosnian War.1600 fighters from several Arab states.
02`28
The Mujaheddin soldiers had their own unit which fought against the Serbs. They were under the direct command of Al Qaeda, a group still unknown at the time. President Alija Izetbegovic allowed them to operate when there was turbulence and war in his country.
02`47
After the war the Dayton Peace Agreement decreed that the mujahadin should return home. But in reality many remained. They married Bosnian women and settled down, many of them here around Zenica.
03`05
We have an appointment in Zenica prison, where Ali Hamad is serving his twelve year sentence for terrorism offences. Hamad was a Mujaheddin commander. He warns of a sleeper network all over the Balkans. He claims that many fighters from the BosnianWar are still in the country.
03`26
Our interview was called off at short notice. Hamad is afraid. His family’s lives have been threatened.
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03`29
His last public appearance was before a war crimes tribunal on 8 September. Hamad stated that he came under the direct command of Al Qaeda, whose goal is the establishment of an Islamic state in Bosnia.
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03`48
Text insert top left: UN War Crimes Tribunal 08.09.2007
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03`48
OT Ali Hamad, former Mujaheddin Commander
We did not come to Bosnia just to help the Bosnians, although we maintained that publicly. However we had our own goals, which no one in Bosnia knew anything about - neither the Bosnians, nor the Bosnian army, nor President Izetbegovic.
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As far as we were concerned, we were exclusively responsible to Al Qaeda.
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04`11
Today there are still a good four hundred religious warriors in the country. A government commission is trying to identify them but most have gone into hiding and cannot be traced.
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04`24
OT Passer by
They have not helped us, only damaged us. They gradually infiltrated the country. It was public knowledge, even neighbouring countries knew about it. Otherwise they could not have achieved it.
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04’37
Passer By #1
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I think they didn’t come over just to help us. There was something in it for them too. They have the power here. They’ve got their own agenda. It’s not only to help us.
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04’55
Passer By #2
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Just take a look around. Look at what people are wearing: short skirts, bras… They’re half naked. Take this one: also a Muslim!
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05`11
While one Muslim sector in Sarajevo is moderate, the other promotes a more radical version of Islam. The largest mosque in the country, the King Al Fahd Mosque, was built with Saudi money. It cost 20 million Euros.
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Some Bosnians have adopted the life style of Wahabi Islam. They refuse to be filmed. They have been branded terrorists too often.
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05`39
Dzevad Galijasevic feared that Bosnia could become the infiltration point for extremists into Europe. He fights and tries to resist the increasing influence of radicals. As Mayor of a small locality he sold vacant houses of inhabitants who had fled and which the Mujaheddin wanted to take possession of.
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06`00
OT Dzevad Galijasevic, author “The era of terrorism in Bosnia”
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The social situation in Bosnia Herzegovina is complicated. People are dissatisfied. Serbs still treat us arrogantly, especially in the Republic of Serbia. There are not many options on offer and many feel that their only hope of change and rescue lies in Islamic fundamentalism. This is where terrorism comes into its own.
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People like Abu Hamza or Aiman Awads have strong links with radical Islam. They are leaders. For us they are a threat and a danger.
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06`32
On the surface Abu Hamza and his friend Aiman Awads are honest family men. However the Bosnian government regards them as a national danger. It rejected the requests of both for nationality. The former holy warriors expect to be deported to Syria any day.
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Their children and wives would stay on alone in Sarajevo.
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06`55
OT Hibetullah, 10 years old
I feel so unhappy. I keep thinking I shall never see him again.
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07`09
OT Abdurrahman, 11 years old
My father is a very ordinary man. He is no criminal or thief or member of any Mafia. Just a very normal man.
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07`17
OT Aiman Awads, former Mujaheddin fighter
Under the European Convention for Human Rights, Bosnia Herzegovina is obliged to ensure that children live together with their father. My wife has the right to live with her husband. Bosnia is committed to respecting this convention. Should I be expelled, my family would be left alone here.
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07`44
The world famous journalist Esad Hecimovic has been engaged in researching and writing on the Mujaheddin over the last fifteen years. He finds it deplorable that all foreign Muslims are coming under general suspicion. Deportation purely on the grounds of a potential threat is not legally sound.
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08`05
OT Esad Hecimovic, journalist
We do not yet know why our government classifies these people as a national threat. All I know is that the EU requested our government to look into all foreign nationals. It is a condition which has to be accepted if Bosnians are to be granted a way into the EU some time in the future.
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08`29
Do Hamza and Aiwads have to be sacrificed in order to satisfy the Europeans? Are they just pawns in the international war on terror?
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08`40
OT Abu Hamza
The Americans are behaving like cowboys. And all who want to suck up to the Americans say that Abu Hamza is a liability. They have no proof. I have not done anything. That is the way it is.
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08`57
Religious warriors such as Abu Hamza or Aiman Awads have already made plans to fall back on should the need arise. Were an attempt to be made to deport them, foreign Islamic organizations would promptly claim that they have been appointed as their official representatives in Bosnia. Then, they would probably be able to remain where they are.
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09`18
Conclusion
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09`24
The end.
Reporter: Patrick A. Hafner
Camera: Almir Caucevic
Editor: Elisabeth Madjera