ĆOSIĆ: ACTIONS OF RADICAL ISLAMISTS ALARMS THE PUBLIC

SARAJEVO, August 14 /SRNA/ - Zdenko Ćosić, a delegate of the Croat Caucus in the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, told SRNA that calls by radical Islamists to Bosniaks for joint prayer in Široki Brijeg, accompanied by armed men, alarms the public, adding that the lack of reaction from the Islamic Community of BiH is an additional cause for concern.

Ćosić said that such actions are an abuse of faith and believers.

"This is merely an unnecessary attempt to disturb the public. Attempts at such gatherings have no honest intentions, nor do they have anything to do with the practice of religion," Ćosić said, commenting on the intentions of Sanin Musa, who today, despite a police ban, planned to lead around 1,000 Muslims in joint prayer in Široki Brijeg, for which he was questioned at the premises of the Federal Police Administration.

Ćosić said it was expected that the gathering would not take place and that people would not respond.

"Such attempts pollute relations among people," Ćosić stressed.

He noted that concern can be seen among the people of Široki Brijeg, although some speak of it mockingly.

Ćosić expressed disappointment that no one from the Islamic Community of BiH spoke out to protect believers.

"They know and have condemned such attempts before. I have not heard anyone speak out now, and I think it would be good for the believers," said Ćosić.

Musa's call for a mass religious service came after the release of a video allegedly showing a man in downtown Široki Brijeg forbidding a Muslim woman to pray.

Musa did not abandon his plan to go to Široki Brijeg with a group of like-minded individuals to pray in a public place, despite the local police banning the gathering. A certain Muamer Hasanagić called on Bosniaks to be armed escorts to those planning to hold the mass prayer service in Široki Brijeg on the eve of the Catholic holiday of the Assumption of Mary.

On several occasions, Musa has been the subject of police checks, most often in connection with unannounced or banned gatherings, and his rhetoric and activities frequently provoke divided reactions.