Croat party alleges threats by radical Muslims in Bosnia

Croat party alleges threats by radical Muslims in Bosnia
Agence France Presse -- English - September 23, 2005 Friday 4:35 PM GMT

BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Hercegovina Sept 23 - The main nationalist party representing Bosnia's ethnic Croats on Friday said it was taking court action against a radical Islamic community over alleged threats.

The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) filed a suit against the Wahhabi community in the northeastern region around Brcko, alleging threats, offending the Croat nationality and spreading fear among local Bosnian Croats, the SRNA news agency said.

The report came after members of the Wahhabi community in Gornja Maoca, near Brcko, told a Croatian newspaper that "Croats, as the most radical Christians, should be wiped out as soon as possible" from Bosnia.

The statement sparked fears among Bosnian Croats, who saw it as an open threat.

"We demand that you take the necessary measures to ensure that the perpetrators of this criminal act are prosecuted and punished," said the HDZ lawsuit, which was handed over to local prosecutors in Brcko and the neighbouring town of Tuzla.

Wahhabism is an ultra-orthodox branch of Sunni Islam, originating in 18th century Saudi Arabia.

Most Bosnian Muslims are very moderate, while followers of Wahhabism in Bosnia are often linked with fighters from Islamic countries who came to the the Balkan country for the 1992-1995 war.

They were all supposed to leave the country after the war but an unspecified number of them remained and obtained Bosnian citizenship, mostly by marrying local women.