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### Viewing cable 09SARAJEVO103, BOSNIA - GOOD BOSNIAKS, BAD BOSNIAKS, GOOD

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
09SARAJEVO103 | 2009-01-27 09:09 | 2010-12-09 21:09 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Sarajevo

`

    VZCZCXRO2610
    RR RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSR
    DE RUEHVJ #0103/01 0270934
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    R 270934Z JAN 09
    FM AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9586
    INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
    RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
    RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
    RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
    RUEKJCS/JCS WASHINGTON DC
    RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 SARAJEVO 000103

    SIPDIS

    EUR/SCE FOR FOOKS, STINCHCOMB, HYLAND; NSC FOR HELGERSON

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/22/2019
    TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL BK
    SUBJECT: BOSNIA - GOOD BOSNIAKS, BAD BOSNIAKS, GOOD
    MUSLIMS, BAD MUSLIMS

    SARAJEVO 00000103 001.2 OF 003

    Classified By: DCM Judith Cefkin, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

    ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Amid resurgence over the past two years of
    politics dogged by nationalist rhetoric, some Bosniak
    (Muslim) political actors have sought to portray themselves
    as more capable of protecting Bosniak interests than their
    opponents. One aspect of this tussle is an
    increasingly-visible rift in the Bosniak community that
    centers on what it means to be a "good" or "bad" Bosniak.
    "Good Bosniaks," according to this sentiment, are those who
    espouse conservative political and religious ideals. More
    moderate and secular ideals are, by implication, held by "bad
    Bosniaks." Statements from the Islamic Community,
    particularly its leader, Reis Ceric, that label those who
    criticize Islamic Community as "Islamophobic" have sharpened
    this polarization among Bosniaks. Bosnia's
    largest-circulation and most influential pro-Bosniak daily,
    Dnevni Avaz, has also increasingly championed "good Bosniak"
    causes and unscrupulously attacked Bosniaks and Bosniak
    institutions (including a rival, more secular Bosniak daily)
    that disagree with it. This press war, sparked largely by
    Avaz's business interests, has helped the intra-Bosniak
    debate gain traction more quickly and more broadly than it
    might otherwise. Depending on the path the debate takes, it
    has the potential, over the longer-term, to steer Bosniak
    politics in a more conservative direction, which would
    complicate efforts to forge the compromises among Bosniaks,
    Serbs, and Croats necessary to secure Bosnia's future. END
    SUMMARY.

    Protectors of Bosniak
    ---------------------

    ¶2. (C) In a time of international reluctance to engage
    heavily in Bosnia -- coupled with Bosnian Serb and Croat
    attempts to establish maximal autonomy for themselves --
    Bosniak fears of isolation and abandonment have escalated.
    The perception of the risks to the Bosniak community among
    average Bosniaks is genuine, grounded largely in the fact
    that Bosniaks were the most aggrieved ethnic group during the
    1992-95 war and that their plight was ignored by the
    international community. Reflecting these fears, many
    Bosniak political leaders over the past two years have
    campaigned on the idea that they are better able to protect
    Bosniak interests than their rivals. At the same time, they
    have framed debate on specific policies within their Bosniak
    constituency in existential terms. Bosniak member of the
    Tri-Presidency Haris Silajdzic has been the Bosniak political
    leader most willing to appeal to these fears -- in fact, he
    has often deliberately stoked them -) but others, including
    Party for Democratic Action President Sulejman Tihic and
    Social Democratic Party leader Zlatko Lagumdzija at times
    have also done so.

    Reis Ceric Helps Mold Bosniak Identity
    --------------------------------------

    ¶3. (C) At the same time, the Head of the Islamic Community,
    Reis Ceric, has sought to promote a Bosniak political
    identity rooted in "victimization." He has regularly
    reminded Bosniaks that they are victims of genocide and that
    they suffered more than any other group in the 1992-95 war.
    In a Hayat TV interview on January 11, the Reis claimed that
    following the break-up of the Ottoman Empire, Bosnian Muslims
    had been variously subjected to "phobias" against Turkey,
    Islam, and Bosnia itself. He also alleged that media
    coverage of the alleged threat of Islamic terrorism in Bosnia
    is, itself, motivated by "Islamophobic" media and "is, in a
    way, a preparation for a new genocide on Bosniaks." The Reis
    has, by all accounts, succumbed to the political fray,
    criticizing or praising Bosniak leaders as he feels
    appropriate. His public comments about Bosniak identity and
    Bosniak suffering have clearly been aimed at shaping Bosniak
    political discourse as well as the positions adopted by the
    country's leading Bosniak political parties.

    ¶4. (C) The Reis has also sought to define Bosniak identity in
    religious terms and has publicly implied that to be a "good
    Bosniak" one must be a "good Muslim." He has supported
    policies that are controversial among more secular Bosniaks,
    such as introducing religious education into kindergarten
    classes. Ceric has also made use of his public profile and
    media access to attack critics of his agenda, often implying
    that his position places him above criticism. In one

    SARAJEVO 00000103 002.3 OF 003

    interview, Ceric claimed that while he personally welcomed
    constructive criticism, criticism of Islam itself was
    impermissible. (Note: Ceric clearly intends to be the sole
    judge of when criticism of him or his administration becomes
    a criticism of Islam. His past responses to other critics
    inside and outside the Islamic Community suggest as much.
    End Note.)

    "Islamophobes" are Everywhere
    -----------------------------

    ¶5. (C) The Islamic Community has increasingly condemned
    attacks against itself as anti-Islamic, and as undermining
    Bosniaks in Bosnia. A November op-ed in the Sarajevo-based
    daily Oslobodjenje touched on some controversial projects
    undertaken by the Islamic Community, particularly the Reis'
    new offices -- now under construction -- which are rumored to
    be extremely costly. The article also criticized the Reis,
    as the head of the Islamic Community. In response, the
    Islamic Community was quick to demonize its critics and imply
    that their opposition made them "bad Bosniaks." An Islamic
    Community statement declared the paper's stance to be,
    "...nothing but a continuation of the genocidal politics
    designed to wipe the BiH Muslim off the face of the Earth...
    the Reis' office is very much surprised by the Islamophobic
    editorial policy of Oslobodjenje." (Note: Ceric and the
    Islamic Community may be using the "heavy artillery" of
    insinuating Islamophobia to defend a weak spot, specifically,
    the widespread perception that his administration has been
    fiscally irresponsible. End Note.)

    Santa Claus Didn't Come to Town
    -------------------------------

    ¶6. (SBU) Even Bosniak children are not immune to political
    efforts to shape the Bosniak identity. There has been a push
    to introduce Islamic religious education in all
    kindergartens, a move that one respected professor (known to
    be an outspoken critic of the Reis) from the Faculty of
    Islamic Sciences defined as a "crime against children."
    Similarly, the director of Sarajevo's state-funded preschools
    attempted to ban Djeda Mraz (Grandfather Frost) in 2007,
    arguing that Sarajevo is predominantly Muslim and that Djeda
    Mraz is not part of the Muslim tradition. (Note: Modeled on
    Santa Claus, Djeda Mraz emerged in Yugoslavia after World War
    II as a secular figure who gave gifts to children of all
    religions. End Note) Secular-minded Sarajevo citizens saw the
    snubbing of Djeda Mraz as an attempt to define for children
    what it means to be "good" Muslims and organized protests and
    petitions against the proposed ban. The outrage of Sarajevo
    citizens was best captured in the editorial comment of FTV's
    news program 60 Minutes. The show's host, Bakir
    Hadziomerovic, characterized the director of the public
    institution "Children of Sarajevo," Razija Mahmutovic, as the
    fiercest opponent of Djeda Mraz. Taking on an ironic tone,
    Hadziomerovic sarcastically proposed that Mahmutovic
    introduce the figure of "Santa Alija," in reference to the
    elder Izetbegovic. In both cases mentioned here (early
    religious education and banning of Djeda Mraz), the secular
    position lost out.

    Popular Paper Religiously Pursues Bosniak Interests
    --------------------------------------------- ------

    ¶7. (SBU) The definition of a "good Bosniak" as one who is
    politically and religiously conservative has also been
    increasingly propagated by the country's largest-circulation,
    pro-Bosniak daily, Dnevni Avaz. Over the past several
    months, Fahrud Radoncic, owner of Avaz and its associated
    businesses, has engaged in a crusade to "protect Bosniak
    interests," primarily as part of an effort to undercut its
    opponent, the more secular Oslobodjenje. While Avaz and
    Oslobodjenje have had a long-running rivalry centered more on
    business competition than ideology, Radoncic's recent
    statements represent a clear raising of the stakes. In a TV
    interview on November 30, Radoncic accused his opponents --
    including a number of media outlets -- of "destroying
    Bosniaks" through attacks on, as he put it, the three key
    pillars of Muslim faith in Bosnia: the Islamic Community and
    Reis Ceric; the memory of Alija Izetbegovic, as personified
    by his son Bakir; and Avaz itself. On December 30, Avaz
    labeled Ceric a true representative of the Bosniak people,
    adding "...those who attack Reis Ceric would like to see a
    situation like before, when the state was appointing the Reis

    SARAJEVO 00000103 003.2 OF 003

    so that he would listen to the state, thus destroying the
    institution of Islam and the Islamic Community."

    ¶8. (C) Radoncic has also not shied away from exploiting his
    position as owner to influence how Avaz presents issues. The
    December 29 edition of Avaz carried a front page article that
    slammed those who opposed the construction of a new
    administrative building for the Islamic Community and
    accusing them of seeking to put the Islamic Community under
    their political control, to diminish its power, or to destroy
    it. Avaz plainly misrepresented facts related to the
    project, and made use of extensive purple prose in negatively
    characterizing opposition to the project. The following day,
    Avaz continued its offensive against "the enemies of Islam"
    with a full-page interview with Enver Imamovic, a professor
    of history at the Philosophy Faculty in Sarajevo. Imamovic
    condemned public attacks against the Islamic Community and
    Reis Ceric, declaring, "Let us not forget what the Islamic
    Community meant to our people in the past war. This was the
    institution around which Bosniak people gathered."

    Comment
    -------

    ¶9. (C) In an atmosphere of pessimism, created and fueled by a
    lack of political or economic progress in the country,
    insisting on the importance of being a proper Bosniak is
    gaining momentum as a political tool. Lending credence to,
    and most likely feeding, this discourse is increasingly
    audacious nationalism among Bosnian Serbs and, to a lesser
    extent, Bosnian Croats. A growing fear of isolation appears
    to be providing fodder for political actors, which they can
    exploit to urge Bosniaks to rally around their leadership and
    agenda, which some politicians, the Reis and the opportunist
    Radoncic, have sought to define in conservative and more
    religious terms. Depending on how this debate plays out,
    Bosniaks politics could take an increasingly conservative
    political trajectory. The outcome of this intra-Bosniak
    debate will likely take considerable time to play out, but
    its outcome will almost certainly shape public perceptions of
    who is fit to lead and to speak for Bosniaks, an ethnic group
    whose sense of identity is still in flux. With all three
    sides of the ethnic divide retreating to ethnic-based
    politics, the prospects of compromises necessary for Bosnia's
    future become much dimmer.
    ENGLISH

`