Dishonest Deals and Betrayal
Like the Arab invasion of the Middle East in mid-7th century AD, the
Ottoman Turks invaded Bosnia in 1386. After many battles and 77
years of continued warfare, Bosnia fell to the Turks. It became a
Turkish province in 1463. Bosnia-Herzegovina being one of the
poorest countries in the Balkans was sold by the Turkish government
and annexed to Hungary in 1908. In the process, Austria-Hungary
gained control of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Monarch’s mentality of the
medieval ages believed in ownership of the serf, bound to the land
of the feudal lord, considering the surf as a commodity.
The European and Turkish elite considered the peasantry part of the
land that the landlords owned. The serfs on the farm were bought and
sold at will, with the land, as domestic animals. Similarly, the
Turks sold Bosnia-Herzegovina to Austria-Hungary lock, stock and
barrel in defiance of the Serbs and disregard to their sentiment.
The foolhardiness of Austria-Hungary did not admit its guilt of
buying Bosnia and Herzegovina for “30 pieces of silver” and treated
its native people as subservient.
In the wake of World War I, Ottoman Turkey began to withdraw from
part of its colonies. Recently, the West, headed by Germany was
committed not to let Bosnia-Herzegovina fall back into the hands of
the Serbs but to keep it separate and give it to other ethnic
groups, rather than return it to its historical owners, the Serbs.
Their intention was to balkanise Yugoslavia by dismembering Serbia.
Later in 1991, after the collapse of communism and break-up of the
Soviet Union, NATO emerged as one of the strongest undisputed world
powers. It rewarded its ally, Turkey, with a long time dream of
helping Bosnia-Herzegovina re-emerge as an independent Islamic
state. First, the West, urged by Germany and headed by the U.S.,
would see Bosnia in the hands of the old Turkish surrogate rather
than return it to its rightful owner, the Yugoslav Serbs. The same
game was played by the Anglo-French against Assyria, and to a
certain extent, against Israel.
Here, NATO obliges. An old pledge comes to fulfilment. To legitimise
ownership of the territory, the West bestows on them the name
Bosnians. The Bosnian Muslims insist that they be identified purely
as Muslims, while the Muslims keep on calling the Catholic
Christians: Croats, and the Orthodox Christians: Serbs, implying
that they have no part in Islamic Bosnia and that they have no stake
in Bosnia as full citizens.
Recently, the media went ahead and coined the name: “Kosovars” for
the ethnic Albanians that occupy Yugoslavia’s Kosovo. By doing so,
they imply that Serbs no longer have the right of jurisdiction over
Kosovo, or residence within the said territory. The Serbs in Kosovo
have diminished in number. The international community cannot
guarantee safety of the Serbs living among the ethnic Albanian
Muslims in the Serb city of Kosovo. Ethnic Albanian ‘Kosovars’ are
demanding that Kosovo be declared exclusively Albanian protectorate,
with a view to creating Greater Albania in the not too distant
future.
Except for the embattled Israel, Islamic Abode of Peace States have
already swallowed up the whole of the Middle East. They have now
turned their attention westward, focusing on the Balkans.
Like its counterpart Islamic states of the Abode of Peace, the
Bosnian government will adopt strict measures to curb the influence
of the Christian Bosnians, be they Croats, Serbs or gypsies. In
recent years, the Bosnian government imposed a total ban on eating
and drinking in public from dawn to dusk, during the Islamic fasting
month of Ramadan. The government closed all restaurants during that
month. It designated only a couple, allowing them to operate during
daytime for the non-believers. It narrowed entertainment schedules
on Radio and TV stations to programs of religious nature. It
introduced Islamic religious teachings in public schools and
directed students of all other religions to observe them as part of
the curriculum.
How could Bosnia survive, integrate and prosper if it continues to
resent Western culture and live in isolation of the European
lifestyle? Bosnian Muslims go to Western style entertainment and
amusement centres, yet criticize them publicly. In Islamic
countries, such businesses and centres are rare. Those that exist
are licensed and allowed to be operated by Christians or non-Muslims
only, in particular, liquor stores and bars. It is against the
Islamic (shari’ah) law to drink, serve or handle alcoholic beverage.
Yet, generally, they turn a blind eye, not because they respect the
Western culture but because people of all cultures consume it, as is
qat to others. (Qat, Khat, Quat – are leaves of the shrub Catha that
are chewed like tobacco or used to make tea; has the effect of a
euphoric stimulant; excitant, intoxicant).
By tradition, Islam looks at such practices as profane and labels
them sacrilegious. Muslim females are forbidden to set foot in such
public places. Yet Muslim males, especially adults frequent them for
lack of such facilities by the Muslim communities when by themselves
at home or abroad. They criticise them publicly and attend them
surreptitiously.
Government policy promotes its own Islamic values and practices. It
does so in order to retain and constantly enliven the image of its
traditional Islamic virtues. Muslims are given the freedom to engage
in any fanciful venture, provided they retain their faith and work
in the interest of Islam, when engaged in a given task. They are
conditioned to draw others into their culture rather than integrate
with other cultures.
No wonder Islamic states in the Abode of Peace condemn
multiculturalism, while in the Abode of War they go along with it
and use it as a smoke screen to machinate their schemes. Muslim
Albanians in Kosovo seem to be adopting the same policy as that of
the Bosnians. Their ultimate aim is to remove all Christian
influence and cleanse Kosovo from Christian imagery, by building new
mosques and closing down unattended churches. The same policy is
being currently applied to the Assyrian and other Christian
communities in the Middle East, North Africa, Indonesia and the rest
of the Islamic states.
By their uncompromising attitude and traditional social behaviour,
Muslims raise suspicion among other community groups. As a result,
certain ethnic groups become ill at ease. Dismayed, people tend to
mix less and eventually withdraw, each into their own social circle.
Finally, the Muslims by continuing to remain callous and maintaining
a hostile stance cause the atmosphere to become filled with mistrust
and animosity. Such a tension-loaded atmosphere leads to provocation
and abuse. Often, government of Islamic states do not miss the
opportunity to indicate to the natives that if they did not adapt to
the inevitable Islamic lifestyle and refused to abide by the Islamic
law, they could pack up and leave. People, of different ethnic
backgrounds become distrustful of one another and withdraw.
A satisfactory form of merger, into a unified secular system of
government, for such different groups in culture, religion and
language, be it in Bosnia or any other Islamic state, would be
nothing less than a miracle. Without secular constitutional
protection and safeguards, the weaker ethnic groups would not be
able to coexist. Non-Islamic ethnic groups fall victim to the
domineering Islamic majority. Since the international community does
not take the plight of the Christian minorities seriously, they stay
away, or try to immigrate to escape maltreatment.
Emergence of countries like Bosnia, as an independent secular state,
resembles a difficult childbirth, overwhelmed with complications. It
is hoped that the labour and efforts of the international community,
headed by the UN and led by the United States (NATO), will bring
forth a healthy and normal model of a parliamentary system,
acceptable to all parties concerned. Its success will set the
example of an acceptable model to other countries of different
ethnic mix, that need to live as equal before the court of civil
law, protecting the rights of each and every individual of either
gender as equal.
Success of Bosnia’s territorial integrity will become a model to be
emulated by other Islamic countries. It is hoped that Bosnia's
ethnically divided secular government will let go of its fanaticism.
That it will exercise tolerance and understanding to bring enduring
peace among its subjects and stability in the region. Otherwise, any
misrepresentation or deviation from a democratic rule will heighten
tension and lead to imminent breakdown of the governing system,
plunging the country into another relapse.
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