tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23301331.post3752361163262444074..comments2023-10-28T05:02:10.442-04:00Comments on Americans For Bosnia: "Balkan Idols" by Vjekoslav Perica [20]Kirk Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06879908614214050994noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23301331.post-298412196882826142007-11-26T09:36:00.000-05:002007-11-26T09:36:00.000-05:00Daniel, Perica's book is rather sober and thorough...Daniel, Perica's book is rather sober and thoroughly documented. Maybe I am not doing him justice, but unless you want to hunt down a copy yourself, you'll just have to trust me on this--he does not make gratuitous or unsubstantiated claims.<BR/><BR/>At any rate, I'm a little surprised that you seem to be implying there were no Al Qaeda elements in Bosnia during the war. This has been fairly well-documented, and the Bosnian government has even acknowledged that many visas were handed out to various foreign fighters without stringent safeguards. Is there any doubt in your mind that there were at least several hundred mujahideen in Bosnia? <BR/><BR/>----------<BR/><BR/>As for your comments about Ceric--my brief synopsis probably does not do justice to Perica's version of events. He does give Ceric credit for some of his more tolerant comments and actions later, and he most certainly does not equate Ceric to some of the hate-mongering Christian clerics in Croatia and Serbia. My choice of the phrase "hard-line", given the context and my use of that same phrase when describing ultranationalists in the region, was probably ill-considered.<BR/><BR/>Ceric did speak out against mixed marriages and pushed for some other "Islamist" measures. A more accurate account on my part would have been something like "Ceric was rather more fundamentalist than Bosnian culture had been previously," or something along that line.<BR/><BR/>As for the awards he has received, I would like to know more about them--Perica notes that prominant individuals of all three "national churches" have received similar recogntion from foreign governements and NGOs which remain naively ignorant of the pernacious effect religious institutions had in the region.Kirk Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06879908614214050994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23301331.post-87327573135252104022007-11-22T22:59:00.000-05:002007-11-22T22:59:00.000-05:00Quote: "...Mustafa Ceric proved to be a hardliner....Quote: "...Mustafa Ceric proved to be a hardliner..."<BR/><BR/>Perica is distorting facts. Mustafa Ceric is considered as one of the most liberal Grand Muftis in the world. He is fluent in English and Arabic. <BR/><BR/>Mustafa Ceric is the co-recipient of the 2003 UNESCO Felix Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize for Contribution to World Peace and recipient of the International Council of Christians and Jews Annual Sir Sternberg Award for exceptional contribution to interfaith understanding. One of the latest international recognitions he received is 2007 Theodor-Heuss-Stiftung award for his contribution to spreading and strengthening democracy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23301331.post-14381756368201886202007-11-13T19:56:00.000-05:002007-11-13T19:56:00.000-05:00Quote: "By 1995, there were nearly 200 Islamic org...Quote: "By 1995, there were nearly 200 Islamic organizations operating in Bosnia-Herzegovina, including Hamas and Al Qaeda."<BR/><BR/>Yeah right. Can he provide single piece of evidence corroborating his claims? By evidence, I don't mean endless fonts and arguments - I need material evidence, which he does not have.Srebrenica Genocidehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04537958649391909339noreply@blogger.com