PAVIĆ: RIGHT TIME TO RAISE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD ISSUE IN BiH

BELGRADE, MARCH 30 /SRNA/ – Political analyst Aleksandar Pavić told SRNA that now is the right time to raise the issue of the Muslim Brotherhood organisation's presence in BiH, which SNSD leader Milorad Dodik has called to be declared a terrorist organisation, especially as due to the war in Iran, the US President Donald Trump administration will increasingly focus attention on the radical Islamic factor.

He pointed out that the Trump administration is the first in the post–Cold War period to change the pro-Muslim policy of previous US administrations, which gave priority to the Muslim factor in BiH, first at the expense of Serbs and later of Croats in the FBiH. Pavić noted that US Vice President James David Vance has been particularly vocal about the need to protect Christians around the world wherever possible. "Of course, our interests coincide here, because Alija Izetbegović was indeed a radical Islamist. His Islamic Declaration sought to turn BiH into a Muslim country, essentially turning the clock back to Ottoman times, where Christians would be a disenfranchised people or second-class citizens," Pavić said. Pavić stressed that placing the issue of the Muslim Brotherhood on the agenda gives greater visibility to the struggle, especially of Serbs in BiH, against radical Islamism, adding that this organisation is one of the main carriers of radical Islamist ideology. He says that Republika Srpska supports Israel as a counterbalance to the radical Islamic factor. Commenting on a statement by former Illinois governor and close Trump associate Rod Blagojevich about the possible launch of an investigation into the long-term activities of the Muslim Brotherhood organisation in BiH and their connections with Bosniak politicians, Pavić said such an investigation would be very good and could reveal the roots of the war in BiH. "If the investigation were conducted properly, we would get to the root of why the war in BiH broke out in the first place. It started precisely because of Alija Izetbegović's ambitions - who was indeed closely connected with the Muslim Brotherhood, to turn BiH into an Islamic state," Pavić said. Pavić stated that since the early 1990s Alija Izetbegović had included every possible Islamic factor in support of his policy. "It was not only the Muslim Brotherhood; there were also the mujahideen, Al-Qaeda, Iran, and the ever-present Turkey, as well as generous financial assistance from Malaysia, which later also substantially helped finance the Hague Tribunal," Pavić said. "In simple terms, Islamists from around the world, various currents within Islam, were called for defending Alija Izetbegović, i.e. Islam in BiH. Even today, the interests of various Muslim countries and organisations intersect through BiH," Pavić said. He recalled Izetbegović's statement that he was ready to "sacrifice peace for a sovereign and independent BiH," which would ultimately fit into the vision he outlined in the Islamic Declaration.