Posted on 10/02/2006 1:40:31 AM PDT by kronos77
The most recent concern regarding radical Islam in the Balkans is the fear that Al-Qaeda has begun a recruitment campaign of “white Muslims.” The arrest and pending trial of three young men in Bosnia, suspected of planning terrorist attacks on Western targets, has raised questions regarding Bosnia’s vulnerability of becoming a haven for terrorists. The suspects were arrested last October in the Sarajevo suburbs of Butmir and Hadzici.
Since their arrest, Bosnian police has appealed to Scotland Yard and the FBI for forensic assistance to strengthen the case against the men. Jamestown Foundation reports that this particular investigation has extended well beyond Bosnia, signifying the likelihood of a “white Al-Qaeda network” operating across Europe. Though it is highly unlikely that Bosnia would officially support Islamic extremism, it is nevertheless a home to several hundred Arab mujahideen warriors who came to Bosnia during the 1992-95 war to fight on the side of the Bosnian Muslim against the Serbs. Thus, the Jamestown Foundation speculates, Bosnia’s institutional weaknesses, primarily its decentralized power centers, and its wartime history of cooperation with Arab mujahideen could make it an easy and symbolic recruitment point for a new, “white Al-Qaeda” network.
The situation was aggravated by the recent decision by Bosnian authorities to deport 50 naturalized citizens, mostly former Islamic fighters. The Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) State Commission for the Revision of Decisions on Naturalization of Foreign Citizens began its work of reviewing the status of citizens who acquired BiH citizenship between April 1992 and January 2006 in March 2006. Around 1,500 people could potentially be affected by the work of this commission. However, the commission has yet to locate most of the people on its lists, as their coordinates are currently unavailable to the government.
(Excerpt) Read more at balkanalysis.com ...
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Limited Opportunities and the Rise of Islamic Extremism in the North Caucasus, Balkans and Turkey
www.balkanalysis.com | 1 Oct 2006 | Alisa Voznaya
Posted on 10/01/2006 8:57:54 AM EDT by tgambill
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1711575/posts
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