Išerić: Our Party Supports Stoking Religious Hatred

Written by: Dr. sci. Enver Išerić

Ivana Marić is a protected person of Our Party. They protect her from, as they say, those who attack freedom of speech, after her post sparked a storm of comments.

“We strongly condemn the hate speech directed at Ivana Marić and the witch hunt launched against her because of a status in which she jokingly comments on the call of Reis-ul-Ulema Mustafa ef. Cerić for believers to pray for rain,” says Our Party.

They further call on politicians to “if they already lack the courage to protect freedom of speech, then they should remain silent about it, and certainly not fuel negative tensions towards anyone.” Now, can you imagine what scoundrels, insolent people and charlatans they are. They want Bosniaks/Muslims, whom Marićka insulted with her impudent performance, to protect her freedom of speech, or at the very least, to remain silent.

Those in Our Party are, as they say, “aware that irony expressed towards any religious phenomenon can cause negative feelings among believers, but we fight for a society in which this fact should not cause fear in anyone to publicly express their opinion about religion, even if it is not to the liking of believers.”

Well, gentlemen, is it moral and normal to provoke someone with your irony and demand that someone not react to it, because that reaction will allegedly cause fear in someone who is ironic and who disturbs and insults believers? Do you even know what you are saying?

That freedom of expressing opinions, and ironic ones at that, feel free to enjoy and use in your narrower or wider society. A society that holds neither faith nor moral human values in high regard. And for attacks of this kind that you support, you will always receive an adequate response. Moreover, do you know about Article 145a of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which prohibits inciting and stoking racial or religious hatred, discord or intolerance among constituent peoples, as well as others living in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

If you did not know, what is stated above is a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment from three months to three years. And Marićka, whom you defend, has committed precisely that criminal offense. And you from Our Party, by your statement, defended Ivana Marić, the perpetrator of a criminal offense, and thereby you have also committed a criminal offense under the same article, specifically paragraph (2), which also prescribes a prison sentence of three months to three years for incitement to violence or hatred.

And instead of writing statements defending individuals who incite religious hatred by attacking the faith and religious feelings of precisely those whose positions in government you have taken, it would be better to direct your energy towards defending the state from secessionists and their helpers. Additionally, you could have procured a firefighting aircraft, because people are obliged to do everything before addressing a prayer to the Creator. Or did you also experience relief and unburdening after the rain fell!?

Finally, I hope you have shown the citizens all your abilities and qualities and that with this mandate you are ending your political activity.