Islamic Community not aware of party activities: SDA misused mosques

The Riyaset of the Islamic Community in BiH stated that they have no evidence that any official of the Islamic Community in BiH promoted any political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina during today's Friday prayer, which would certainly be against the rules of the Islamic Community, writes the BiH news agency Patria (NAP).

Namely, in front of several mosques in Sarajevo today, a group of men distributed bulletins of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) before and after the Friday prayer, through which believers are urged to vote for this political party in the upcoming elections in BiH.

SDA bulletins were distributed in front of the Jordanian Mosque in Sarajevo, the Magribija Mosque in Marindvor, as well as some other mosques in Sarajevo.

- The Riyaset of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not aware and has no information that promotional material of any political party was distributed in mosques anywhere - Ekrem Tucaković from the Public Relations Office of the Islamic Community of BiH told NAP.     

- In 2002, the Riyaset of the Islamic Community adopted a Decision which stipulated that the role of the Islamic Community is not to promote any political party, and holders of religious authority within the Islamic Community cannot hold any political office. Furthermore, the premises of the Islamic Community and public religious gatherings cannot be used for the promotion of any political party, and in religious addresses to Muslims, especially from the minbar during Friday prayers, preachers cannot name any party or political figure, either positively or negatively - Tucaković said.

The Riyaset has no evidence or information, Tucaković said, that any official of the Islamic Community has violated the provisions of this Decision or that any member has misused the premises of the Islamic Community for party promotion, writes NAP.

For the start of the election campaign, the SDA, as before, has used the spaces where the largest number of believers gather, especially on Fridays during the Friday prayer.

And while all parties, especially the modern European ones to which the SDA continuously refers in its work, show innovations in their work and follow modern democratic trends in every election, this party, without any respect for believers and religious buildings, adheres to the old tradition and tries to grab votes by misusing them in their sacred places.

In this case, it would be necessary for the Islamic Community of BiH, led by Reis-ul-ulema Husein ef. Kavazović, who stated that the Islamic Community will not interfere in the electoral process in any way, except for declarative statements that are "copy paste" from election to election, to specifically address this problem.

Because it is not enough to just say that officials of the Islamic Community did not participate in distributing election material, but also to limit the area around the religious buildings themselves to prevent misuse for electoral purposes. Also, religious officials who notice party activities, regardless of whether it is the SDA or another party, should react immediately and report them to the Islamic Community.