Academic Durakovic: The politics of SDA is turning into a kind of national catastrophe

Bosnian politics is inferior, we don't have time right now to enumerate all that SDA has given to Dodik's forces, antiBosnian elements and Covic, academic Esad Durakovic said for N1.

'Although a majority nation, the Bosniaks in BiH have almost nothing. Everything has been given to the political parties, the survival depends on Bosniaks while their own survival depends on BiH. The politics of SDA is turning into a kind of national catastrophe; it sounds too harsh perhaps, but it is a rather inferior politics and something ought to change, Durakovic said.

When it comes to the politics and science, it is the politics that strives to dominate the science at any cost, to bureaucraticise it, and that's the worst way to go, professor Durakovic opined.

- The science can thrive only when it is self-sufficient and independent from politics, and when it has the initiative. Today we have the situation where all the faculties and even the University of Sarajevo are intended to be placed under bureaucratic thumb, he concluded.

Speaking of religious experience of this year's Eid (Kurban Bajram), he said that it was unusual and sad because the holidays such as Eid affirm the sociability of a community, but 'this tiny virus has managed to disturb everything on global level, including this year's hajj pilgrimage'.

'I'm looking at the absence of mass visit to Mecca from more than one angle; there are several messages, dramatic warnings about globalization of the world in which profit has become a divinity. Therefore, from the religious point of view, this could be a sort of reminder for us to turn to the spiritual values. I would insist upon the positive fact that the pilgrimage was reduced from which all Muslims should draw a lesson... to adopt different behavior in emergency situations, to reorganize their social life i.e. to reduce it. On the same note, I think it wise that the Grand mufti of Kosovo decided to ban Eid prayer in the mosques. It should be a signal to our Islamic community and others to discourage believers from rushing to mosques during the pandemic, the crisis which presents a health risk for all of us, because Islam is the faith of easiness of simplicity, the faith which serves to improve the human lives...because God does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear', Durakovic said. 

He also shared his opinion about conversion of Aya Sofia:

- Aya Sofia should have remained the museum. Such decision was not in line with Islam. I truly respect the Turkish nation, their culture and history, it is all very precious, but this decision to convert the museum into a mosque I consider inappropriate to say the least, wrong, even counterproductive. It shouldn't have been done, it should have remained the museum, as a monument to Islamic tolerance, acceptance, multiculturalism etc. They have enough space in Istanbul, and enough mosques for prayers. That decision has some political implications above all else as it is taken in the context of islamophobia. I understand that Turkey has been subject of quite a few threats, but this is not the move that will contribute to solving those problems. After all, I deeply believe that it is not in line with Islam to convert a house of God into your own house of God. There's no force in faith, Durakovic points out.

Durakovic also spoke about the plight of the Uyghurs in China, as well as suffering of the Rohingyas.

He also shared his opinion about the current situation in Srebrenica.

'They come to Srebrenica to hold political speeches... and Srebrenica is under the jurisdiction of the same institutions that committed war crimes and genocide in Srebrenica i.e. the army and police of the Republika Srpska. I'm not surprised but I regret to see that Serbia endorsed that... because ever since the nineties, Serbia has led the politics which supports genocide, war crime etc. Almost all previous presidents until this one who is a sweet talker and dishonest, were protagonists of the genocide or aggression on BiH. I regret to see the Serbian upper echelons doing that. Not all Serbians are like that, but their political authorities are.     

- However, it is not only Serbia... these days the president of Republic of Croatia is supposed to place a medal into a hand of someone who was convicted for war crimes in BiH. Now that is horrifying. Where is this world heading to? That is something I cannot understand, and something that the world has to condemn, Durakovic said and went on to make comments on the migrant crisis in BiH.

'We have a situation here. The migrants have been piling up in BiH as the European Union has sealed their borders so the migrants have begun to settle down in BiH. At the same time, those 'European humanists' preach to us in BiH – the country ravaged by war that hasn't recovered yet – how we have to be humane, while they banned them (migrants) from entering their countries. They throw us a few millions or so, they come to BiH to tell us where to place the migrants across our country.

It is not fair both towards BiH and the migrants. BiH just doesn't possess any kind of capacity to absorb arrival of those people from Asian countries, and that problem will continue to grow and we will face many problems. That's why I appealed many times to call upon the EU institutions, to open their eyes to the fact that it is wrong to stack so many migrants here because BiH has too many problems already it cannot solve. Our politicians have taken a wrong approach to this problem. The Islamic community institutions do show patience and humanity, and I do not encourage them to be inhumane, but they should not encourage them to come here; they should let the government deal with it. The borders should close, Durakovic said and went on to explain some of the problems that BiH may encounter because of the migrants.

- BiH is facing its dissolution. I hope it won't happen, however, Covic wants Herzeg-Bosnia, and Dodik is still talking about secession of the RS etc. The migrants are piling up in the Federation BiH, in the Bosniak dominated areas. Meanwhile, the neighboring Croatia is pretending to be our friend and, at the same time, is accusing us of radicalism. It takes a few well staged serious incidents in BiH carried out by migrants for the neighboring countries to say 'we told you so', that 'Bosniaks are radical, we don't want to co-exist with them and there's a reason for dissolution of BiH'. I'm afraid that this is the scenario, Durakovic told N1.