Preventing and Countering Salafist Radicalisation in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Salafist mujahideen arrived in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Bosnian War (1992-1995). The presence of mujahideen, coupled with the increased scrutiny on the Islamic World post-9/11, led to the narrative of Bosnia being primed for the proliferation of jihadi takfiri Salafi ideology. This prediction was supported by the existence of villages that adhered to shari’a law and parajamaats, parallel mosques, which operated outside of the control of the formal Bosnian Islamic Community (BIC). In the mid-2010s, Bosnian-born foreign fighters travelled to foreign theatres of conflict, mainly Syria and Iraq, to support and fight for terrorist groups, including ISIS.

According to radicalisation theories often applied to European case studies, Bosniaks were expected to accept and proliferate Salafism. This assumption is based on Bosnia’s history of ethnic violence and trauma, socio-economic challenges, and a dramatic unpreparedness to counter the presence of foreign entities promoting the ideology domestically. However, as of 2016, the flow of Bosnian-born foreign fighters had halted, as has the presence of Salafist radicals willing to break the threshold of violence.

This thesis proposes reasons why a vast majority Bosnian Muslims did not radicalise as expected by exploring the actions taken by civil society, the Bosnian Islamic Community, and the central government to combat Salafist radicalisation in Bosnia. The thesis evaluate how actions and policies were perceived and critiqued by those with localised knowledge and lived experience. This thesis uses an interpretive framework and employs insights from political anthropology and political ethnography, drawing on interviews to present a ‘from within’ analysis. The analysis of Bosnia's historical and cultural complexities and radicalisation literature reveal significant gaps regarding the interplay of the different segments of Bosnian society in countering and preventing Salafist radicalisation.