CROATIAN ISLAMIC COMMUNITY MARKS 90 YEARS OF OFFICIAL

UNCLAS ZAGREB 001425

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV HR
SUBJECT: CROATIAN ISLAMIC COMMUNITY MARKS 90 YEARS OF OFFICIAL
RECOGNITION


1. SUMMARY AND COMMENT: At a November 29 commemoration, Croatia's
top political leadership paid tribute to the local Islamic community
as an active and constructive participant in civil society, and
acknowledged the importance of promoting tolerance and religious
pluralism in Croatia. The President, Deputy Prime Minister,
Parliament Speaker and a host of dignitaries attended, as did
several Islamic Ambassadors and U.S. Charge d'Affaires. Even the
head of the right-wing Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) pointed
proudly to the party's introduction of the 1916 parliamentary
resolution calling for legal recognition of the Islamic religion,
and noted that the city of Osijek was moving forward with plans to
build a mosque there. The high-level attendance (particularly by
President Mesic) ensured positive press coverage of the central
message of religious freedom and tolerance. END SUMARY AND COMMENT


2. Mufti Sevko Omerbasic led a November 29 ceremony to mark the
90th anniversary of the recognition of Islam in Croatia and the 70th
anniversary of the first mosque at Zagreb's Islamic Center. Also in
attendance were Reis-Ul-Ulema Mustafa Ceric from Sarajevo, Croatian
President Stjepan Mesic, Parliament Speaker Vladimir Seks, Deputy
Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, Party of Rights (HSP) president Anto
Djapic, Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic, prominent Islamic figures from
Croatia and neighboring countries, representatives of other
religious communities and of the diplomatic corps.

3. Omerbasic recalled that on 27 April 1916 the Croatian
parliament, on the initiative of Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) MPs,
passed a law recognizing Islam as an official religion in Croatia
(part of Austria-Hungary at the time),Noting that Croatia had 204
Muslims then, Omerbasic reported that currently, according to
official figures, the Muslim population numbers 56,777; in
addition, Islam is taught in schools and Muslims have an active
presence in Croatia's politics, economy, science, military, sports
and the arts.

4. Reis-Ul-Ulema Ceric said the Islamic community had become a free
and responsible entity in Croatia which enjoyed full rights and that
it could serve as an example on which European governments could
learn how to address Muslim needs. He noted that the Pope's current
visit to Turkey gave hope that some closed doors between the East
and the West would finally open and that those doors which let in
mistrust would close. He asked that Europe's Muslims help the
Vatican restore its reputation as a leader in inter-religious
dialogue.

5. Croatian President Mesic said the Islamic community was an
active and constructive factor in inter-religious and social
dialogue in Croatia. He asserted that the 1916 recognition of Islam
as an official religion in Croatia proved that Croatians, despite
centuries of inter-religious conflict, understand the importance of
a society based on dialogue and coexistence. Parliament Speaker
Seks echoed these sentiments, asserting that modern Europe must be
built on religious pluralism founded on tolerance and
inter-religious dialogue. MP and leader of the right-wing Croatian
Party of Rights (HSP) Ante Djapic referred to the HSP's role in
1916, and in his capacity as mayor of Osijek (Croatia's fourth
largest city),reported that Osijek would facilitate construction of
a mosque there. (NOTE: Djapic was invited because of the HSP's 1916
role.) Zagreb Mayor Bandic was also present, because the city had
allocated substantial funding to restore the mihrab -- the central
stone equivalent to an altar -- from the old mosque (which was
turned into a museum after WW2).


6. Numbering fewer than 60,000 moderate and well-integrated Moslems
(many of Bosnian origin),the Community's concerns center largely on
serving its members; in addition to maintaining the mosque and a
secondary school in Zagreb, longstanding plans to build a second
mosque in Rijeka appear close to realization. As noted, a third
mosque is planned for the city of Osijek. In February 2006, the
Muslim community in Zagreb hosted Bosnian Grand Mufti Mustafa Ceric,
who presented a Declaration of European Muslims which received
considerable media attention; it invited Muslims to accept European
democratic standards, and appealed to EU countries to officially
recognize Islam in order to make it less vulnerable to external
influences. Croatian Mufti Omerbasic noted at the time that that
Croatia was one of four countries in Europe that officially
recognizes Islam and in which the indigenous Muslim community was
successfully integrated into society.

DELAWIE