An internet portal funded by the German Foreign Ministry continues to advance the idea of the Bosnian Muslim Community headed by Muslim Brotherhood figure Grand Mufti Mustafa Ceric as a model for the development of Islam in Europe. An article posted on Qantare.de cites remarks by a Ahmet Alibasic, a Sarajevo academic, who alleges that the the independence of the Bosnian Islamic community would be an asset for Europe:
“I believe that the idea of the Bosnian Islamic community as an organization for all Muslims of the country that also represents a partner for local authorities yet still remains independent is something that ensures its credibility and integrity,” says Mr. Alibasic. “Local Muslims are thus not oriented toward transnational religious authorities from Yemen or elsewhere who lay down rules for them that they cannot follow in a Western context.”
Dr. Alibasic’s comments ignore Mustafa Ceric’s transnational ties to the European Council For Fatwa and Research (ECFR), a theological body of clerics associated with the Muslim Brotherhood and headed by Muslim Brotherhood leader Qatari sheikh Youssef Qaradawi. The ECFR rules on matters concerning European Muslims despite being comprised largely of non-European members. A previous post has already discussed Dr. Ceric’s desire to serve as a “model” for European Muslims. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2005 that the ECFR used the notorious anti-Semitic forgery known as the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as evidence in its theological deliberations.