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Islamist extremism in Serbia is decreasing but far-right extremism
is on the rise, according to research by the Belgrade Centre for
Security Policy, BCBP, and the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights
in Serbia, presented on Friday.
Izabela Kisic, from the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in
Serbia, said: “Overall, Islamist extremism is in significant
decline, there is currently no real danger of violent extremist
activities of this type.
“The extreme right in Serbia has been on a serious rise for years,
which can be seen in the growing number of violent, ideologically
motivated, acts,” she added.
Kisic explained that main factor behind this right-wing extremism
“is the dominant political narrative about the past, that is, about
the wars of the 1990s“.
Serbia’s strategy for combating terrorism and extremism, which
expired at the end of 2021, focused on Islamist extremism and
terrorism, neglecting the danger from far right, experts said.
BCBP researcher Marija Ignjatijevic said that despite the focus of
both the international and domestic public on Islamist extremism in
Serbia, with a focus on the mainly Bosniak southwest Sandzak region,
“this community has shown a high level of resistance to this
religious Islamist extremism“.
Her research identified three main factors behind this resilience in
Sandzak.
“The first is the role of the local community, the second is the
role of prominent individuals in the community and the third is the
role of the diaspora, which is very specific to the Sandzak region,“
Ignjatijevic said.
“The diaspora, which is not only in Western Europe but also in
Turkey, has played a major role in alleviating the economic problems
of this region and have helped in various ways to alleviate the
economic factors behind radicalization,“ she added.
Rightist extremism in Serbia has been present for decades,
especially since the Yugoslav wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo.
Predrag Petrovic from BCBP said that in the last couple of years,
some extremists had now added an anti-migrant narrative that did not
exist before.
Petrovic said that, besides the direct consequences of this to
migrants, anti-migrant opinion in the broader population had
expanded.
“We found a significant increase in anti-immigrant stances among
citizens in Serbia, who believe that migrants increase the crime
rate, pose a threat to the health of Serbian citizens, worsen
Serbian culture and values and seek the violent Islamization of
Serbia,“ Petrovic said.
“Serbian citizens support anti-immigrant policies in terms of
limiting the number of migrants, and in terms of expelling
migrants,“ he added.
Petrovic said that although the majority of Serbian citizens would
likely not become members of anti-migrant extreme groups, research
showed that many “definitely support the activities of such groups,
and the values and attitudes that these groups promote and express
in practice“. |
