BIRN lifts the lid on the Bosnian Movement of National Pride, a secretive organisation promoting neo-Nazi Bosniak nationalism.
Emir finally felt comfortable enough to place on the table the sheets of paper he had folded and hid under his jacket. The pages contained promotional material of a far-right organisation he had helped build. Emir, a slight man in his twenties, appeared confident that this reporter did not know his real name; when it became clear he was mistaken, he paused for a moment before describing his experience of joining the ‘Movement’ as a teenager. “I felt powerful in some way,” he said, having agreed to be interviewed on condition his real name would not be published. As a minor, Emir was drawn to the hardline Bosniak nationalism of the Bosnian Movement of National Pride, BPNP. But he hoped the anti-Semitism and fascism would not be too visible, not to draw the attention of the authorities. “I knew there was Nazism,” he said, claiming to have since left the group. “I hoped it would not be on display so much.” But Nazism is what the BPNP openly espouses. And for more than a decade it has avoided all official scrutiny, while keeping the names of those who run it under wraps. This investigation lifts the lid on the group’s membership, its recruitment of minors and its ambitions.
‘Blood and soil’ ideology Founded in 2009, the BPNP was described in 2018 report published by the International Relations Committee of the House of Lords – the upper house of the UK parliament – as a “nationalist and secular organisation whose ideology is underpinned by a belief in the superiority of Bosniaks and a belief that they alone should rule Bosnia and Herzegovina.” The Simon Wiesenthal Centre says it follows a ‘blood and soil’ ideology that aims for a pure Bosniak state based on ‘genetics’. “They are against multiculturalism because it is considered a threat to the survival of “true” Bosnians,” the centre says. “The BPNP stands against Zionism, Islamism, Communism and Capitalism. The movement is strongly homophobic, arguing that homosexuality is destroying society through its threat to ‘family values’.” At first glance, the group’s opposition to ‘Islamism’ might appear odd, given that the vast majority of Bosniaks identify as Muslims. But the group’s members say they characterise ‘Bosniak’ as a person loyal to Bosnia, who speaks the Bosnian language and identifies with the history of Bosnia, regardless of their religion. According to the group’s website, the BPNP “fights for Bosniaks irrespective of their religion and subrace.” More than anything else, it promotes National Socialism, better known as Nazism. At least one former member of the BPNP is politically active today. The group expresses admiration for right-wing groups in Europe, rails against Jews and other minorities and aspires to create a state of “only people who belong to the European genetic and cultural heritage, including Bosniaks.” There would be no room for LGBT persons or media freedom. Emir said that at one stage he wanted to officially register the movement but his fellow members did not want to officially abandon the neo-Nazi ideology this would have required.
via balkan insight: Bosnian Far-Right Movement Weds Bosniak Nationalism, Neo-Nazism