Rival Islamic groups call off rallies

Two rival Islamic organizations in Serbia have called off both their rally and counter-rally. The gatherings were scheduled for today, in front of the Serbian government building in Belgrade. Rival Islamic groups call off rallies Officials of both the Islamic Community in Serbia and Islamic Community of Serbia have canceled their rallies in order to show that there are no conflicts within the Islamic community, rather that this was a problem of the state and its “discrimination” Islamic Community in Serbia Vice President Resad Plojovic said. We want to avoid “traps of the regime, which has for years been discriminating against the Islamic Community in Serbia, and wants to show that a conflict exists,” Plojovic, who is also this organization's mufti of Belgrade and Novi Sad, told the Beta news agency. He said that religious teachers from the Islamic Community in Serbia announced the rally through all legal channels and that they would tell the public when the rally would be held in due time. Belgrade Mufti Muhamed Jusufspahic told Beta that there would not be a counter-rally either, but that officials of his Islamic Community of Serbia might head to the government building in order to “check on the situation” there. He said that he had information that the President of the Association of Religious Teachers of the Islamic Community in Serbia, Hajrudin Balic, announced a meeting for Wednesday for in between 9:00 and 17:00 CET, and that if this rally his held, then his supporters would be holding a counter-rally at that time as well. Jusufspahic called on a counter-rally on Monday in response to the one scheduled by the rival Islamic Community in Serbia leader Muamer Zukorlic, after changes to the government’s Commission for Religious Studies, when instead of two representatives, only Islamic Community of Serbia's Adem Zilkic was elected.

Rival Islamic groups call off rallies

Officials of both the Islamic Community in Serbia and Islamic Community of Serbia have canceled their rallies in order to show that there are no conflicts within the Islamic community, rather that this was a problem of the state and its “discrimination” Islamic Community in Serbia Vice President Rešad Plojović said.

We want to avoid “traps of the regime, which has for years been discriminating against the Islamic Community in Serbia, and wants to show that a conflict exists,” Plojović, who is also this organization's mufti of Belgrade and Novi Sad, told the Beta news agency.

He said that religious teachers from the Islamic Community in Serbia announced the rally through all legal channels and that they would tell the public when the rally would be held in due time.

Belgrade Mufti Muhamed Jusufspahić told Beta that there would not be a counter-rally either, but that officials of his Islamic Community of Serbia might head to the government building in order to “check on the situation” there.

He said that he had information that the President of the Association of Religious Teachers of the Islamic Community in Serbia, Hajrudin Balić, announced a meeting for Wednesday for in between 9:00 and 17:00 CET, and that if this rally his held, then his supporters would be holding a counter-rally at that time as well.

Jusufspahić called on a counter-rally on Monday in response to the one scheduled by the rival Islamic Community in Serbia leader Muamer Zukorlić, after changes to the government’s Commission for Religious Studies, when instead of two representatives, only Islamic Community of Serbia's Adem Zilkić was elected.