Politics mix with religion in Sandžak medrasa

Six students in a Novi Pazar medrasa, an Islamic religious school, have been expelled, Beta news agency reports. One of them is the son of the new leader of the Serbian Muslims, Adem Zilkic. Politics mix with religion in Sandzak medrasa This was cause for fresh accusations to start flying between two sides in the divided religious community, where former reis Muamer Zukorilic leads the other fraction. Parents of the students expelled from school told reporters that they have been "subjected to provocation for a while," while medrasa officials claim they were "unable to provide physical security for the children." All the parents previously signed a letter requesting Zukorlic to resign from post. Zilkic's son Kadir told reporters in a news conference in Belgrade Wednesday he was provoked by a number of other students, most notably by Zukorlic's son, Osama. He also claims that the medrasa head told him he could go back to classes "once his father withdrew his signature from the letter demanding mufti Zukorlic's dismissal." The medrasa director, Nedzad Hasanovic, claims that while some students were removed from classes, "reports about a brutal expelling from school are not true." "The moment their parents return to the legal channels of the Islamic Community, these students will go back to classrooms," Hasanovic told Beta in Novi Pazar. He added the decision was made due to a lack of means to control the situation in the school and the boarding facilities where students "spend time together." The part of the Islamic Community organization seated in Belgrade on October 3 appointed Zilkic as the new leader, or reis ul ulema, replacing Zukorlic as the chief mufti and the president of the Sandzak meshihat. But the Novi Pazar-based faction continued to support Zukorlic, backing him to remain in office in a meeting three days later. Both sides claim they are the only legal and legitimate representatives of the Serbian Muslim community. The rift is also linked to political allegiance to leading local politicians and rivals, Rasim Ljajic and Sulejman Ugljanin. Sporadic scuffles broke out between the two factions in the past several months, with police making arrests and confiscating weapons in mosques on several occasions. Serbian MUP and security agency BIA both singled out the Sandzak region as a potential security hotspot in their recent reports. The conclusions came due to political and religious divide and surfacing of Islamist terror groups associated with the Wahhabi movement.

Politics mix with religion in Sandžak medrasa

This was cause for fresh accusations to start flying between two sides in the divided religious community, where former reis Muamer Zukorilić leads the other fraction.

Parents of the students expelled from school told reporters that they have been "subjected to provocation for a while," while medrasa officials claim they were "unable to provide physical security for the children."

All the parents previously signed a letter requesting Zukorlić to resign from post.

Zilkić's son Kadir told reporters in a news conference in Belgrade Wednesday he was provoked by a number of other students, most notably by Zukorlić's son, Osama.

He also claims that the medrasa head told him he could go back to classes "once his father withdrew his signature from the letter demanding mufti Zukorlić's dismissal."

The medrasa director, Nedžad Hasanović, claims that while some students were removed from classes, "reports about a brutal expelling from school are not true."

"The moment their parents return to the legal channels of the Islamic Community, these students will go back to classrooms," Hasanović told Beta in Novi Pazar.

He added the decision was made due to a lack of means to control the situation in the school and the boarding facilities where students "spend time together."

The part of the Islamic Community organization seated in Belgrade on October 3 appointed Zilkić as the new leader, or reis ul ulema, replacing Zukorlić as the chief mufti and the president of the Sandžak meshihat.

But the Novi Pazar-based faction continued to support Zukorlić, backing him to remain in office in a meeting three days later.

Both sides claim they are the only legal and legitimate representatives of the Serbian Muslim community. The rift is also linked to political allegiance to leading local politicians and rivals, Rasim Ljajić and Sulejman Ugljanin.

Sporadic scuffles broke out between the two factions in the past several months, with police making arrests and confiscating weapons in mosques on several occasions.

Serbian MUP and security agency BIA both singled out the Sandžak region as a potential security hotspot in their recent reports. The conclusions came due to political and religious divide and surfacing of Islamist terror groups associated with the Wahhabi movement.