BELGRADE -- Mufti of Belgrade Muhamed Jusufspahić says Mufti Muamer Zukorlić's decision to take part in the presidential election showed that ours is "a free country".
BELGRADE -- Mufti of Belgrade Muhamed Jusufspahić says Mufti Muamer Zukorlić's decision to take part in the presidential election showed that ours is "a free country".
Source: Blic, Tanjug, Večernje novosti
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Mufti comments on colleague's presidential bid
Mufti of Belgrade Muhamed Jusufspahić says the decision of Mufti Muamer Zukorlić to participate in the presidential election in Serbia showed that ours was "a free country".
But Jusufspahić at the same time wondered whether it was "normal" for a person who calls for civil disobedience to become a presidential candidate.
Zukorlić heads one of the two rival Islamic organizations in Serbia - the Islamic Community in Serbia - based in the town of Novi Pazar in the southwest.
"Is it normal for someone who urges civil disobedience to be a presidential candidate? Will we have candidatures from bishops and rabbis next?," Jusufspahić stated, but noted that these were "issues of lesser importance that must be answered by the state, rather than by a mufti".
"To me, the essential issue is - who am I supposed to complain to over the abuse of faith and cloth? On the other hand, former Evangelical pastor Joachim Gauck recently became president in Germany, and Germany is not a poorly ordered country," said Jusufspahić.
He also noted that Muslims in Serbia share the same problems and joys with all other citizens, regardless of religion or ethnicity.
"We, with the help of God, receive everything that is the civil right of each resident of Serbia, and nobody can take that away from us, expect we, the citizens of Serbia, ourselves," Jusufspahić was quoted as saying.
Zukorlić will be the first religious leader to ever run in Serbia's presidential elections. Furthermore, nothing of the kind ever happened in any other European country. Belgrade's Večernje Novosti newspaper writes in a commentary that this practice is, however, common in Iran, where a religious leader is at the helm of the state.
Although the controversial mufti is as eligible to run as any other citizen, "many see this as a violation of the Islamic Community Constitution", continues the daily, and adds that it also raises issues regarding the principle of separation of religious communities and state.
"It's hard to imagine how the public would react if any of the Orthodox or Catholic bishops decided to add their name to the election ballot," the newspaper concluded.
"To me, the essential issue is - who am I supposed to complain to over the abuse of faith and cloth? On the other hand, former Evangelical pastor Joachim Gauck recently became president in Germany, and Germany is not a poorly ordered country," said Jusufspahić.
The magical word is 'former'. The German president stopped working as a pastor more than 20 years ago, so there's no conflict with separation of church/belief and politics, unlike in Islamic states.
(Comm. Parrisson, 9 April 2012 12:07)
Where are all the rude comments about the dumb, old guy wearing a hat and dress?
Where are all the hypocrites here yelling about mixing religion and politics?
Hypocrites!
(Roger7, 9 April 2012 16:49)
"I was robbed" says Zukorlić on learning that he had failed to become the next President of Serbia. "The authorities carried out mass fraud to stop me carrying out the will of god" he continued. "There is clearly a conspiracy and an anti-moslem bias at the highest levels of the serbia government who used all possible means to deny my my rightful place as 1st moselm emperor of Serbia. With such a title, I would have gone on to greater heights and challenged Cengic to a no holds barred cage fight to the death to become moslem emperor of all the balkans and fulfill the Izetbegovic Islamska Deklaracija of islam being the preeminent religion of the balkans with pesky orthodox and catholics as mere galley slave equivalents. I thus spit upon serbs and serbia and continue my fight with the faithful backing of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, the great pions of moslem democracy to impose my vision upon the Balkans."
Copyright 'The Fantasist News Network (Balkans Division)'
Cedo, Kandic and the usual suspects will no doubt back this up.
(Aleks, 10 April 2012 00:58)