A statement the head of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Husein Kavazovic, recently made has caused controversy, with Bosnian Croat parties urging the international community to condemn his “warmongering”.

In a recent TV interview, Kavazovic spoke about the need to “defend state institutions”, as well as the country if institutions would “fall”.

“What we have is not perfect, but we need to work further to strengthen BiH as a state and its sovereignty, to suppress, discourage and prevent those forces that are opposed to it in every possible way. Today's fight is in the institutions of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, they must be defended. We must not allow them to be ruined, to weaken,” Kavazovic said.

“And, if they fall, and we had that in 1992, we must be ready to defend this country with weapons, and no one should have any doubts about that (…) But now there is peace, now the institutions are on the move and let them do their job,” the religious leader said.

This immediately prompted a reaction from the President of BiH’s Republika Srpska (RS) entity, Milorad Dodik, who said that Kavazovic “threatens the same scenario 30 years later.”

“I would tell the Grand Mufti of the Islamic Community in BiH to get out of the political yard and arm himself with love, tolerance and kind words,” Dodik said.

Criticism also came from the Croat National Assembly (HNS), the umbrella organisation of Bosnian Croat parties in the country, which urged the international community to react to the “irresponsible incendiary statement” of Kavazovic and “immediately and strongly condemn the call for preparations for an armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

“In order to preserve peace and stop inflammatory rhetoric, serious and worrying statements like this cannot go without strong international condemnation. Equally, we call on Bosniak political representatives to unequivocally condemn the worrying statement of Kavazovic and thus clearly demonstrate their support for preserving the stability and peace of BiH. On behalf of all those who do not wish for a new war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we demand an urgent and public apology from the Islamic Community regarding the warmongering behaviour of its own leader”, the HNS said.