The Islamic community in Bosnia and Herzegovina spoke out after the city administration in Prijedor requested an investigation by the competent institutions against Amir Mahic, the chief imam in Kozarac.

Namely, the City Administration in Prijedor requested an investigation by the competent institutions regarding Mahic's sermon on January 12 of this year.

“We publicly condemn the inappropriate address of imam Amir Mahic, in which several insulting statements were made against the Serbian Orthodox Church and its believers and which clearly indicate hate speech, because how else can one call statements such as “enemies” and “those who bark (…).” We call on competent judicial institutions to, shed light and give the legal qualification of this unfortunate event, in cooperation with the Prijedor Police Department and following the law, and in connection with this to initiate the necessary legal procedures, bearing in mind that acts that are basically hate speech should be given priority in resolution because they leave a negative mark on the community,” said the Prijedor City Administration.

The Islamic Community, i.e. the Majlis in Kozarac, issued a press release in which they noted that the chief imam did not insult the believers of any religious community in the sermon, but, as they say, pointed to the criminal acts of individuals who insulted and frightened Muslim believers with their words and actions.

“We call on the Mayor and city officials to treat all citizens of the City of Prijedor equally, and to take steps to condemn those who in the past few days, attacked the imam and his family, shot in front of mosques and Bosniak houses, shouted shameless insults, provoked and threatened Bosniak returnees from Prijedor with other acts of vandalism, intending to express hatred and attempt to intimidate others. We call on the Mayor of Prijedor and the city authorities to confirm the equal treatment of all citizens of the City of Prijedor with their public condemnations of hate speech and attacks on Bosniak returnees, because this is the best way to build the trust of all citizens in the institutions of this city, and all intending to build good interpersonal relations in our city”, the Kozarac Majlis pointed out.

The imam of the Carsija mosque in Prijedor, Omer. Redzic and his family were attacked at the door of their apartment at the end of December 2023.