From: varma@paul.rutgers.edu (not yet)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.pakistan,soc.culture.indian
Subject: MUSLIM NATION (Re: Bosnia)
Date: 27 Dec 92 00:09:04 GMT
Followup-To: soc.culture.pakistan
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

In article <1992Dec26.151136@IASTATE.EDU>, jakhan@IASTATE.EDU (Javed Ahmed Khan) writes:

> The conflict in Bosnia however is not one of righting a historical wrong. It is
> one of territorial greed and fascist tendencies afflicting the Serbs fighting
> in Bosnia with wholehearted support from the leadership in Serbia. 
> 
> Citing the rule of the Ottomans or the events of WWII is a feeble attempt by
> many muslim-antagonists in Serbia and in the west to play down the crass human
> greed for territory and the atrocities being commited by the Serbs in Bosnia.
> 
> The Serbs have now gobbled up 95% of the land in Serbia with another 2-3%
> attached by Croatia leaving in their wake a refugee crisis with people (an
> overwhelming majority of them muslims) dispossesed of their homeland.     

Comparing Muslims to Serbs is like comparing apples and oranges.
Religion and ethnicity are not the same.

Muslims in Bosnia are Serbs who were converted during the Ottoman rule
over Serbia. The were Orthodox Serbian Christians before conversion.
Historically, that land has always been Serbian (not Christian or
Muslim because the Christian Serbs do not confuse between religion
and politics), and now when the Serbs have failed to forge a Slav
nation, they want to be Serbia again. The internal borders in the
former Yugoslavia (South Slavs) was neither drawn on basis of any
general consensus, nor does it have a historical basis. It was drawn
by Tito, a Croat, to deny the Serbs any political advantage they could
have by virtue of being the largest ethnic group in Yugoslavia. This
is clearly reflected by the fact that only 70% of the Serbs lived in
the Serbian state of Yugoslavia. Another 25% live in Bosnia and
Croatia, whereas Croatia and Slovania had almost all of Croats and
Slovanians.

Muslims in Bosnia do not have a majority, they are about 44% of the
population. The Non-Muslim Serbs are 35%. Another 18% is Croat (mostly
Catholic), When Bosnia voted on independence from Yugoslavia, the
Croats and Muslim Serbs voted together. The popular vote was for
independence. 

This situation was unacceptable to the non-Muslim Serbs because
historically that land had been a part of Serbia. Just because some
people converted did not mean that they could claim a part of Serbia.
Bosnia had been conveniently carved out of Serbia in the former
Yugoslavia so that it gave the Muslim Serbs a numerical advantage
there and the non-Muslims Serbs were aware of that fact. That border
has no historical significance but was only artificial.

Also, in Bosnia, the Muslims were concentrated in cities. The rural
Bosnia was predominantly non-Muslim Serb. The non-Muslim Serbs in fact
were in majority in over 70% of the area of former Bosnia. 

If the Muslim Serbs claim that since Muslim population in Bosnia is
the largest, and therefore Bosnia should be not a part of non-Muslim
Serbia, by the same argument the 70% rural non-Muslim dominated
Bosnia should not be a part of Muslim Bosnia. However, logic has thus
far been successful to elude the Bosnian Muslim.

This blatant double standard is the cause of misery to Muslim
Bosnians and the rest of the world. 

> So the Muslims have been left to fend for themselves. They are being denied the
> right to defend themselves by the UN in spite of the abject inability of the UN
> to prevent the Serbs from arming themselves. 

This is not totally true. The Islamic nations are helping the Muslim
Serbs in Bosnia. NYT, for example, has reported armed Muslims from Saudi
Arabia and Pakistan in Bosnia.

Serbs are more than willing for a cease fire: they have all the land
they wanted. At the moment, it is the Muslim Serbs who wish to
continue fighting so that they can have a bigger Islamic Republic of
Bosnia. Lives are being lost for a petty political game being played,
once again behind the garb of Islam. Perhaps, if the founders of the
religion had known, they would have decided otherwise.
-- 
Harsh Varma
Department of Computer Science
Rutgers University

Disclaimer: None. Please, everyone adopt my opinion, I am right!

Postscript: Please dont flame me, and I get very scared by death
            threats.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.pakistan,soc.culture.bangladesh,soc.culture.indian