poiuytrewq0987
04-21-2012, 09:53 PM
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vADGnqDkynw/S7Fx19pN3qI/AAAAAAAABGc/mU0rVcoDb1w/s1600/Mufti+Muamer+ef+Zukorlic.jpg
For the first time in Serbia's modern history, a religious leader, Mufti Muamer Zukorlic, head of the Islamic Community in Serbia, is collecting signatures for a presidential bid.
“My candidacy is based on conviction that the state and society are on the precipice and I will offer an authentic salvation programme acceptable to all Serbian nationals,” he told a press conference in Novi Pazar, the largest town in Serbia's mainly Bosniak [Muslim] Sandzak region. Presidential elections are scheduled for May 6.
He said he wanted to take this responsibility because it would be selfish to hide a high-quality programme from the public when the other candidates were offering such poor programmes of their own.
While Orthodox Serbs are unlikely to plump for a hardline Muslim with a reputation for combative rhetoric, the Mufti said he was convinced that he will get plenty of votes.
"What is certain is that I will not disappoint the votes I get, and they will be used in accordance with the programme I am promoting,” he noted.
Aida Corovic, from the Novi Pazar-based NGO Urban, said Zukorlic's candidacy was not especially serious.
"It is illogical after calling for a [Bosniak] boycott of state institutions to say you want to become the head of state," she said.
"Raising ratings and money for the presidential race are the main reasons why he is running for the presidency," Corovic added.
Serbia has two Islamic Communities, one based in Novi Pazar, the other in Belgrade, and the Belgrade-based Islamic Community of Serbia has condemned the Mufti's move.
They say Zukorlic had violated the constitution of the Islamic Community, which prohibits religous leaders from running for political positions while still holding religious posts.
But Zukorlic said he would give up his post in the Islamic Community in Serbia “when he wins the presidential election” as he accepts that the two offices are incompatible.
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/serbia-s-mufti-joins-presidential-race
For the first time in Serbia's modern history, a religious leader, Mufti Muamer Zukorlic, head of the Islamic Community in Serbia, is collecting signatures for a presidential bid.
“My candidacy is based on conviction that the state and society are on the precipice and I will offer an authentic salvation programme acceptable to all Serbian nationals,” he told a press conference in Novi Pazar, the largest town in Serbia's mainly Bosniak [Muslim] Sandzak region. Presidential elections are scheduled for May 6.
He said he wanted to take this responsibility because it would be selfish to hide a high-quality programme from the public when the other candidates were offering such poor programmes of their own.
While Orthodox Serbs are unlikely to plump for a hardline Muslim with a reputation for combative rhetoric, the Mufti said he was convinced that he will get plenty of votes.
"What is certain is that I will not disappoint the votes I get, and they will be used in accordance with the programme I am promoting,” he noted.
Aida Corovic, from the Novi Pazar-based NGO Urban, said Zukorlic's candidacy was not especially serious.
"It is illogical after calling for a [Bosniak] boycott of state institutions to say you want to become the head of state," she said.
"Raising ratings and money for the presidential race are the main reasons why he is running for the presidency," Corovic added.
Serbia has two Islamic Communities, one based in Novi Pazar, the other in Belgrade, and the Belgrade-based Islamic Community of Serbia has condemned the Mufti's move.
They say Zukorlic had violated the constitution of the Islamic Community, which prohibits religous leaders from running for political positions while still holding religious posts.
But Zukorlic said he would give up his post in the Islamic Community in Serbia “when he wins the presidential election” as he accepts that the two offices are incompatible.
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/serbia-s-mufti-joins-presidential-race