Introduction
The Bosanski Pokret Nacionalnog Ponosa (Bosnian National Pride Movement), founded about two years ago, describes itself as a National Socialist (Nazi) movement championing white supremacy and Bosnian national revival. What differentiates the BPNP from other European neo-Nazi groups is that it was founded by, and is intended for, Muslim Bosnians – as evident from its spheres of operation, which are listed on its website. [1] Indeed, the site states that 95% of the group's members are Muslim (though this is not a mandatory requirement for membership). The website also reveals that the group celebrates the Muslim-Nazi alliance during the Second World War: It reveres the Muslims who joined the Nazi war effort, and sees a role model in their leader, then-mufti of Jerusalem Hajj Amin Al-Husseini, who from 1941 through 1945 collaborated with the Nazi leadership and the SS.
It should be mentioned that unlike some EU countries, Bosnia does not ban Neo-Nazi groups or the use of Nazi symbols – enabling the organization to operate and circulate its materials with impunity.
This report will review the organization's ideology, as described on its site.
The Ideology of the BPNP
The BPNP website, which has sections in Bosnian and English, states that the organization's ideology is based on the doctrine of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, as set out in his manifesto The NAZI-SOZI: Questions and Answers for Nationalist Socialists (1932). A section on the site is features the "Ten Commandments for National Socialists," which is part of this manifesto, adapted for the current circumstances in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Another section on the site, headed "BNPM Attitudes," stresses Bosnian nationalism and lists the ideologies the group rejects, which include communism, capitalism, Islamism and also Zionism, which, according to the site, is striving for world domination. The section, written in English, states:
"We are against alliances and unions whose purpose is establishment and protection of the new world order (EU as continental union and NATO as a global army). Bosnia must be a free nation with its own army which is always ready to defend the country's sovereignty, [and which] opposes [the] globalization policy which is being forced by Zionist structures with just one purpose – [the] creation of one world government which will allow the 'gray eminence'[2] to rule the world.
"Ideologies that are not welcome in Bosnia are: Zionism, Islamism, communism, capitalism. The only ideology good for us is Bosnian nationalism because it secures national prosperity and social justice..."
BPNP logo with caption: "Awaken, Bosnia!!! It is time to fight for the life of our nation and the survival of our race"[3]
The inclusion of "Islamism" among the rejected ideologies is noteworthy. As mentioned, the site states that 95% of the group's members are Muslim (the other 5% being Bogomils – members of a Gnostic Christian sect that advocates a return to early Christianity). However, the site also stresses that religious affiliation is irrelevant to membership in the organization, which champions white supremacy, and that the organization does not consider religious clerics and institutions as sources of authority. In fact, it states that Bosnia's religious establishment, and its leader, the Chief Mufti, lack any legitimacy, for they are tools through which the EU and the international community are destroying the national fabric of Bosnia. In terms of religious sentiments, the organization seems to sympathize with the Creativity Movement, a nontheistic modern religion that many white supremacist groups embrace as "the white man's religion."
In addition to rejecting Zionists, communists, capitalists and Islamists, the organization also expresses hostility towards other groups despised by the Nazis, namely homosexuals, gypsies and blacks.
The section titled "literature" features links to texts by Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, Benito Mussolini, Reinhard Heydrich (a senior commander in the SS and one of the main architects of the Holocaust), and Alfred Rosenberg (a Nazi leader and Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories), as well as articles about the SS and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, literature about the evil influence of the Freemasons, and various texts on race theory and white supremacy.[4] The site's photo gallery includes images relating to various topics that concern the group, including "BPNP propaganda," "campaigns," "enemies," and Bosnian history.
As for the group's activities, they seem to be confined, so far, to operating the website, circulating propaganda fliers, spray-painting slogans, and holding clandestine meetings of the group members, who, according to the site, are "very carefully screened."
Celebrating Bosnian Collaboration with the Nazis in World War II
The site operator calls himself "Sauberzweig," after Karl Gustav Sauberzweig, commander of the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar.[5] This was a division of Muslim Bosnians, recruited by Hajj Amin Al-Husseini in the autumn of 1943, which fought on the side of the Nazis in the Second World War. The division – which participated in the occupation of Hungary in 1944, and was also charged with the task of guarding the railway from Hungary to Slovakia and Poland, where half of Hungary's Jews were exterminated – is highly revered by the BPNP. The site quotes reports by high-ranking Nazis about the division and its soldiers:
"The Bosnian is a very good soldier. His strength lies in the use of terrain and in close combat. With the infantry attack he is in his element. In defense, however, he must be led strictly and with caution. During heavy barrages of enemy artillery and air attacks, he must be led very carefully. He is good natured, but hates the Serbian element. To the officer who wins his heart he will bond himself with an almost childlike loyalty. He has an extreme sense of fairness and feeling of honor.
"He loves his Bosnian homeland. This strength must be reinforced repeatedly, i.e. it must be stressed that the time when the division returns to the Balkans to save the homeland depends on the individual. The sooner he masters his tasks, the sooner the division will be ready for action." – SS Brigadefuhrer Karl G. Sauberzweig
I knew there was a chance that a few traitors might be smuggled into the division, but I haven't the slightest doubt concerning the loyalty of the Bosnians. – [Reichsführer-SS] Heinrich Himmler[6]
Hajj Amin Al-Husseini surveying the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar. Behind him (on the right) is the division commander, SS-Oberführer Karl Gustav Sauberzweig. [7]
Also quoted on the website are statements by the division's Muslim commanders describing the vision they shared with the Nazis:
"They [i.e., the enemies of the Germans] are your enemy and God's enemy. And that is the English, Americans, and Bolsheviks, who fight against faith, against God, against morality, and just order. On the other side stands National Socialist Germany with its allies, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, who fight for God, faith, morality, and a fairer and more righteous order in the world, as well as for a fairer distribution of goods that God has produced for all people.
"As we observe this Bajram feast with good food, and even halva, an entire army of our brothers, our refugees, wander about from city to village, wrapped in rags, barefooted, hungry and cold. Their Bajram feast will be spent in misery and distress. It is even sadder that the Cetniks [Serbian nationalist and monarchist paramilitary organizations] and Partisans carry on their activities, murdering and plundering wherever they go. But we call out to them, 'You can murder and plunder, but the day will come when the tables are turned!'" – Imam Waffen-SS Hanžar divizije, Muhasilovic
"These deeds signify the great benevolence for us Muslims and for Bosnia in general. I therefore consider it my duty to extend our thanks to the Reichsfuhrer-SS in the names of the division's Imams as well as an in the names of the hundreds of thousands of Bosnia's poor in that I pledge that we are prepared to lay down our lives in battle for the great leader Adolf Hitler and the New Europe." – Imam of Handschar division SS-Hauptsturmführer Husein Džozo[8]
The site's picture gallery includes many photos illustrating the Bosnian collaboration with the Nazis in World War II, such as photos of parades held in honor of Amin Al-Husseini during his visits to Bosnia, and photos of the soldiers and officers of the Handschar Division.
SS-Oberführer Sauberzweig inspecting a parade of the division soldiers[9]
The Group's Antisemitism
The site's "Question and Answer" section elaborates on the group's hostility towards the Jews. The site operator writes:
"The Jews have immense influence throughout the world – in [the domains of] politics, economy, culture, and religion. Anyone who scoffs at [the notion of] a Jewish conspiracy need only open the Bible. He will find that, for over 1,000 years, the European peoples have embraced a religion that, for some unknown reason, designates the Jews as the chosen people, and states that the son of God was a Jew and that God promised the Jews control of a certain geographic area. A thinking man should ask himself: how is it that a nation so small has played such a large role in the lives of the European peoples? To ignore this question is to ignore reality.
"It is a fact that Jewish forces were involved in the French Revolution, in the First World War, in the October [1917] Revolution and in the Second World War. Anyone with eyes in his head can see that. It's [also] a fact that Jewish forces are waging a culture-war against Europe. They want to erase every trace of the authentic European culture and replace it with the American anti-culture called 'multi-culturalism'! The same forces are also promoting [a policy of] open borders and mass-migration, which [have] been destroying Europe's natural development since ancient times. They want to create a world that stifles all the good fruits of our forefathers' [culture]. The fact is that the Aryan race did not survive more than 50 years under the rule of these forces. All we want is to defend our right to existence and life."[10]
A section headed "New World Order" states that the Jews are, in effect, controlling the world:
"Freedom of speech is granted to a handful of 'privileged' politicians, journalists and functionaries that are puppets of the Zionist mechanism... The authorities quickly silence and censor the voices that come to defend the values that are trampled daily by the effective media propaganda, controlled by the ruling Jews. Truth is dear, but any prisoner knows that freedom is priceless... 90% of the problems in the world are the result of a dark plan formulated by the promoters of the New World Order with the aim of letting the 'chosen people' control their empire, namely the [entire] world. This diabolical plan is masterminded by the Zionists, the Freemasons and the Illuminati,[11] and we become party to it whenever we believe their lies... A certain group of people is trying to suppress the emotions of humanity at large, emotions that are so important! They want to preserve the 'chosen people' status that they have established for themselves. [They believe] we 'gentiles' must know our place, because, [according to them], they are the elite and we are [mere] animals dancing to their tune."[12]
*A. Ceresnjes is a research fellow at MEMRI; Y. Carmon is president and founder of MEMRI.
[2] This term usually refers to a figure who wields power and influence unofficially or behind the scenes.
[5] The word hanjar means "dagger" in Arabic.
[11] Historically the name refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded in 1776. In more modern contexts, the name refers to a purported conspiratorial organization which is alleged to mastermind events and control world affairs.
