Our article about the connection between the mosque shooting in New Zealand and the film «Balkan Line», which was released in Russian cinemas, has provoked a predictable reaction from individuals who are supporters of the Serbian cause. We were, of course, accused of stretching the truth and using a tragic event to make baseless accusations against «Serbian fighters» who, according to the mythology of their Russian defenders, are themselves victims of a global anti-Orthodox conspiracy.
However, an article very similar to ours was published yesterday in the prestigious American magazine «Foreign Policy». In the text entitled «The Balkans — Capital of Islamophobia», its author, Janis Baboulias, who by the way has a typical Greek first and last name, also notes a new trend — the transformation of «Serbian heroes» and the «Serbian struggle» into an inspiring example for Western militant Islamophobes like Anders Breivik and Brenton Tarrant.
Baboulias draws attention to the terrorist’s numerous references to his Serbian idols, including numerous names of Serbian leaders, significant dates in Serbian history written on the weapon he used to shoot innocent Muslims, and a well-known Serbian hit song that gave rise to the global Islamophobic slogan «Remove kebab,» which he referenced during his bloody actions. He also points out that Tarrant characterizes himself with names typical of Balkan fighters against Islam: Turkofagos («Turk-lover») and Kebab Remover.
All this mythology is explained in detail in another article recently published in the English-language media «Balkan Insight». It shows that according to the worldview of Serbian Chetniks (chauvinists), all Muslims, including the indigenous Balkan population practicing Islam — Bosnian Slavs and Albanian Illyrians — are considered «Turks». In this worldview, the latter are considered «Turkified» — «traitors to the faith of their ancestors,» which almost exactly matches a passage from Tarrant’s manifesto where he writes that he most despises Europeans who have embraced Islam.
This is not the first time that Western experts have noticed an unhealthy interest of domestic crusaders in the Serbian issue. Previously, the British magazine The Economist pointed out that in the 1,500-page manifesto of another madman, Breivik, Serbs are mentioned almost a thousand times (!), and Radovan Karadzic and Radko Mladic are considered the main heroes in the fight against the «Islamic threat». Interestingly, besides those Russian opponents of ours who really share Breivik’s and Tarrant’s views on Islam, there are others who, inspired by Karadzic and Mladic, still consider them almost internationalists and fighters for the preservation of multinational Yugoslavia, which fell victim to Western aggression.
If these people really believe this, they simply do not understand the duplicity and cunning of Serbian chauvinist propaganda, which is capable of using arguments that suit a particular audience. For «anti-globalists», these arguments might refer to stories of Serbs fighting for the preservation of multinational Yugoslavia. However, anyone who is really aware of why and how Yugoslavia disintegrated knows that this turn was a consequence of Slobodan Milosevic’s shift from Tito’s policy of Yugoslav internationalism to a policy of Greater Serbia, which galvanized militant Serbian nationalism on a religious-chauvinist basis.
A key turning point in this whole story, increasingly recognized by observers today, is the globalization of Serbian anti-Islamic mythology and its popularization in the West. In a sense, one could say that the ideology and aesthetics of the Chetniks are displacing Hitler’s ideology, which has regained relevance in far-right circles. This is also related to the fact that Hitler sought an alliance with Islamic forces, maintained friendship with the Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin-Husseini, and had a very low opinion of a people whose representatives now play a key role in spreading Islamophobia worldwide. From this perspective, the Hitler myth is of little use in justifying the fight against Islam and the alliance with Zionism, while the Serbian and, more generally, the Balkan anti-Islamic approach is perfectly suited for this purpose.
Let’s not forget Radovan Karadzic’s warm friendship with ultra-Zionist circles and the fact that Milorad Dodik continues his policy today. This is evident in the UN vote condemning Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, where the Serbian leadership of Bosnia and Herzegovina did not allow the country to join the camp of those who condemned him. None of this should be considered exotic or a conspiracy theory. The connections and beliefs of these forces and individuals are clear and not hidden.
The current leadership of the so-called Republic of Srpska considers convicted Serb war criminals to be its heroes, since this republic was established through the genocide of Muslims. They are supported, for example, by the Freedom Party of Austria, whose representative, Herbert Kickl, is the Minister of the Interior in the current Austrian government. Kickl has given lectures to the Identitarian Movement, to which terrorist Brenton Tarrant has made donations. Tarrant has vividly demonstrated how he intends to solve the «Muslim question. However, the same actions, albeit on a much larger scale, were carried out by Karadzic and Mladic.
Who are supported by the current leadership of Republika Srpska, who are also supported by Western anti-Islamic circles, who are also supported by Tarrant. The circle is complete, isn’t it? Do our considerations still seem far-fetched to you?