Verbal harassment during mass

Case information
Incident date
Country
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Place
Bugojno
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Islamist
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Other (text field)
  • Threats
  • Insult or Incitement
Place of Incident
  • Other (text field)
Bias Indicators
  • Lack of Other Motive
  • Pattern or Frequency of Attacks
  • Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
  • Victim/Witness Perception
Reported to Police
  • Yes
Response of Local Authorities
  • Investigated

During the celebration of the Corpus Christi, a group of young men harassed the faithful with inappropriate insults and shouted "Takbir" (exclamation, which in Arabic means "Allah is great"). Similar Incidents were already happening during previous celebrations.

Parish priest of St. Ante Padovanský in Bugojno, Ivan Pilić, stated that such incidents create a feeling that "we are not welcome in our place". Incidents regularly occur during the celebrations of Christmas, Easter and the patron fest of St. Ante. In some cases, containers were set on fire, so the parish was forced to install cameras.

Sources