London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jun 20, 2025

'Shameful and rude': Orban slammed over remark on Bosnia's Muslims

'Shameful and rude': Orban slammed over remark on Bosnia's Muslims

When asked about Bosnia’s bid to join the EU, Orban's spokesman Zoltan Kovacs tweeted the PM’s response: “The challenge with Bosnia is how to integrate a country with 2 million Muslims.”
Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán has been denounced by Bosnian officials and religious leaders after he claimed integrating the country into the European Union would be a challenge because of its Muslim population.

Orbán was giving a speech in Budapest on Tuesday, lines of which were tweeted out in English by his spokesperson.

When asked about Bosnia’s bid to join the EU, his spokesman Zoltán Kovács tweeted the PM’s response: “The challenge with Bosnia is how to integrate a country with 2 million Muslims.”

Orbán, during his speech, said that Hungary supports Bosnia’s effort to join the EU, but added that “how we manage the security of a state in which 2 million Muslims live is a key issue for their security too,” referring to other EU states.

Some in Bosnia responded by calling for Orbán's official visit to Sarajevo to be cancelled, with the head of the country's Islamic Community, grand mufti Husein Kavazović, calling his statement “xenophobic and racist”.

“If such ideologies become the basis on which the policies of a united Europe are based, then it takes us back to the times when European unity was to be built on similar fascist, Nazi, violent and genocidal ideologies that led to the Holocaust and other horrific crimes,” he said in a statement.

The Bosniak member of the country’s tripartite presidency, Šefik Džaferović, called Orbán's statement “shameful and rude”.

“It is not a challenge for the EU to integrate 2 million (Bosnian) Muslims because we are an autochtonous European people who have always lived here and we are Europeans,” he said.

Bosnia, with its three main ethnic groups — Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats — is going through its worst political crisis since the end of the civil war in the 1990s.

With tacit support from the likes of Russia and Serbia, Bosnian Serbs are threatening to form their own army, judiciary, and tax authority that would see state powers diminished while bolstering those of the Republika Srpska, a Serb-dominated entity or administrative unit, reviving fears of fresh conflict.

More than 100,000 people were killed and millions left homeless during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia when Bosnian Serbs created a para-state ethnically cleansed parts of the country's territory with the aim to join them with neighbouring Serbia.

The US-sponsored 1995 Dayton Peace Accords, doubling as the country's de-facto constitution, put a stop to the war between the three sides, but also created a complex political system thought to be one of the most complicated in the world.

The most recent moves by Dodik are seen by many as an attempt to secede the Republika Srpska by unraveling the checks and balances put in place by the peace deal.

During his speech on Tuesday, Orbán also said Hungary wouldn't support EU sanctions against Bosnian Serb leader and member of the state-level threeway presidency Milorad Dodik as threatened by Germany and some other member states because of his separatist stands.

“Sarajevo has lost its nerve, it is attacking everyone — Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, now Hungary. Not to mention Russia,” Dodik said on Wednesday, referring to the support he has allegedly received from those countries.

A far-right populist, Orbán has been known for his anti-migration policies, claiming Muslim migrants are the greatest threat to Europe’s Christian values.

Long-standing claims of questionable practices by Orbán and his government have resulted in the European Commission sending a formal letter to Hungary in mid-November in a bid to further investigate mounting rule-of-law concerns.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
UK Home Secretary Apologizes Over Child Grooming Failures
Trump Organization Launches 5G Mobile Network and Golden Handset
Towcester Hosts 2025 English Greyhound Derby Amid Industry Scrutiny
Gary Oldman and David Beckham Knighted in King's Birthday Honours
Over 30,000 Lightning Strikes Recorded Across UK During Overnight Storms
Princess of Wales Returns to Public Duties at Trooping the Colour
Red Arrows Use Sustainable Fuel in Historic Trooping the Colour Flypast
Former Welsh First Minister Addresses Unionist Concerns Over Irish Language
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
France Bars Israeli Arms Companies from Paris Defense Expo
King Charles Leads Tribute to Air India Crash Victims at Trooping the Colour
Jack Pitchford Embarks on 200-Mile Walk to Support Stem Cell Charity
Surrey Hikers Take on Challenge of Climbing 11 Peaks in a Single Day
UK Deploys RAF Jets to Middle East Amid Israel-Iran Tensions
Two Skydivers Die in 'Tragic Accident' at Devon Airfield
Sainsbury's and Morrisons Accused of Displaying Prohibited Tobacco Ads
UK Launches National Inquiry into Grooming Gangs
Families Seek Closure After Air India Crash
Gold Emerges as Global Safe Haven Amid Uncertainty
Trump Reports $57 Million Earnings from Crypto Venture
Trump's Military Parade Sparks Concerns Over Authoritarianism
Nationwide 'No Kings' Protests Challenge Trump's Leadership
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Trump's Anti-War Stance Tested Amid Israel-Iran Conflict
Germany Holds First Veterans Celebration Since WWII
U.S. Health Secretary Dismisses CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
×