Is Bosnia and Herzegovina Discriminating Against Its Largest Religious Group by Refusing to Sign an Agreement with the Islamic Community?
Harun Išerić is a senior teaching and research assistant at the University of Sarajevo—Faculty of Law. He is also a member of the Freedom of Religion Commission established by the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
When Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) adopted its Law on Freedom of Religion in 2004, it established the principles of separation between the state and religious communities, state neutrality toward all religious communities, equal treatment of religious communities before the law, and cooperation through agreements between the state (including its subnational units) and religious communities. The latter agreements are intended to regulate “issues of common interest.” This framework has led scholars to describe the relationship between the state and religious communities as one of “separation with cooperation.”