Muslim community protests Sarajevo pride parade

Описание: (8 Sep 2019) Bosnian police have sealed off parts of Bosnia's capital Sarajevo to secure the Balkan country's first ever LGBT pride parade and prevent incidents as opponents of the event held gatherings of their own.
Using sniffer dogs and metal barriers, more than 1,000 police deployed early on Sunday, imposing a blockade of the route where hundreds of participants of the pride march are set to pass.
About a mile away, dozens of followers of a conservative Islamic group marched against the parade.
They described the pride march as a "sin" and "humiliation" for Sarajevo.
"They want to bring this into our streets, our squares - among our children," Sanin Musa, Islamic theologian and chairman of the "Iskorak" group behind the event, said.
"We want to fight against this, we are fighting against their LGBT way of life, which is being introduced into our schools, our homes, our universities. "
Bosnian police have called for reinforcements to protect the public at Sunday's parade.
They are concerned Muslim and soccer hooligan groups with strong anti-gay views may try to disrupt the event.
Extremists and hooligans in the past have attacked two queer events in Sarajevo, predominantly a Muslim city, fuelling fears of violence ahead of the pride.
Sarajevo is the only capital city in the Balkans that hasn't hosted a pride parade yet.
US and European Union officials working in Bosnia have expressed support of the event.
Bosnia remains highly conservative and torn by divisions stemming from a 1992-95 ethnic war involving Bosnia's Serbs, Muslims and Croats during the breakup of Yugoslavia.

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