Serbia:
Religious attack on Balkan orchestra

Ten Muslim extremists donning long beards, short pants and white hats broke up a concert in Novi Pazar, reports Belgrade radio B92 on 5 June 2006

The Balkanika Orchestra was about to enter stage for a concert organised by the Novi Pazar municipality and the Serbia Culture and Sport Ministry when ten young men dressed like members of the radical Islamic movement Wahhabi climbed up onto the stage and threw around the instruments that were set up for the musicians to play, vandalising and damaging the band’s equipment.
One of the men took the microphone and told those attending the concert: “Brothers, go home, they are working against Islam here. This is Satan’s work.”
He then threw the microphone, which was damaged, as were the speakers, mixing board and some of the lighting. Four police officers were present at the concert in Novi Pazar and used force to get the youths off of the stage and stop them from coming back.
Further public concerts in the region will probably all be cancelled, writes B92 on their website. The city Novi Pazar is the main economic and cultural centre of the Sandžak region in Serbia.

Press release from Law Centre
The Humanitarian Law Centre in Belgrade condemned the attack in a statement, saying: “The music of the band Balkanika, inspired by folklore heritage of the Balkans and performed on traditional instruments, presents a part of this region’s cultural heritage in an artistic fashion that does not infringe on cultural or religious beliefs of any nation or ethnic group.” According to the statement, “the claims presented by the group before the concert that the band ‘works against Islam’ are utterly fabricated and false.”