The IRC stated it believed the actual number of incidents was much higher but remained significantly underreported because members of religious groups feared that reporting them could trigger retaliation or further episodes.

In July, unknown persons fired several shots from a small-caliber weapon at a Catholic cross in Bisnje near Derventa. Authorities reported there were no victims; they failed to identify any suspects by year’s end.

On October 11, unknown persons vandalized Sultan Sulaiman’s Atiq Mosque in Bijeljina by breaking glass on two windows. The mosque was a designated national monument previously restored after being destroyed in the 1992-95 war. Mirnes Kovac, a columnist for Al Jazeera Balkans, tweeted: “This is just one more sign of the dramatic rise of ultranationalist forces among the Serb population in the Balkans.” Mayor of Bijeljina Mico Micic condemned the incident and called for tolerance and coexistence in the municipality, as “animosities, mistrust, and instability can bring nothing good.”

In July, unknown persons sprayed insulting graffiti on the Saint Sunday Orthodox Church in the village of Dobric near Siroki Brijeg. According to the IRC, the incident led to a more proactive and constructive attitude towards the SOC by local authorities in Siroki Brijeg, who agreed to help what the IRC described as the small and long-neglected Orthodox returnee community in the village by initiating a project to provide regular water supply to its residences.

In February, vandals damaged the parish house next to the Catholic Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kotor Varos Municipality in the RS in February. Police arrested two suspects and initiated criminal proceedings against them, but further information on the case was unavailable at year’s end.

In January, police arrested two minors after they damaged a window and the facade of the Carsijska Mosque in Kozarska Dubica. The perpetrators later visited the imam, together with their parents, and apologized to him, offering to pay for the damage. The local mayor also offered to cover the cost of repairs.

In August, on the first day of the Islamic New Year, a dead pig was found in the yard of the mosque in Bratunac. The perpetrators were not identified.

In 2019, the OSCE mission to the country monitored 16 potential bias-motivated incidents targeting Muslims and 15 such incidents targeting Christians (both Catholic and Orthodox), all of which were reported to police. Incidents ranged from disturbing religious ceremonies with threats and shootings, to threatening religious leaders, to vandalizing graveyards and religious facilities through property destruction and graffiti.

On February 26, Danijel Rajkovic from Gacko was sentenced to one year in prison for provoking ethnic, racial, and religious hatred. In 2019, Rajkovic defecated in front of the mosque in Gacko and, on several occasions, sent threatening messages to the imam in Bosanski Novi. In addition to his prison sentence, the court ordered Rajkovic to undergo psychiatric treatment.

The Council of Muftis of the IC said it was continuing efforts to persuade unregistered Islamic congregations (or para-jamaats), which gathered predominantly Salafist followers and operated outside the purview of the IC, to cease what they described as “unsanctioned” religious practices and officially unite with the IC. The IC reported 11 active para-jamaats during the year, compared with 21 in 2019 and 64 in 2016.

In May, Cardinal Puljic, the most senior Catholic prelate in the country, held a memorial Mass for the victims of Bleiburg, where Yugoslav partisans killed thousands of Nazi-allied Ustasha fighters who fled the advance of the communist forces, as well as innocent persons, including women and children. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Cardinal Puljic could not travel to Bleiburg, Austria, for the annual commemoration. The Jewish Community, Israeli Embassy in Tirana, Albania, and SOC criticized the Cardinal’s plans to hold the commemorative Mass, which also drew sizeable but peaceful protests in the center of Sarajevo. The press reported that the Mass, which was also broadcast by a regional television station, included a prayer for all victims of World War II, and there was no mention of Ustasha leaders. Online newspaper Crux Now reported that in an interview with local Catholic radio station Marija, Cardinal Pujlic said he had received threats related to the memorial Mass and that his church had prayed “for all the victims, not for Ustashas or criminals.”

The IRC organized six training sessions for youth, religious leaders, and IRC staff on usage of social media in promoting positive narratives (stories designed to promote interreligious and interethnic dialogue). The IRC continued to monitor and condemn attacks on religious leaders and buildings. It also organized “youth corners” – booths in public areas providing pamphlets and other information promoting the work and mission of the IRC – in Tuzla, Trebinje, Sarajevo, Banja Luka, and Zepce.

Media reported two separate anti-Semitic graffiti incidents in Novi Sad in December. In the first incident, unknown individuals spray-painted a building not associated with the Jewish community with a crossed-out Star of David and the words “Back to the Furnace.” In the second incident, unidentified individuals spray-painted a billboard displaying a photo of a synagogue and the message “Visit Novi Sad” with a crossed-out Star of David and the words “Juden Frei,” a term used by the Nazis to denote areas cleansed of Jews during World War II. In February, unknown individuals wrote anti-Semitic messages and Nazi graffiti on buildings in Novi Sad. The spray-painted graffiti included a crossed-out Star of David, the words “Juden Frei,” the SS insignia, and the number 88, which neo-Nazis sometimes use instead of the words “Heil Hitler.” In February, the Novi Sad-based website 021.rs also noted several instances of neo-Nazi messages written on the University of Novi Sad campus and at the Quay of the Victims of the Raid memorial that commemorates the mass killing of Serbs, Jews, and other civilians by Hungarian occupying forces in 1942.

In April, the NGO Center for Security, Investigation, and Defense warned citizens against Jehovah’s Witnesses’ proselytizing during the COVID-19 pandemic and criticized their proselytizing activities as sinister and “non-collegial” to other religious communities that did not engage in the same activities. The government reportedly took no action in response.

Jewish leaders said there had been an increase in online anti-Semitic stereotypes and statements since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Jewish community leaders stated that anti-Semitic works, including the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, continued to be available for purchase from informal sellers or online bookshops. Self-defined “patriotic” groups continued to maintain several websites, and individuals hosted chat rooms that openly promoted anti-Semitic ideas and literature. There were no reported police prosecutions of these incidents.

Some traditional and online media, as well as other websites, continued to use the term “sect” for smaller Christian denominations and nontraditional groups, which has a strong negative connotation of “secrecy and mystifying rituals” in the Serbian language, according to anthropologist of religion Aleksandra Djuric Milovanovic, a research fellow at the Institute of Balkan Studies of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Many smaller or nontraditional religious groups reported some public bias and discrimination against their members. Several Protestant groups continued to state that they believed the general public still mistrusted and misunderstood Protestantism and that individuals sometimes referred to some Protestant denominations as “sects.” The Christian Baptist Church reported that on September 1, the show 150 Minutes on TV Prva identified Baptists as a “sect” that individuals should avoid and consider dangerous.

On September 10, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights released a report providing an overview of data on anti-Semitic incidents recorded in EU member states between 2009 and 2019. The report also provided information on North Macedonia and Serbia due to their observer status within the agency. According to the report, the Ministry of Interior and Public Prosecutor’s Office registered 30 anti-Semitic incidents in the country during the period. Of these, 11 incidents resulted in criminal charges. These included seven charges of inciting national, racial, and religious hatred and intolerance, and four charges of destruction and damage to property. The number of incidents was further divided into incidents involving anonymous threats (two), graffiti (24), and damage to Jewish community buildings (four).

Several smaller religious groups said interfaith education and dialogue were needed among the broader religious community, not only among the seven traditional groups. They also reported that formal interfaith dialogue was minimal and sporadic; however, it did occur on an informal, person-to-person basis. Members of the Roman Catholic Church, First Baptist Church, Jewish community, and Muslim community attended the first virtual Western Balkans Interreligious Dialogue interfaith event in November. All agreed that interfaith communication needed to be improved. Multiple smaller groups, including the Christ Evangelical Church, the Anglican Church, and the Theravada Buddhist Community, reported good cooperation with local SOC officials.

On November 3, the Islamic Community publicly condemned the November 2 terrorist attack in Vienna, Austria carried out by a Muslim, and it expressed solidarity with, and condolences to, the victims and their families.

There were incidents of anti-Muslim hate speech, especially online, according to Web-Eye, an internet monitoring organization. In 2019 (latest data available), among the 773 reported cases of alleged hate speech, 23 percent expressed intolerance towards Muslims. Secretary-General Poric stated that COVID-19 and corresponding government-imposed restrictions reduced the opportunities for face-to-face interaction between Muslims and non-Muslims, but anti-Muslim hate speech was still present on social media.

The Orthodox community’s only church remained in Ljubljana. Orthodox representatives continued efforts to build additional churches in Koper and Celje until the government imposed COVID-19 restrictions. Before the restrictions, the Orthodox community in Koper had held services at a local Catholic church, in keeping with the Catholic Church practice to routinely grant access for local Orthodox communities to host events and religious ceremonies

On February 7, the Islamic Community opened the country’s first mosque in Ljubljana. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, however, the mosque remained closed at year’s end. Mufti Nedzad Grabus of the Islamic Community stated that the mosque’s opening would bring increased scrutiny and possible backlash against Muslims, adding he received anonymous death threats during the mosque’s initial construction in 2014 and 2015.

Representatives of the Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim, and Protestant communities continued to report productive relations among members of different religious groups, including active interfaith dialogues at workshops and conferences, including virtual events.