Srda Trifkovic
Encyclopedia
Srđa Trifković (born July 19, 1954, in Belgrade
, FPR Yugoslavia) is a Serbian writer on international affairs and foreign affairs editor for the paleoconservative
magazine Chronicles
. He was director of the Center for International Affairs at the Rockford Institute
until his resignation on December 31, 2008. Trifković was also an unofficial spokesman for the Republika Srpska
government in the 1990s.
Trifković is the author of Sword of the Prophet, a book on the history and doctrines of Islam. A former consultant to the President of Serbia Vojislav Koštunica
and adviser to Republika Srpska
President and subsequently convicted war criminal Biljana Plavšić
, he comments on Balkan politics and is a regular columnist for several conservative publications in the United States.
(Hon) in international relations from the University of Sussex
in 1977 and another, in political science, from the University of Zagreb
in 1987. Since 1990 he has held a Ph.D
in modern history from the University of Southampton
, UK
, and in 1991-1992 he pursued post-doctoral research on a Title VIII grant from the U.S. Department of State as a Visiting Scholar at the Hoover Institution
in California
.
Beginning in 1980, Trifković has been a radio broadcaster for BBC World Service
and Voice of America
and later a correspondent covering southeast Europe
for U.S. News & World Report
and the Washington Times during which time he was an editor for the Belgrade magazine Duga
.
In 1994–95 he acted as an "unofficial spokesman" for the Bosnian Serb government
(while preferring to describe himself as a "Balkan affairs analyst with close links to the Bosnian Serbs").
Trifković has published op-eds and commentaries in The Times
of London, the San Francisco Chronicle
, the American Conservative, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and Alternative Right
. He has also been a commentator on numerous national and international TV and radio programs, including the Oliver North
Show on (MSNBC), CNN
, CNN International
, SKY News, BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service
and CBC
. He has contributed to Liberty, the newspaper of the Serbian National Defense Council of America.
Trifković has been an adjunct professor at the University of St Thomas in Houston, TX (1996–1997), and in August 1997 he joined the faculty of the short-lived Rose Hill College in Aiken, SC.
Trifković has worked as a political consultant to Aleksandar Karađorđević, Crown Prince of Serbia
, and to Former Yugoslav President Vojislav Koštunica
, as an adviser to Biljana Plavšić
and as representative of the Republika Srpska
in London.
In February 2000 Trifković testified to the Canadian House of Commons on the situation in the Balkans. In July 2000 he took part in a Congressional briefing organized by Rep. Kucinich. In March 2003 he testified as an expert witness
for the defense before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
. In September 2008 he testified again before the ICTY, this time as a material witness for the defence of Ljubisa Beara in the Popovic et el. trial.
In June 2006 he was one of twenty four people who presented works at a symposium on the Holocaust in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945, co-organized by two Serbian institutions and held at Yad Vashem
Center in Jerusalem.
Trifković's fellow conservative commentator on Islam Robert Shepherd has described himself and Trifković as sharing the fundamental thesis that "Islam is inherently aggressive, racist, violent, and intolerant".
Trifković reported in the journal Chronicles that he was refused entry to Canada on 24 February 2011 on the "transparently spurious" grounds that he was "inadmissible on grounds of violating human or international rights for being a proscribed senior official
in the service of a government that, in the opinion of the minister, engages or has engaged in terrorism, systematic or gross human rights violations, or genocide, a war crime or a crime against humanity within the meaning of subsections 6 (3) to (5) of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act."
He believed that his "inadmissibility" was due to contacts with the Bosnian Serb leaders in the early nineties but claimed that the Canadian authorities' grounds for refusing him admission were "transparently spurious" and they had in fact yielded to a Bosniak-inspired campaign against him. The Canadian Institute for the Research of Genocide had complained that Trifković was promoting hatred, antisemitism and islamophobia and accused him of publicly denying what New American termed the "alleged" massacre of Bosniaks at Srebrenica in July 1995, found by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to be a crime of genocide.
The John Birch Society's New American Magazine attributed the decision to refuse Trifković entry to his criticism of Islam and "jihadists", his argument that American policymakers should treat Islam as a hostile political ideology instead of as a religion, and his call to halt Muslim immigration to the West.
New American cited Trifković's views as an author of books on Islam: "[W]e need an absolute moratorium on the immigration of Muslims into both Western Europe and North America, coupled with the denial of citizenship to all practicing Muslims, the denial of security clearances, and the policy of systematic deportation of all jihadists(sic) activists. ... Islam ought to be regarded as a violent political ideology rather than just a religious cult."
Trifković's controversial views concerning the Jewish intellectual tradition were deplored by Robert Spencer, a fellow critic of Islam who argued that Trifković should not have been denied admission to Canada "for politically incorrect opinions".
Trifković is currently active within the 'Lord Byron Foundation for Balkan Studies' in holding lectures that deny the existence of the Srebrenica genocide.
The Sword of the Prophet received praise from conservative critics. It was described as an "exceptionally fluid argument against militant Islam... Powerful stuff powerfully presented" by Ray Olson in Booklist
.
In 2003 Trifković was accused by Stephen Schwartz of being a supporter of Slobodan Milošević
, although he was a signatory to a letter of protest against Milošević in 1996 and has condemned Milošević in numerous publications. Trifković received a formal apology from the publisher of Schwartz's article.
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, FPR Yugoslavia) is a Serbian writer on international affairs and foreign affairs editor for the paleoconservative
Paleoconservatism
Paleoconservatism is a term for a conservative political philosophy found primarily in the United States stressing tradition, limited government, civil society, anti-colonialism, anti-corporatism and anti-federalism, along with religious, regional, national and Western identity. Chilton...
magazine Chronicles
Chronicles (magazine)
Chronicles is a U.S. monthly magazine published by the Rockford Institute. Its full current name is Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture. The magazine is known for promoting anti-globalism, anti-intervention and anti-immigration stances within conservative politics, and is considered one of...
. He was director of the Center for International Affairs at the Rockford Institute
Rockford Institute
Rockford Institute is a conservative think-tank associated with paleoconservatism, based in Rockford, Illinois. It is known for the John Randolph Club, and publishes Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture....
until his resignation on December 31, 2008. Trifković was also an unofficial spokesman for the Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
government in the 1990s.
Trifković is the author of Sword of the Prophet, a book on the history and doctrines of Islam. A former consultant to the President of Serbia Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica is a Serbian politician, statesman and the president of the Democratic Party of Serbia. He was the last President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, succeeding Slobodan Milošević and serving from 2000 to 2003...
and adviser to Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
President and subsequently convicted war criminal Biljana Plavšić
Biljana Plavšic
Biljana Plavšić is a former president of Republika Srpska and war criminal. She is the highest ranking Bosnian Serb politician to be sentenced. She was indicted in 2001 by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for war crimes committed during the Bosnian war...
, he comments on Balkan politics and is a regular columnist for several conservative publications in the United States.
Biography
Trifković earned a BABachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
(Hon) in international relations from the University of Sussex
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
in 1977 and another, in political science, from the University of Zagreb
University of Zagreb
The University of Zagreb is the biggest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of Southeastern Europe...
in 1987. Since 1990 he has held a Ph.D
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in modern history from the University of Southampton
University of Southampton
The University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...
, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and in 1991-1992 he pursued post-doctoral research on a Title VIII grant from the U.S. Department of State as a Visiting Scholar at the Hoover Institution
Hoover Institution
The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy think tank and library founded in 1919 by then future U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, an early alumnus of Stanford....
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Beginning in 1980, Trifković has been a radio broadcaster for BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
and Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
and later a correspondent covering southeast Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
for U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
and the Washington Times during which time he was an editor for the Belgrade magazine Duga
Duga
Duga is a genus of moth in the family Geometridae.-References:*...
.
In 1994–95 he acted as an "unofficial spokesman" for the Bosnian Serb government
Government of Republika Srpska
The Government of Republika Srpska is the main element of the executive branch of government in Republika Srpska, one of the two entities that make up Bosnia and Herzegovina.-Current cabinet:...
(while preferring to describe himself as a "Balkan affairs analyst with close links to the Bosnian Serbs").
Trifković has published op-eds and commentaries in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
of London, the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, the American Conservative, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and Alternative Right
Alternative Right
Alternative Right, or AlternativeRight.com, is a paleoconservative website which presents itself as "an online magazine of radical traditionalism," and "an attempt to forge a new, independent intellectual Right." The website is often referred to as "AltRight." Alternative Right was founded by...
. He has also been a commentator on numerous national and international TV and radio programs, including the Oliver North
Oliver North
Oliver Laurence North is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, political commentator, host of War Stories with Oliver North on Fox News Channel, a military historian, and a New York Times best-selling author....
Show on (MSNBC), CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, CNN International
CNN International
CNN International is an international English language television network that carries news, current affairs, politics, opinions, and business programming worldwide. CNN is one of the world's largest news organizations. It is owned by Time Warner, and is affiliated with CNN, which is mainly...
, SKY News, BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
and CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
. He has contributed to Liberty, the newspaper of the Serbian National Defense Council of America.
Trifković has been an adjunct professor at the University of St Thomas in Houston, TX (1996–1997), and in August 1997 he joined the faculty of the short-lived Rose Hill College in Aiken, SC.
Trifković has worked as a political consultant to Aleksandar Karađorđević, Crown Prince of Serbia
Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia
Alexander II Karadjordjevic, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia , is the former crown prince of the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the head of the House of Karadjordjevic. Alexander is the only child of former King Peter II of Yugoslavia and Princess Alexandra of Greece and Denmark...
, and to Former Yugoslav President Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica
Vojislav Koštunica is a Serbian politician, statesman and the president of the Democratic Party of Serbia. He was the last President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, succeeding Slobodan Milošević and serving from 2000 to 2003...
, as an adviser to Biljana Plavšić
Biljana Plavšic
Biljana Plavšić is a former president of Republika Srpska and war criminal. She is the highest ranking Bosnian Serb politician to be sentenced. She was indicted in 2001 by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for war crimes committed during the Bosnian war...
and as representative of the Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
in London.
In February 2000 Trifković testified to the Canadian House of Commons on the situation in the Balkans. In July 2000 he took part in a Congressional briefing organized by Rep. Kucinich. In March 2003 he testified as an expert witness
Expert witness
An expert witness, professional witness or judicial expert is a witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially and legally...
for the defense before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
. In September 2008 he testified again before the ICTY, this time as a material witness for the defence of Ljubisa Beara in the Popovic et el. trial.
In June 2006 he was one of twenty four people who presented works at a symposium on the Holocaust in Yugoslavia, 1941–1945, co-organized by two Serbian institutions and held at Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
Center in Jerusalem.
Writings on Islam
Trifković is the author of Sword of the Prophet: The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam, a book about the history and tenets of Islam which identifies the rise of Islamic fundamentalism as the greatest danger to "Western" values since the end of the Cold War. According to James Bissett, former Canadian Ambassador to Yugoslavia and a close associate of Trifković, Trifković sees the source of this threat in the absence of separation of church and state under Islam - because Islam is a way of life, Muslims are required to subordinate themselves to the teachings of Allah and live as members of the total Islamic community, calling into question their ability to give their political loyalty to a non-Muslim state. Trifković considers this to be a particularly important issue for the countries of Western Europe, with a population of over 20 million Muslims, and the United States (3 to 5 million).Trifković's fellow conservative commentator on Islam Robert Shepherd has described himself and Trifković as sharing the fundamental thesis that "Islam is inherently aggressive, racist, violent, and intolerant".
Refusal of admission to Canada
In February of 2011, Canadian authorities refused to allow Srđa Trifković to enter Canada to address a meeting at the University of British Columbia at Vancouver.Trifković reported in the journal Chronicles that he was refused entry to Canada on 24 February 2011 on the "transparently spurious" grounds that he was "inadmissible on grounds of violating human or international rights for being a proscribed senior official
Prescribed senior official
Prescribed senior official is the term used by the Canadian Border Services Agency to refer to an individual who will be refused admission into Canada by virtue of their past or current service, in or for a government responsible for war crimes or crimes against humanity.-Inadmissibility:Section 35...
in the service of a government that, in the opinion of the minister, engages or has engaged in terrorism, systematic or gross human rights violations, or genocide, a war crime or a crime against humanity within the meaning of subsections 6 (3) to (5) of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act."
He believed that his "inadmissibility" was due to contacts with the Bosnian Serb leaders in the early nineties but claimed that the Canadian authorities' grounds for refusing him admission were "transparently spurious" and they had in fact yielded to a Bosniak-inspired campaign against him. The Canadian Institute for the Research of Genocide had complained that Trifković was promoting hatred, antisemitism and islamophobia and accused him of publicly denying what New American termed the "alleged" massacre of Bosniaks at Srebrenica in July 1995, found by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to be a crime of genocide.
The John Birch Society's New American Magazine attributed the decision to refuse Trifković entry to his criticism of Islam and "jihadists", his argument that American policymakers should treat Islam as a hostile political ideology instead of as a religion, and his call to halt Muslim immigration to the West.
New American cited Trifković's views as an author of books on Islam: "[W]e need an absolute moratorium on the immigration of Muslims into both Western Europe and North America, coupled with the denial of citizenship to all practicing Muslims, the denial of security clearances, and the policy of systematic deportation of all jihadists(sic) activists. ... Islam ought to be regarded as a violent political ideology rather than just a religious cult."
Trifković's controversial views concerning the Jewish intellectual tradition were deplored by Robert Spencer, a fellow critic of Islam who argued that Trifković should not have been denied admission to Canada "for politically incorrect opinions".
Trifković is currently active within the 'Lord Byron Foundation for Balkan Studies' in holding lectures that deny the existence of the Srebrenica genocide.
Books
Trifković has written four books:- Ustasa: Croatian separatism and European politics, 1929-1945, London (1998) ISBN 18-92-47800-5
- The Sword of the Prophet: The politically incorrect guide to Islam: History, Theology, Impact on the World, Boston, Regina Orthodox Press (2002) ISBN 19-28-65311-1
- Defeating Jihad: How the War on Terrorism May Yet Be Won, In Spite of Ourselves, Regina Orthodox Press (2006).
- The Krajina Chronicle: A History of Serbs in Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia, The Lord Byron Foundation, 2010.
The Sword of the Prophet received praise from conservative critics. It was described as an "exceptionally fluid argument against militant Islam... Powerful stuff powerfully presented" by Ray Olson in Booklist
Booklist
Booklist is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. It is geared toward libraries and booksellers and is available in print or online...
.
In 2003 Trifković was accused by Stephen Schwartz of being a supporter of Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
, although he was a signatory to a letter of protest against Milošević in 1996 and has condemned Milošević in numerous publications. Trifković received a formal apology from the publisher of Schwartz's article.