Croatia is a role model for the world with regard to tolerance towards minority and religious communities, Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlic Radman said during a visit to the Islamic community in Croatia on Tuesday.

According to Grlic Radman, “Croatia is a model state in Europe and the world when it comes to tolerance, safety, respect of others and those who are different,” at a time when tension is growing between France and Islamic countries, primarily Turkey, being stirred up by a caricature of the Prophet Mohammed and murder of a French teacher who was killed by a radical Islamist.

After meeting with Mufti Aziz ef Hasanovic, the minister said that the incumbent government had from the start endeavoured to secure access to education “so that there is no room for hate speech, Xenophobia and radicalism in Croatia,” and announced that legislation is being prepared in that regard within the framework of the Coordinating Body for Homeland Security.

The minister said that about “63,000 Muslims who live in Croatia are ambassadors who can testify that Croatia is a safe country, respectable in respecting human, national, minority and religious rights.”

Mufti Hasanovic underlined that part of the Muslim community’s role is to “brand and promote the high standard that are developed in Croatia.”