REMEMBERING OVER 1.000 DESTROYED AND DAMAGED MOSQUES IN BOSNIA DURING THE 1992-1995 SERBIAN,MONTENEGRIN AND CROATIAN AGGRESSIONS

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (May 8,2008) – The Bosnian Islamic Community managed to reconstruct three quarters of sacral objects destroyed during the 1992-1995 Serbian,Montenegrin and Croatian aggressions against Bosnia.

That is an extraordinary success keeping in mind all the tragic circumstances of the situation in which Bosnian people lived after the end of these fascist aggressions.

This was announced at Centre for Islamic Architecture of the Bosnian Islamic Community on occasion of May 7, proclaimed the “Day of Mosques” by the Bosnian Islamic Community. On that day, 12 years ago, the Ferhadija Mosque in Banja Luka was destroyed by the genocidal Serbian aggressor.

”Day of Mosques” is the day on which Ferhadija Mosque is remembered as well as other 1.000 destroyed or damaged mosques throughout Bosnia.

”The Day of Mosques” is aimed to awaked the sleeping consciousness of the Bosnian people who need to remember their destroyed mosques and tragedy which keeps repeating itself in these areas every 20, 30 or 40 years.

This day should remind the world, especially Bosnians, that 80 per cent of the sacral heritage created in the past 500 years, was savagely destroyed by the fascist Serbian,Montenegrin and Croatian aggressors in only several months.

Many mosques have been reconstructed in their authentic or new form, but the most beautiful and most significant of them all, like the Aladza in Foca, Arnaudija in Banja Luka and Sinan Bey’s Mosque in Cajnice are only sad piles of dug out stones which wait for reconstruction.

Whether or not those Bosnian mosques will be reconstructed depends on the funds which lack as well as on other factors.

The fact is that many Bosnians died without seeing the reconstruction of their mosques, which are places where they had grown up and spent their lives.

”If we strive to prevent these tragedies from happening again, the least we can do is remember the ‘Day of the Mosques’, for Bosnians and their mosques share the same fate”, the Bosnian Islamic Community’s Centre for Islamic Architecture announced.
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