The Ferhadija Mosque in Bosnia-Herzegovina
May 28, 2016Advertisement
Banja Luka's historical Ferhadija Mosque has been re-built and re-consecrated. Serb forces had demolished the house of worship in 1993 during Bosnia's civil war. Kemal Gunić spent years lobbying for the reconstruction, collecting donations and helping to organize the construction work. Again and again, Serb nationalists opposed to the mosque staged protests that often turned violent. When the cornerstone was laid in 2001, Kemal Gunić witnessed the stoning of a fellow Bosniak. He was determined that there be no rioting at the mosque's re-opening. A peaceful ceremony would send a vital signal to, among others, all those Muslims who still don't trust the peace process between Serbs and Bosniaks.