SREBRENICA COMMEMORATION 2019

11 JULY 2019 | BOSNIA HERITAGE FOUNDATION & LONDON MUSLIM CENTRE

THE SINGLE GREATEST ATROCITY IN EUROPE SINCE THE SECOND WORLD WAR...

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Flames of hatred in the heart of Europe

This years marks the 24th anniversary commemoration of the worst atrocities on Eu-

ropean soil since the Second World War that took place in Srebrenica, Bosnia.

In 1993 Srebrenica was declared safe and placed under UN protection. However, the UN failed to protect Srebrenica and allowed it to fall in the hands of Serbian Army on July 11th, 1995 which led to systematic mass execution and torture of more than 8372 Bosnian men and boys.

The whole world watched the scenes of the incomprehensible horror. Before Srebrenica mas-sacre more than half of Bosnian territory was al-ready ethnically-cleansed and thousands of Bosnian Muslim people were killed.

During the longest siege in modern history in Sarajevo in 1992-1995 more than 11,500 people were killed either by sniper or bomb shelling in so called ‘slow motion killing’.

History and the narrative of hate

In order to have better understanding of the genocide on Bosnian Muslims it is vital to consider the history of Bosnia. According to historians there were 10 genocides on Muslims in the Balkans -- the first of which took place in the period of 1683 to 1699. The Second World War was no exception when another horrific genocide took place.

After the Second World War the flames of

hatred towards Bosnian Muslims was kept from the past but also ignited by many Serbian writers and academics. They would fabricate historical facts and write about alleged atrocities committed against Serbian population by the ‘Turks’.

Bosnian Muslims were often referred to as ‘Turks’ to serve as a reminder to Serbs of the Otto-man period in the Balkans where only Serbian his-torians claim that Serbs ‘suffered immensely’, hence increase hatred towards Islam and Muslims.

Even ordinary Serbs would keep several places empty on their weddings. They would say: ‘Your uncle would have sat there had it not been for the Turks (Bosnian Muslims) who killed him’.

However, historical facts confirm Serbs en-joyed great rights and privileges during the time of the Ottoman Empire. The bridge in Visegrad built by the Ottomans stands there as a silent witness to confirm how that bridge was a landmark of the Ot-toman civilisation that served everyone and yet is has been misused by Serbs as a place of the mass execution of Bosnian Muslims.

Perhaps the most illustrative story of the continuity of the genocide in Bosnia was the case of Bosnian Muslim Seval Tabakovic and his trag-ic destiny. During the Second World War in 1942 Tabakovic was brought by the enemy Serb soldiers to the Mehmed Pasa Sokolovic Bridge in Visegrad. Before he was brought to the bridge his entire fami-ly was executed. The executors (Serbian soldiers) slit his neck and threw him in to river Drina. Because

SREBRENICA 24 YEARS ON – HAVE WE LEARNED THE LESSONS? Mersad Krnjic

SREBRENICA 24 YEARS ON – HAVE WE LEARNED THE LESSONS? | SREBRENICA COMMEMORATION 2019

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he was a good swimmer he somehow managed to escape and survive.

After 50 years, in 1992 the same person who already once survived mass execution was taken again to the same bridge for the same reason, to be executed.

However, this time his hands and legs were tied-up with wire, thrown into river where he died. Later his remains were exhumed from the river. 1

This story illustrates that even though the whole world said ‘never again’ after the Holocaust, the tragedy and indeed even more meticulously planned war crimes were repeated only fifty years later in Bosnia.

Serb and Croatian territorial aspirations

On the other hand, neighbouring coun-tries such as Serbia and Croatia have always had aggressive territorial aspirations for Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1991 Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic and Croatian president Franjo Tudjman had meeting in Karadjordjevo where they negotiat-ed the division of Bosnia and Herzegovina which would result in the creation of Greater Serbia and Greater Croatia.

Their main concern was what to do with Bosnian Muslims. The plan, was therefore, to exterminate one third, another third rendered as refugees and rest forced to convert into Christianity as Serbs always had rather nonsensical (scientifical-ly and historically incorrect) notion that Bosnian Muslims were in fact Serbs who converted to Islam, so they wanted them to ‘return to the religion of their forefathers’.

Biljana Plavsic, a Bosnian Serb politician and convicted war criminal claimed that Bosnian Muslims were ‘genetically deformed material who embraced Islam’ which would justify their exter-mination and forced conversion to Christianity. Furthermore, Plavsic stated that ‘through the cen-turies, the genes of Bosnian Muslims degraded further’. This statement which equated a specif-

1 Nicholas Jubber, Epic Continent: Adventures in the Great Stories of Europe (UK: John Murray Press, 2019)2 www.leomrtns.typepad.com/blog/2011/12/biljana-plav%C5%A1i%C4%87-a-biology-teacher-defending-ethnical-cleansing-who-was-arrested-and-lied-to-get-out-of-jail-and-is-dan.html3 www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/ahm/the_churches_and_the_bosnian_war.htm

ic ethnic group with a disease or illness, has been compared to how the Nazis identified the Jews.2

On the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo on 28 June 1989, several hundreds of thou-sand Serbs gathered on its site where Serbian pres-ident Milosevic later known as ‘Butcher of Balkans’ announced his plans for the war. He said: ‘after six centuries we are again engaged in battles and quar-rels. They are not armed battles, but this cannot be excluded yet.’ The drums of war started to get loud-er.

After the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991 its Army, the fourth strongest military power in Eu-rope, overnight became under the control of Serbia ready to execute the policy of mass murder and eth-nic-cleansing.

It has been estimated that more than 100,000 Bosnian Muslims were killed, many were brutally tortured and then executed. More than 50,000 Bos-nian Muslim women were raped, some were forced to give birth because of rape. Numerous concentra-tion camps were set up.

Indeed, the role of the Orthodox Church was rather shameful as publicly supported, protect-ed, glorified and ‘blessed’ war criminals and their crimes.3

Bosnia magnanimity in the face of onslaught

While more than 600 mosques were destroyed in Bosnia by Bosnian Serbs and Croats, the Bosnian Muslim Government guarded and protected churches all over Bosnia during the conflict. Even some churches were repaired in besieged Sarajevo because they were damaged by the shelling from Serb positions around Sarajevo.

This is an example of the highest level of the tolerance of the Bosnian Muslims which shocked the whole world.

In the context of Bosnia, the official politics of Bosnian Serbs and Croats must be changed. However, nationalism, hatred as well as Islamophobia are deeply rooted in the minds of

SREBRENICA 24 YEARS ON – HAVE WE LEARNED THE LESSONS? | SREBRENICA COMMEMORATION 2019

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the vast majority people they represent, and no politician will ever win the elections if he or she accepts the fact that genocide took place in Bosnia and condemn their own war criminals. It is a vicious circle indeed. Consequently, the clear majority of the Bosnian Serb and Croat politicians (including both Churches, Orthodox and Catholic) openly praise war criminals and deny the genocide against Bosnian Muslims. Furthermore, politicians very often promote and increase nationalist rhetoric based on hatred and intolerance towards Bosnian Muslims in order to improve their success in elec-tions.

Despite all this, Bosnian Muslims are still open to reconciliation and there has been no hatred nor desire for the revenge even during the genocide, in the most difficult of times. Many victims might be prepared even to forgive for the worst sufferings some could endure but unfortunately war criminals are not asking for forgiveness except those who only want to reduce their prison sentences in the Hague.

Unfortunately, there is not much effort from the other sides to change the current ‘geno-cide praise and denial’ climate for a future society that is more cohesive for all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Genocide denial and Islamophobia are still on the rise and younger generations have been poi-soned and negatively affected with nationalist rhet-oric and hatred.

Perhaps European Christian leaders could positively influence Orthodox and Catholic leaders in Bosnia. In many churches in the UK the com-memorations for the victims of Srebrenica/Bosnia genocide were held. Sadly, this would be impossible to replicate in churches in Bosnia today.

It is not reasonable to expect from both the Orthodox and Catholic churches to commemorate the Srebrenica genocide because during the war they supported the genocide and the war criminals. In fact, the Croatian Catholic Church never con-demned any war criminals. For instance, a church in Zagreb, held a mass in honour of the Croatian War criminal Slobodan Praljak who is responsible

4 www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/croatia-holds-commemoration-for-war-criminal/10016205 www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/29/bosnia-europe-econmy-ethnic-nationalist

for mass war crimes against Bosnian Muslim popu-lation and destruction of the Old Bridge in Mostar, Bosnia.4

Furthermore, there was a recent diplomatic scandal which revealed that the Croatian govern-ment tried secretly arm Bosnian Muslims – some were not even practising – to support the rather nonsensical statement of Croatian president Kolin-da Grabar-Kitarovic that 10,000 Muslim radicals are currently residing in Bosnia.5 Thankfully, this crass move failed miserably.

Bosnia is safe and beautiful

In order to avoid confusion or misrepresen-tation due to the recent horrific past it is important to highlight that Bosnia is a very beautiful country in the heart of the Europe with many natural re-sources. It is very safe country now, much safer than many European capitals, (much safer than London) with warm and welcoming people.

Even though the deep scars of the war may not be very visible on the architecture of Bosnia anymore, the scars of thousands grieving moth-ers who buried or still awaiting to bury their sons, fathers and husbands may fade away but will never disappear.

Finally, this year on 11th July in Srebreni-ca while 33 identified remains of the victims will be laid down in the graves there remains a concern whether this perpetual cycle of evil and genocide will ever end in Bosnia. And perhaps rightly so.

*Mersad Krnjic is the Imam of the Bosnian community in Birmingham. He completed his BA in Islamic Studies and Arabic from University of Wales and MA in Islamic Banking and Finance from University of Gloucestershire. His expertise also includes the analysis of the political history of Balkan region. Krnjic has been active in raising awareness of the Srebrenica and other genocides in Bosnia working with various community organisations and charities.

SREBRENICA 24 YEARS ON – HAVE WE LEARNED THE LESSONS? | SREBRENICA COMMEMORATION 2019

All praise and thanks to Allah, the Lord of all known and unknown worlds. We thank Him

for sending to us His Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) and for bestowing His numerous blessings upon us. It is our duty to constantly remind ourselves of His blessings and to think about his ayat (signs) and learn from them.

Dear brothers and sisters,

On this blessed day, we perform the Friday Jumu’a prayer and we glorify Allah the Almighty. We ask Him to accept our deeds and to forgive our sins and to protect us from going astray.

In our ad’iya (supplications) today, we remember the martyrs of Srebrenica and Podrinje and all the martyrs of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We do that in all our congregations and all our mosques. There are only a few days left until 11 July, the day when we will pray janaza (funeral) for the martyrs of the genocide against Bosniak Muslims in Sre-brenica and Podrinje -- the day the world would mark the 24th anniversary of this gruesome crime.

A few days later, in another part of our country, where by the same hand of evil the most heinous crimes during the aggression against our country were committed, we will pray janaza for the martyrs of Prijedor and other places in the val-ley of the Sana River.

These are difficult days for us. We stand silent before so much evil that had fallen upon us. But we also pray sincerely: Dear Lord, grant them the most beautiful gardens of the Hereafter; and to their executors, the worst criminals this world has seen, that which You had prepared for them.

Allah is the Almighty and the Creator of everything. He created the Heavens and the Earth and all that lies between, as well as all the diverse creatures on Earth. This is a demonstration of the greatness of His might and His endless wisdom. The Creator created all people as different from each other.

Dear brothers and sisters,

FRIDAY SERMON ON THE ANNIVERSARYOF THE SREBRENICA GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAK MUSLIMS

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SHAYKH HUSEIN KAVAZOVIC GRAND MUFTI AND RAISUL-ULAMA, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA

GAZI HUSREV-BEY MOSQUE, SARAJEVO

FRIDAY 5TH JULY 2019

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The differences between people, and the dif-ferences that exist among all the worlds He

created, are a given fact that is not linked to the will of man, but to the will of God. The role of humans is to accept those differences as an act of God’s will and to form appropriate attitudes about them. It is often emphasised that diversity is in fact wealth and that it should be viewed in positive light, but, because of their weaknesses, people are often not able to un-derstand that correctly and accept it.

Many differences between people are taken as reasons for negativity, suspiciousness and malice, which ultimately lead to hatred and open enmity.

In a world of diversity where positive and civilised relations are maintained, people communicate with each other with respect and mutual agreement. They make agreements and build strategies that offer a promising bright future, and they keep their word.

They stand behind their signatures and are consistent in fulfilling their promises. They are ready to support the principles upon which their common interests are based.

In a world of diversity where negative relationships have been a long-standing norm, people become distanced from each other precisely because they misunderstand diversity and because they are prone to communicating with others in a rude and inappropriate manner on a daily basis. In such a world, attempts at establishing a basis for constructive agreement are often followed by numerous prejudices. Such relations necessarily lead to mistrust and constant anticipation of negative consequences, which are manifested in pessimism and fear in everyday lives of people.

All this bears a much greater weight if such consequences are possible for a nation that has deep wounds caused by the genocide committed against it in the recent past. Although this crime of such a huge scale against Muslims was committed before the entire world and although the highest international courts have given the final human verdict of truth on the Genocide in Srebrenica, the victim is still traumatised and hurt by those who want to cover-up their responsibility, and who continue to make

the victims’ lives hard in any way they can. The verdict on their actions was given a long time ago in the Truth revealed by God Almighty: “And when it is said to them, “Do not cause corruption on the earth,” they say, “We are but reformers.” Unquestionably, it is they who are the corrupters, but they perceive [it] not. (Al-Baqarah, 11-12).

Dear brothers and sisters,

This planet of ours is set up perfectly and Allah the Almighty and the Most Wise has subjected everything on it according to the needs of man. All its potentials are in the service of mankind: soil, water, air, and numerous animals on land and in the sea, natural laws... The blessings we have been given cannot be counted. However, instead of being grateful and using these gifts for the greater good, modern man chooses to destroy these gifts and pollute the soil, air and water and destroy animal and plant life to the point where it leads to his own self-destruction. It is no wonder, then, that when such a person meets the Other, someone different from himself, he immediately perceives him as a source of danger to his comfortable lifestyle and his material goals and chooses to fight against him. No doubt, that same person will ultimately also sacrifice someone who is no different than himself, even those closest to him, to make more space for his own selfish self.

So, what is the way out? What is the solution? As easy as it may seem, we must never stop believing in the root of the goodness of God, which he has planted in all people. When we start doubting the strength of truth and justice, the possibility of human kindness and generosity – that will be our undoing.

May the best ones among us work harder to have a stronger influence and make the world we live in a better place. Why would it be impossible for us to be more understanding towards each other and to stand together as human beings?

History shows us examples of virtues that led nations towards their common noble goals. The golden pages of human history are those written about the missions of messengers of God. The Qur’an says of Ibrahim (peace be upon him): “Indeed,

FRIDAY SERMON ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE SREBRENICA GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAK MUSLIMS | SREBRENICA COMMEMORATION 2019

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Abraham was a [comprehensive] leader, devoutly obedient to Allah, inclining toward truth, and he was not of those who associate others with Allah. He was] grateful for His favors. Allah chose him and guided him to a straight path. And We gave him good in this world, and indeed, in the Hereafter he will be among the righteous. Then We revealed to you, [O Muhammad], to follow the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth; and he was not of those who associate with Allah.” (An-Nahl, 120-123).

Despite being a common-place in the long course of human history, Hatred, the sister of Evil, has never succeeded in killing Mercy and Kindness amongst people. Sometimes it seems to people that Hatred and Evil are winning the battle, but this is only because of their tunnel-vision perception of the world. If they could see the whole picture, they would regain their trust in the fact that the desire to build and create always has its place in the real world.

Therefore, we must look up to the best of Adam’s sons, the messengers of God, messengers of faith and bearers of glad tidings that truth and justice, honesty and kindness indeed are possible among the people of this Earth. Let’s strengthen our love for God, our faith and our country, people and nature. From that love and choice to be, first and foremost, we as humans, will grow a desire to actively resist destructive attempts that attempt to jeopardise the world we live in.

Let’s actively strive to make Good shine brighter in our reality today. This world, that is but a brief stop on our journey, is worth fixing. It is up to us to invest effort and to serve humanity through our words and our actions as much as we can. Allah the Almighty tells us:

“So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it (and will be rewarded for it), and Muhammad (peace be upon him) says: “The best of people are those who are most beneficial to people.”

But, there is the other side of the coin, too. The Creator warns: “And whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it (will be held responsible for it),” and the Messenger (peace be upon him) continues: “And the worst of people are those who do harm (and

evil) to others.”

Therefore, the evil committed by the people around us will be left to their conscience. They cannot escape it, they can only repent for it. It is a law higher than man. Such people can never escape the truth. Justice, on the other hand, is a different story. Though slow, it too is inevitable. We will not lose faith in justice and we will never stop fighting for it. Let that be known both to those who share our love of justice, and to those who dishonor both the judgment of God and worldly courts and who are trying to escape justice.

Dear brothers and sisters,

In a few days, we will be faced with a difficult ordeal, a day when we all in our own way remember the martyrs of the Srebrenica and Podrinje Genocide and all innocent people killed in this country. We do it out of respect for them, who gave their lives to protect our freedom and security, and out of deep compassion with their families. We invite you to fulfill this great duty on Thursday, 11 July, and to pray janaza for our brothers and sisters at the Memorial Center of the Srebrenica and Podrinje Genocide in Potočari near Srebrenica. For all of us, and especially for families who will say their final goodbyes to their loved ones, this is a painful moment and a difficult day. For all people, this is a day to learn a great lesson and heed a warning. It is truly incredibly important for all mankind to learn from Srebrenica about what evil people of our times are capable of. Not just for the sake of learning a lesson, but to prevent any criminal from doing such evil again, especially those who had already done it.

Our Lord, You are the Almighty, so expand our chest and lighten our burden. Let Truth rise until it suppresses Lies. Plant into our hearts a revitalising hope that after hardship there is ease, because You decreed it so. Bless our good and sincere efforts and bring us closer to You through them. (Al-Inshirah, 1-8).

Our Lord, the Owner of All Power and Might, the Creator of everything, The Ever-Living, Who does not die. We ask You by the brightness of Your face that shines upon all parts of Your Throne to accept the prayers of all those who pray to You.

FRIDAY SERMON ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE SREBRENICA GENOCIDE AGAINST BOSNIAK MUSLIMS | SREBRENICA COMMEMORATION 2019

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Our Lord, You will verily gather all people to individually witness with their own eyes the Day of Your full account and Your just and final judgment, of which there is no doubt!

Our Lord, do not place upon us burdens which we are too weak to carry; erase all of our sins and grant us forgiveness – shower us with Your mercy.

We ask You to bestow Your forgiveness upon all our martyrs and enter them into their beautiful final abodes through Your mercy. Strengthen their loved ones with patience. Show all people the path of truth and justice.

You are our Lord, so help us against those who deny the truth.

Our Lord, grant us goodness in this world and in the hereafter and protect us from hellfire!

Ameen.

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