Destroyed in the war between 1992-1995 in Bosnia and Herzegovina and rebuilt in accordance with the original within the scope of the reconstruction works carried out by the General Directorate of Foundations, the Arnaudiye Mosque was opened for worship with a ceremony attended by the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.
In his speech at the ceremony, President of Religious Affairs Ali Erbaş said that mosques are the gateway of Islam’s faith and morality to life and society, and that these places are centers of knowledge.
Erbaş stated that the mosques in the Balkans have given identity, active consciousness and direction to Muslims living in the region for centuries, from past to present, and continued as follows:
“We know very well that our brothers living in Bosnia and Herzegovina paid a very heavy price for their beliefs and values in the past. The images of many temples being destroyed during that period are still in our memories. Arnaudiye Mosque is one of them. It is a great occasion of gratitude to raise this mosque, which was destroyed down to its foundations on May 7, 1993, on the anniversary of the day it was destroyed, on Bosnia and Herzegovina Mosque Day.”
Stating that brotherhood, friendship and a culture of living together should be built together with the mosque, Erbaş expressed his belief that the place of worship would be the best representative of Islam’s principles of peace and mercy and the beautiful morality of Muslims that encompasses all of humanity.
Wishing mercy upon the souls of all ancestors who served the Balkans, Erbaş noted the following:
“I would like to thank the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Turkey, the General Directorate of Foundations, the President of the Islamic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina, my brother Husein Kavazovic, and the presidency authorities for their contributions to the revival of the Arnaudiye Mosque. I pray to God that the friendly, sincere and brotherly relations between our countries and institutions that have existed from the past to the present will continue to increase in the future.”
“By reopening the mosque, we are correcting at least some of the injustice that has been done to this city.”
The President of the Islamic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Husein Kavazovic, said in Banja Luka that people, regardless of ethnic group or belief, should protect each other and protect other people’s places of worship as well as their own.
Kavazovic stated that the reconstruction of the Arnaudiye Mosque will return Banja Luka to its old days and strengthen good relations, and said:
“By reopening this mosque, which has been a haven for good people for centuries, we are correcting at least some of the injustice that was done to this city, its history and its inhabitants. I thank the Republic of Turkey, without their help we could not have rebuilt this mosque. I send special greetings to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, may Allah protect him. I also remember with mercy those who are no longer with us and were killed during the construction of the mosques.”
Foundations General Manager Sinan Aksu said that they were happy to rebuild the mosque that was destroyed during the war.
Aksu noted that they used the stones and materials they could find from the demolished mosque in the reconstructed place of worship.
Following the opening ceremony, the Quran and the call to prayer were recited in the mosque. Kavazovic presented gifts to Minister Ersoy and President of Religious Affairs Erbaş.
Arnaudiye Mosque
The Arnaudiye Mosque in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, was one of 16 mosques destroyed in the war. It was destroyed, along with the Ferhadija Mosque in the city, by Serbs using dynamite on May 7, 1993.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held in 2017 for the reconstruction of the mosque and the reconstruction works carried out by the General Directorate of Foundations were completed.
The Islamic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been organizing events in all mosques in the country since 1998, declaring May 7, the day when the Arnaudiye and Ferhadiye mosques were destroyed, as “Mosques Day”.
