Rising from the Rubble - The Ferhadija Mosque in Bosnia-Herzegovina | DW Reporter
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.
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Bosnia and Herzegovina: PM Davutoglu opens rebuilt Banja Luka mosque
Outgoing Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu led a re-opening ceremony for the 16th century Ferhad Pasha mosque, also known as 'Ferhadija,' in Banja Luka on Saturday.
A strong police presence was deployed to guard the event, as Davutoglu, alongside religious leaders, addressed a crowd of around 10,000 people. The mosque, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was built in 1579 and is considered a masterpiece of Ottoman architecture.
SOT, Osman Kozlic, Mufti of Banja Luka (Bosnian): Ferhadija Mosque was embraced by the fate of the region with its rigidity and its gentleness merging it with the surroundings. After a century of gentleness on the 7th May, 1993 it experienced the rigidity and cruelty.
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Ferhadija Mosque Opening - Banja Luka
#bosniaandherzegovina #bosnaihercegovina #bosnia
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Bosnia's Muslims reopen mosque blown up in war
(7 May 2016) Over 10,000 people turned out on Saturday for the re-opening of a mosque in Bosnia that was blown up by Christian Orthodox Serbs during the 1992-1995 war.
The Ferhat Pasha mosque - also called Ferhadija - became a symbol of the effort to destroy Bosnia's centuries-long multireligious fabric.
The mosque was a masterpiece of 16th-century Ottoman architecture and one of the 534 throughout the country - 16 of them in Banja Luka - that were destroyed or damaged by Bosnian Serbs in order to erase any traces of those they were expelling or killing.
In 1995, after over 100,000 people were killed, a peace agreement divided the country in two halves - one for the Serbs, where Banja Luka ended up, and the other shared by Croats and Muslim Bosniaks.
The agreement guaranteed refugees the right to return to their prewar homes and reconstruction of the Ferhadija mosque was to encourage the plan.
But an attempt in 2001 to lay a foundation stone was disrupted by attacks by Serb nationalists, in which one Muslim visitor was killed and dozens were injured, while NATO forces evacuated foreign ambassadors from the ceremony by helicopters.
On Saturday - the 23rd anniversary of the Ferhadija destruction - Bosnian Serb authorities deployed over 1,000 policemen to secure the event, attended by outgoing Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Bosnian leaders, foreign ambassadors and representatives of the Roman Catholic, Serb Orthodox Churches and the Jewish Community.
The event symbolized a further push to restore Bosnia's multifaith and multi-ethnic fabric.
Turkey and other international donors as well as Serbs donated funds for the reconstruction.
Activists had located fragments of the mosque that were not thrown into the river or the garbage dump, separated them and used computers to place the over 3,500 fragments where they belong.
Reconstruction took 15 years.
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BANJA LUKA - OTVORENA FERHADIJA 07.05.2016.
TV K3
The Ferhadija Džamija in Banja Luka.
#bosniaandherzegovina #bosnaihercegovina #bosnia
I am David and Tamara is my wife.
We are “Hobbyist Vloggers” who live in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We hope you liked this video.
We really try to post every Sunday.
Please Subscribe to the Channel and Like and Share the Videos. Because that would be so cool.
We have disabled comments on this channel, so if there's something you'd like to comment about or discuss then please drop a line to anenglishmaninthebalkans@gmail.com
The internet is sadly becoming more and more toxic/negative, and when it comes to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the level of extreme racist, ethnic, nationalistic and other purely cruel comments has been really upsetting.
So, if you would like to engage (and we really hope you will/do) then please take the time to use our email address :)
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Ferhadija in Banjaluka,Bosnia and Herzegovina
Travel to Europe under summer.Ferhadija in Banjaluka,Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Ferhat Pasha Mosque in Banjaluka, Bosnia. October 2015
Ferhat Pasha moskén i Bosnien. Oktober 2015
مسجد فرحات باشا في البوسنة. أكتوبر 2015
Masjid Pasha Ferhat di Bosnia. Oktober 2015
Ferhat Pascha-Moschee in Bosnien. Oktober 2015
Ferhat Pacha mosquée en Bosnie. octobre 2015
Historic mosque due to open in time for Eid celebration
After seven years of reconstruction and rebuilding, the Ferhadija Mosque is finally nearing completion.
Its towers and minarets glow under the glorious sunshine.
Only construction materials outside the building mar the view and hint at the current reconstruction work going on inside the mosque.
The elegant 16th century structure, destroyed by Serbs during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war, has almost been restored to its former glory which had previously earned it recognition as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1950.
Workers are now engaged in restoring the mosque's interior, a task they hope to complete in time for Eid Al Fitr holiday on July 28.
The mosque had been rebuilt using new and old techniques, including integrating original stonework - retrieved from Banja Luka's main municipal rubbish dump.
The stonework was found after being buried for several years under rubbish and the waters of Banja Luka's municipal reservoir.
The mosque's principal imam, Muris Spahic, is thrilled with the work but says it brings back good as well as painful memories for many in the town.
After the scaffolding was removed, the minaret built and the minaret lights switched on, it awakened special feelings in people and not just Muslims, says Spahic.
Others who spent part of their youth in this city remembered the Ferhadija Mosque and how they strolled down the streets around it. It brought back memories, both those that were beautiful and others not so beautiful.
Spahic feels the mosque has a special place in the hearts of Banja Luka's non-Muslims since the area outside its gates has been a principal meeting point and the surrounding streets the hub of the city's social life for centuries.
The war in 1992-95 saw conflicts between and amongst the country's Muslim Bosniaks, Christian Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats.
Although Banja Luka saw little combat during the war, all 16 mosques in the city were destroyed.
One of the city's residents, 90-year-old Zaim Badjar, remembers the events leading to the attack on Ferhadija.
I was in the mosque for the Maghrib (sunset) prayer and when I came out there were three young men walking around the mosque and I heard one of them say: 'if it does not rain tonight we will do away with this mosque' and that is how it was.
He goes on to add his joy in the reconstruction project.
But now I feel wonderful, I am very happy. Thank God we survived to see this.
Banja Luka's Muslims and Croats, who made up about 30 percent of the city's pre-war population, left during and after the war.
Years later, in 2001 the first attempted reconstruction of the Ferhadija triggered riots.
Hundreds of Bosnian Serbs broke through a police line and attacked international and Muslim officials who had gathered for a ceremony to mark the reconstruction project of the historic mosque.
Before the ceremony began, more than a thousand Serbs gathered across the street from the site where the cornerstone of the Fehadija mosque was to be laid.
The crowd threw stones, eggs and firecrackers over the heads of police, who were trying to protect around a thousand Muslims who had lived in the city and had come to attend the ceremony.
One stone destroyed the windshield of the car belonging to Bosnia's foreign minister moments after he arrived.
The Serbs broke through the police cordon, beat visitors and set their prayer rugs on fire.
Several international officials were trapped in the Islamic community centre as the crowd mobbed the building and broke its windows.
A US helicopter, which attempted to evacuate the officials, was prevented from landing by the mob.
A car and four buses were set on fire.
Prayers are currently being held in the Islamic Community's administrative building adjacent to the mosque.
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Krajiški iftar u dvorištu banjalučke Ferhadije 21.05. 2019
Krajiški iftar na tradicionalnim bosanskim soframa u srcu Banja Luke u dvorištu Ferhadije...
Protesters disrrupt re-laying of cornerstone at mosque.
1. Wide shot riot police lined up
2. Wide shot protest
3. Various protestors chanting
4. Close up injured policeman bleeding
5. Close up injured policeman
7. Various police water cannons spraying protestors
8. Various police firing tear gas
9. Various protestors throwing stones
10. Midshot riot police walking along the street
11. Wide shot burning car
12. Various protestors being arrested
13. Various Bosnian muslim delegation arriving at ceremony
14. Various ceremonial sheep slaughter
15. Close up blood stain on the mosque cornerstone
16. Various mosque reconstruction ceremony
STORYLINE:
Despite protests by several hundred Bosnian Serbs, about 100 Bosnian Muslims guarded by policemen laid a cornerstone Monday for the reconstruction of a 16th century mosque, completing a groundbreaking ceremony that was aborted last month because of violence.
Bosnian Serb nationalists threw stones and trash at a police cordon comprised of hundreds of policemen, slightly injuring 12 officers.
Police responded with tear gas and water cannons.
Police arrested five demonstrators, said Douglas Coffman, spokesman for the U.N. mission in Bosnia.
Police had warned demonstrators they would be filmed and the tapes would be used as evidence if crimes were committed.
Last month, nationalists prevented a similar reconstruction ceremony in Banja Luka, the administrative centre for the Serb-run half of the country.
They broke through a police cordon protecting international diplomats and several hundred former Muslim residents of Banja Luka who came to attend the event.
One elderly Muslim man died and 30 others were seriously injured.
Several buses and vehicles were set alight.
Police arrested dozens responsible for the attack.
During Bosnia's 1992-95 war, Serbs expelled Muslims from Banja Luka and destroyed all the city's mosques.
The most famous, Ferhadija mosque, built in the 16th century and declared a worldwide cultural heritage monument by UNESCO, the U.N. agency that oversees heritage sites, was leveled May 7, 1993.
As part of its policy to encourage refugee returns and reconciliation, international officials ordered the reconstruction of the mosque on the eighth anniversary of its destruction.
On the eve of Monday's ceremony, Bosnian Serb President Nikola Sarovic expressed his confidence that the ceremony would take place this time peacefully and with dignity.
In a television statement, he called on citizens to prove, with their behavior, that the Republika Srpska is capable of ensuring the full respect of religious freedom of all its citizens.
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FERHADIJA - BANJA LUKA - 2016. (IML TV)
ISLAM - MY LIFE ----- ISLAM - MOJ ŽIVOT
FERHADIJA DAN UOCI
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Fehadija Mosque Re-opens in Banja Luka in Bosnia
Fehadija mosque re-opens in Banja Luka after being destroyed in the assault on Bosnia during the 1992-1995 war.
Bosnian Serbs plead innocent to riot at mosque opening
2 September 2002
1. Various of court building exteriors
2. Police cars outside court
3. Main gate with police and civilians entering
4. Accused being led out of courthouse and put into police car
5. Police car driving away
6. SOUNDBITE: (Serbian) Mladen Amidzic, accused man on bail
I am not guilty, absolutely not guilty. I was just walking near the demonstration. And on that day, I was just visiting Banja Luka.
7. Exterior of court room
File - 18 June 2002
8. Various of police firing water cannons and tear gas at protestors
9. Shot of man under arrest
10. More of protest
STORYLINE:
Sixteen Bosnian Serbs pleaded innocent Monday to charges that they instigated a riot to block a ceremony marking the start of a local mosque's reconstruction in May of last year.
The men - all self-proclaimed Bosnian Serb nationalists - are accused of prompting other Bosnian Serbs to disrupt the event at the Ferhadija mosque in Banja Luka, 130 kilometers (80 miles) northwest of the capital, Sarajevo.
As local leaders, diplomats and hundreds of Muslims gathered to watch workmen lay the cornerstone, hundreds of Bosnian Serbs encircled them and threw stones.
A group of nationalists broke through a police cordon, and charged at the crowd.
In the melee that followed, one Muslim was beaten and later died from his injuries.
The incident was one of the most serious attacks directed against Muslims in the years since the end of the 1992-95 war.
Nearly all of Banja Luka's Muslims were expelled during the conflict and all of the city's 17 mosques were destroyed, including the Ferhadija mosque, which had been built in the 16th century.
Reconstruction began again after the riots ended.
International officials had organized the reconstruction project as part of efforts to promote reconciliation and the return of refugees in this northwestern corner of Bosnia.
Prosecutors have postponed the trial three times, after failing to arrest the men and present them to the court.
If found guilty, the suspects can be sentenced up to five years in prison.
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Opening of Ferhat Pasha Mosque in Banjaluka, Bosnia (May 2016)
Ferhat Pasha Mosque
Protesters disrrupt re-laying of cornerstone at mosque.
1. Wide shot riot police lined up
2. Wide shot protest
3. Various protestors chanting
4. Close up injured policeman bleeding
5. Close up injured policeman
7. Various police water cannons spraying protestors
8. Various police firing tear gas
9. Various protestors throwing stones
10. Midshot riot police walking along the street
11. Wide shot burning car
12. Various protestors being arrested
13. Various Bosnian muslim delegation arriving at ceremony
14. Various ceremonial sheep slaughter
15. Close up blood stain on the mosque cornerstone
16. Various mosque reconstruction ceremony
STORYLINE:
Despite protests by several hundred Bosnian Serbs, about 100 Bosnian Muslims guarded by policemen laid a cornerstone Monday for the reconstruction of a 16th century mosque, completing a groundbreaking ceremony that was aborted last month because of violence.
Bosnian Serb nationalists threw stones and trash at a police cordon comprised of hundreds of policemen, slightly injuring 12 officers.
Police responded with tear gas and water cannons.
Police arrested five demonstrators, said Douglas Coffman, spokesman for the U.N. mission in Bosnia.
Police had warned demonstrators they would be filmed and the tapes would be used as evidence if crimes were committed.
Last month, nationalists prevented a similar reconstruction ceremony in Banja Luka, the administrative centre for the Serb-run half of the country.
They broke through a police cordon protecting international diplomats and several hundred former Muslim residents of Banja Luka who came to attend the event.
One elderly Muslim man died and 30 others were seriously injured.
Several buses and vehicles were set alight.
Police arrested dozens responsible for the attack.
During Bosnia's 1992-95 war, Serbs expelled Muslims from Banja Luka and destroyed all the city's mosques.
The most famous, Ferhadija mosque, built in the 16th century and declared a worldwide cultural heritage monument by UNESCO, the U.N. agency that oversees heritage sites, was leveled May 7, 1993.
As part of its policy to encourage refugee returns and reconciliation, international officials ordered the reconstruction of the mosque on the eighth anniversary of its destruction.
On the eve of Monday's ceremony, Bosnian Serb President Nikola Sarovic expressed his confidence that the ceremony would take place this time peacefully and with dignity.
In a television statement, he called on citizens to prove, with their behavior, that the Republika Srpska is capable of ensuring the full respect of religious freedom of all its citizens.
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City of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina -مدينة بانجا لوكا, البوسنة والهرسك
Skønheden i naturen i nord Bosnien-Hercegovina
BOSNIA: BANJA LUKA: NATO TROOPS UNCOVER CACHE OF ILLEGAL WEAPONS
Eng/Ger/Serb/Nat
NATO troops in Banja Luka have uncovered a large cache of illegal weapons and explosives in police buildings in the Bosnian Serb president's stronghold of Banja Luka.
Earlier on Wednesday, NATO troops sealed off police buildings in the town after investigators concluded police, loyal to former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, may have violated human rights.
It's the latest development in the feud between Karadzic and his followers - and current Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic.
Biljana Plavsic says the amount of weapons and explosives confiscated from the police buildings was enough to seriously damage Banja Luka and the wider region.
S-FOR troops threw a cordon around the police buildings in Banja Luka as the result of an appeal by President Biljana Plavsic to Western mediators.
A spokesman said the NATO troops sealed off six buildings - the police headquarters, the police academy, a special police barracks and three district police stations.
In all, some 50 armoured vehicles and 350 British and Czech soldiers were involved in the operation.
The latest NATO action came after investigators concluded police may have violated human rights.
They had been looking for evidence that the telephones of Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavsic had been bugged and that judges had been intimidated into overturning her order for new elections.
Officials later said the probe did turn up proof of criminal activity.
Investigators found tapes of conversations between judges of the Constitutional Court and between Plavsic and local and international officials.
Plavsic was quick to order the replacement of top Banja Luka police officials - many of whom are loyal to her main rival alleged war criminal Radovan Karadzic.
However, they refused to step down and remained in their offices - forcing Plavsic to call upon Western mediators for help.
Hours after the NATO troops arrived at the central police station, pro-Karadzic police left the buildings and policemen loyal to Plavsic started entering.
Not surprisingly, the pro-Karadzic police officers were quick to condemn the action of the international peacekeepers.
SOUNDBITE: (Serbo-Croat)
I have been forced out of my office. S-FOR soldiers with axes and hammers broke into every office and closet throwing everybody out. They turned their guns towards our heads and threw everybody out of the building.
SUPER CAPTION: Milan Sutilovic Banja Luka Chief of Police (Pale supporter)
When NATO troops finally seized control of the building and entered they found a large cache of illegal weapons - including automatic rifles, explosives and ammunition.
Biljana Plavsic inspected the building.
She says the cache was a threat to the region's security.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
This equipment, this lot of explosives and arms which I saw now, it is enough to conclude that this station has not been involved in peaceful activities, but probably they had something in their mind to organise some other activities which are probably damaging the security of this town and even wider - all the region.
SUPER CAPTION: Biljana Plavsic, Bosnian Serb President
Plavsic says the weapons are against the spirit of peace - and democracy.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
We need to respect law, we need to respect democracy, now we have peace there is no reason to have this arms and all that is inside this building.
SUPER CAPTION: Biljana Plavsic, Bosnian Serb President
International officials are coming down increasingly on the side of Plavsic in her bitter dispute with Karadzic and his supporters, who are based in Pale.
Their quarrel threatens to break the Bosnian Serb republic, itself only half of Bosnia, into two more pieces.
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Akšam-namaz i mevlud Ferhadija Banja Luka
Video: Anadolu Agency/Agencija DAN
#travnik #bosnia