The US is a friend to Bosnia and a guarantor of peace within it, Bosnia’s Grand Mufti, Husein Kavazovic, said during a visit to the city of Hamilton, Ontario, in Canada.

The head of Bosnia’s Islamic Community made his statement during an official visit to the Islamic Community of Bosniaks of North America in Canada, where he is attending the opening ceremony of a mosque and a Bosniak Islamic centre.

“The US is a guarantor of peace in our country. They are our friends and it is a country that protected our sovereignty,” Kavazovic said.

“Bosnia has friends and enemies, and we always have to be close to our friends and tell them about us and remind them of the genocide which we survived. That is why the establishment of our centre in Washington is our common goal,” he added.

The people in North America are brothers and neighbours of Bosniaks, he said, adding that this is why it is the Bosniaks’ obligation to take care of both their own as well as their fellow Americans’ dignity, security and honour.

“Try to enrich yourselves and this country with our beautiful traditions and knowledge that you brought with you from your homeland. But also be open to new knowledge and experiences, with which you will ennoble yourselves and your brothers and sisters in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” he said.

He also advised Bosniaks living in North America to advocate for their country.

“We must show much more responsibility and care for our country, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She is wounded and lonely. Her friends are far away, while her enemies are close. Our enemies displaced us, hoping that we will forget who we are and where we came from. They count on that,” he said.

“But I am convinced that they cannot hurt her (Bosnia) if we don’t let them. Let us fight for our homeland, let us help her so that she always has a strong patriotic base, by you providing your vote for a Bosnia the way it always was, a country of all of its peoples and traditions,” he concluded.