Words cannot describe the pride and joy in the hearts of all of us who came to see the reconstructed Aladza Mosque in the eastern Bosnian town of Foca, but also in the hearts of every Bosniak Muslim wherever they are, Bosniak Presidency member Sefik Dzaferovic said on Saturday.
“I'd like to thank everyone, especially our friends from Turkey and the US who helped reconstruct this beautiful monument, 27 years after the senseless crime of its destruction. With its reconstruction, we mark the victory of good over evil, light over darkness, civilisation over non-civilisation,” Dzaferovic said in his opening speech.
He said that the Aladza Mosque is a place of worship but also more than that – it is a monument listed as part of Bosnia's and UNESCO's world heritage list.
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“In addition to this, the Aladza is a symbol of the survival of Bosniaks in this part of the country. Coca residents lived and died with their Aladza. We reconstructed the mosque, but we can't bring back the human lives,” he noted. “But we can make sure that those responsible for its destruction and killing of people answer for their crimes.
“He concluded by saying that he wants Bosnia to be a successful and prosperous European country.
During the Bosnian war (1992-1995) the authorities of the then break-away Serb Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina destroyed the mosque to the ground with explosives and on August 2, 1992 scattered its remains around the town. Some ended up on the city dump while some were buried underground.
The mosque's reconstruction began in 2014 and it was done according to the blueprints of the original Aladza Mosque.
