Constant ethnic tensions and hatred seem to have become an everyday thing in Bosnia, which is why Husejin Smajic from Bugojno and what he had done seems surreal. He built the Catholic church on his private property, Deutsche Welle wrote Thursday.

During the construction of a hydroelectric plant on his property in Vesela straza near Bugojno, in 2014, he found the remains of a medieval Catholic church from the 13th century and 12 scarlet remains, among them the only ruling Bosnian queen Jelena Kotromanic Gruba.

That was the beginning of his project, which for many has become a symbol of peace and coexistence of people in BiH, a country permeated by decades-long inter-ethnic conflicts.

“We dug the foundations, and the Cardinal came, our Vinko Puljic, and I suggested that we build a church like the one in the Middle Ages. However, he said that it’s not practical to build on broken foundations. After that, I donated around 1,500 square meters of land for the construction of the church,” Huseijn told DW.

He started building the church, but also a catering facility for the reception of pilgrims and visitors. The church was recently blessed by Cardinal Vinko Puljic, Metropolitan Archbishop of Vrhbosna and the blessing was attended by more than one and a half thousand pilgrims.

He intends to build a museum where, with the help of scientists, restorers, archaeologists, and historians, he will show visitors the rich artefacts found from medieval Bosnia: the scarlet remains of Queen Jelena wrapped in gilded velvet, but he will also protect the foundations of the church in front of which a stone statue of the Bosnian ruler with a crown and a sword in his hands, the work of academic sculptor Ante Braovac. So far, around 10 million Bosnian marks (some €5 million) has been invested in the entire complex.

Priest Don Josip Batinic regularly visit the church with his faithful When asked what it means when a Muslim builds a Catholic church, this Priest has a simple answer.

“That is the real Bosnia, the real faith, the real future based on both the burdensome and the fine past. Husejin is a future-oriented man based on our roots here, which are thousands of years old. That was often not ideal, but always looking forward and hopeful, which is what all three Abrahamic religions teach us. It is the only way, truth and life”, Don Josip concluded.

‘For the love of our people,’ ‘for our homeland Bosnia and Herzegovina,’ ‘for the future,’ ‘for togetherness,’ ‘for hope’ – these are all the reasons Hussein built the church.

“I will never get tired. No one should ever get tired if there is even a little hope,” this peacemaker concluded.