Fourth in Croatia: Sisak to Get Islamic Cultural Center

On Saturday, the foundation stone for the construction of an Islamic Cultural Center, the fourth of its kind in Croatia, was laid in the Croatian city of Sisak in the presence of numerous dignitaries and believers, reports Patria.

According to the 2011 census, more than 4,000 Muslims live in the Sisak-Moslavina County, and more than 2,000 in Sisak alone. The laying of the foundation stone was attended by the Rais al-Ulama of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Husein ef. Kavazović. In his address to the guests, he said that from the future spiritual home, good will be demonstrated and expressed, fostering harmony and a new quality of life, not only for Muslims in this city but also for their good neighbors in this city, Catholics and others.

- This act is also our hope for a vision of a better world, united in goodness and community. Croatia today allows everyone to live as believers - said Kavazović.

The Chief Imam of the Islamic Community in Sisak, Alem efendija Crnkić, said that this step had been awaited for 20 long years.

- Out of love for their city and with the desire to offer our fellow citizens a place where lasting friendships will be made and developed in the future, the Muslims of Sisak are not just building a mosque but an Islamic Cultural Center which, by its role, purpose, and content, will represent a center with open doors for noble, well-intentioned, virtuous people with positive thoughts, emotions, and open hearts.

The Islamic Cultural Center does not represent a change in Sisak's identity but an enrichment of the city's spiritual and social identity and mosaic as a reflection of the generational life of its citizens - said efendija Crnkić, who thanked all those who made its realization possible.

The new center will cover a total of 2,626 square meters, and the entire project is worth around 5.5 million euros. In addition to its original purpose of being a place of prayer for Muslims, its conceptual and content concept and functional and spatial organization are envisioned as a versatile facility for a wide range of uses.

In addition to the prayer space, the Islamic center will also include a hall for meetings and various seminars and workshops, a library and reading room, certain lecture rooms or classrooms for holding various courses, a restaurant offering Islamic delicacies, and residential space for religious officials, as well as guest rooms.

Numerous dignitaries from the Islamic community, the Catholic Church, and state and local authorities attended the ceremony, emphasizing the importance of building such a center for a community where Muslims are the second largest religious group in Croatia after Catholics.