Aladža Mosque Opens Today

FOČA, (Patria) - 10,000 people are expected at the opening ceremony of the renovated Aladža Mosque in Foča today, Saturday, May 4.

The opening of the Aladža Mosque is the central event within the observance of the Day of Mosques in BiH.

Goražde Mufti Remzija ef. Pitić emphasized that the opening of the Aladža Mosque represents one of the most important events, recalling that its renovation was completed on the 470th anniversary of its construction.

“The re-erection of Hasan Nazir’s mosque, our Aladža, is, we hope, also the re-erection of all of us, or at least a good opportunity for that re-erection, in every sense: religious, spiritual, cultural, civilizational, and even political,” Mufti Pitić conveyed.

Organizers expect the arrival of several thousand believers from all over BiH, as well as high domestic and international officials and representatives from Turkey and the USA, countries that have helped and financed the realization of this very significant and demanding project.

After more than a quarter of a century since it was demolished to the ground, the mosque, which is included in the cultural heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites, will be open again for all believers.

Speeches are announced from representatives of the local community, the Goražde Mufti, the Waqf Directorates of BiH and Turkey, Senaid Zajimović and Adnan Ertem, then the US Ambassador to BiH, Eric Nelson, the Turkish Minister of Culture, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, as well as the pre-Ramadan message from the Head of the Islamic Community of BiH, Husein ef. Kavazović.