Thousands of believers gathered for mevlud and dhikr at the Tekija on Buna

(Patria) - The Tekija on Buna once again welcomed thousands of believers from Bosnia and Herzegovina and around the world, who attended the 49th Days of Mevlud and Dhikr.

The mevlud in Turkish and Bosnian was recited by imams, dervishes and sheikhs led by Sheikh Ilhan Hadžimejlić.

Mufti of Mostar, Dr. Salem-ef. Dedović, assessed that this is a tradition of purity, beauty and spirituality.

“This gathering is an expression of our fervent faith, in which we strengthen the conviction that we are on the right path, where we know how to behave and where to walk,” said the mufti.

Interpreting Quranic verses and the teachings of Islam, the mufti addressed the increasingly present tendencies of populism that erode moral and ethical principles and destroy humanistic civilizational currents.

“In today's restless world, which has lost its orientation, which has lost its signposts, the innocent and the powerless suffer, like our brothers in Palestine, the Ukrainian people who suffer innocently at the hands of the aggressor. It is important to find a way to calm the heart through piety and worship, and one of those opportunities are such gatherings at our prayer sites,” he said, adding that love for the Lord of the Worlds cannot be exhausted.

Mufti Dedović stated that we must all be united by a great love for this country.

“No matter how persistent the destroyers and challengers of the state are, we must be more persistent than them and we cannot falter on that path. Here in Mostar and Herzegovina, we must not falter and we will not give up talking about the topic we have been discussing in recent years, the Lakišića harem site and our concept of building an Intercultural Center based on the idea of gathering, connecting and understanding. It is worth persevering and not wavering,” said Mufti Dedović.

This project, he emphasized, although it refers to a small part of the former Central Zone of the City of Mostar, in a substantive sense will restore the dignity of the Bosniak people in Herzegovina.

“We insist on this, and 'our Bosnia' (the believers from Bosnia, editor's note) should understand why we raise our voices and why we will not tire on this path. This is an investment in the future that we must think about, a future in which, as a people, we will not be of second-rate importance and in which no one will determine the measure of our freedom. In this sense, all of you who have come from all our Bosnian congregations deserve our gratitude because you support the unity of our people in our tradition and our faith, therefore your deed is great and important,” the mufti stated.

At the end of the program, the gathered believers were addressed by a special guest, the former Reis of the Republic of Turkey, and current director of the Institute for Islamic Thought in Ankara, Prof. Dr. Mehmed Gormez, who is considered one of the leading thinkers in the Islamic world.

“Those who lived Islam, right next to the tekija, built a mill and fed those in need. When the first Muslims came here, they brought with them purity, morality, sincerity, true belief, and they showed how to live Islam by personal example, and thus Islam spread throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Gormez.

Speaking about the factors that influenced the rapid spread of Islam in BiH, he emphasized that this happened due to the fact that Islam denied the possibility of man being subjugated to another man, and that only His noble Creator deserves his complete submission.

“Our faith commands us not to be enslaved to anyone or anything except Allah Almighty. Therefore, you who came today with complete faith have testified that there will be believers in these areas until the Day of Judgment. You are the hosts here. This is your land. You have your own culture and civilization, and you are part of a great Ummah that numbers over two billion,” said Gormez.

He also commented on the challenges to Bosniak culture and Islamic tradition, which were intensely expressed at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century, stating that Bosniaks and Bosnian-Herzegovinian Muslims have carefully nurtured, built and preserved their culture for centuries.

“Someone wanted to destroy it. You gave your sons for this land, you gave your lives, and you managed to preserve it,” said Gormez.