Kavazović on the 30th anniversary of the Behram-beg Library: We build what inspires goodness, nobility and hope in people

(Patria) - The Grand Mufti of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Husein-ef. Kavazović, today attended the ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the Behram-beg Special Library in Tuzla.

On this occasion, he stated that the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as an integral part of the entire Bosnian-Herzegovinian society, strives to contribute to the building of that society, to the construction of everything that will benefit it, further enrich it, and make life in it more beautiful and humane.

Addressing a large number of guests from religious, political and public life, the Grand Mufti recalled that the Islamic Community has invested in creating the preconditions for achieving great goals in the past period.

„The coming period should be a period of our great achievements, and I hope it will be. Along with the large number of kindergartens we have built, schools, faculties, educational centers and institutes we have established in the previous period, the Behram-beg Library, whose 30th anniversary we are marking today, also has its place and I hope it will fulfill its role properly,“ said the Grand Mufti.

The Grand Mufti emphasized that the Behram-beg Library is important not only for the region of northeastern Bosnia, but for all Bosnian people, and called for support for it and its work.

„In this area, there is certainly much more that lies aside, stored or discarded, which has great value for our collective identity. That should be added to the fund of this library, where it would find its place and be functional, thus giving additional quality and value to our tradition,“ said the Grand Mufti.

He pointed out that many institutions of the Islamic Community were founded or resumed their work in 1993 - a year in which Bosniaks were subjected to such brutal and savage aggression that there was a danger they would be destroyed as a people, and the traces of their existence completely erased.

„While we were facing such a terrible threat, we did not lose heart, we did not give up or lose hope. On the contrary, alongside the necessary physical defense, about which a magnificent story could also be told, we found the strength to keep our spirit upright and at a high level, and to make that spirit creative. While the aggressors were demolishing and destroying everything that represented and expressed us, we were restoring our valuable old things and building new ones. As these anniversaries show, we built cultural institutions, educational centers, schools and libraries,“ emphasized the Grand Mufti.

It was an adequate response to the destruction they faced, the Grand Mufti noted, a response that inspires admiration and leads to elation.

„We should always keep that reaction of ours in mind, we must never lose sight of it. We are truly proud of how we behaved in those circumstances. Barbarism is always defeated in the end. If it were not so, civilization would have ended its march long ago,“ said the Grand Mufti.

Among other things, the Grand Mufti emphasized that he believes that the Bosniaks, just as they managed to position themselves correctly 30 years ago against the onslaught of destructive forces, will also know how to adequately and effectively position themselves against the onslaught of today's challenges.

„The resources we have taken should be used appropriately and continuously - with a clear goal. We must not squander our spirit, because that leads to disintegration. Our spirit should be unified and focused: focused on building what brings prosperity, what inspires goodness and nobility in people and awakens their hope. We should all be directed in that direction.

We should do this together with others who love this country, feel it as their own and want to live in it. After all, together with such people we defended it from aggression, and with them we should build it. It belongs equally to all of us,“ said the Grand Mufti, congratulating the 30th anniversary of the Behram-beg Library with the wish that it may fulfill its role for many years, preserve the memory of this region and its intellectual and spiritual treasures, and inspire new generations with goodness and honesty.