Mostar Muftis Against Waqf Usurpation and New Ethnic Lines

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The Mostar Muftiate issued a press release stating that for years it has publicly called on all relevant factors in the central zone of the city of Mostar, at the site of the former military demarcation line - the line of death, to respect the demands of all religious communities and to begin construction of the Islamic Cultural Center at the Lakišića harem site, continue construction of the Church of Christ's Resurrection, and begin construction of a Jewish synagogue.

- This noble call has been ignored all these years, and its implementation is further hindered by new incomprehensible decisions of the competent federal authorities, which, outside all legal procedures, without a regulatory plan for the central zone, secure funds for the continuation of the construction of the Croatian National Theatre - the statement reads.

From the Muftiate, they emphasize that they do not support the usurpation of waqf and the creation of new ethnic lines.

- We do not deny the right of the Croatian people to cultural life and its affirmation through cultural institutions, because we seek that right for our own people as well. We do not support and will never accept selective (in)justice, usurpation of waqf, marking of space, and the creation of new ethnic lines and divisions under the guise of sports, culture, and other justifications and excuses - stated the Mostar Muftiate.

They believe that the issue of the Central Zone of the city of Mostar cannot be resolved partially, outside the legally prescribed norms, and thereby directly nullify the legitimate request of the Islamic Community.

- While the requests and demands of the Islamic Community regarding the construction of the Islamic Cultural Center at Lakišića harem lie in drawers, and while believers perform Eid prayers and all significant events year after year on sports fields due to the lack of a larger prayer space, because the mosques of Mostar are of smaller dimensions, the continuation of the illegal construction of the Croatian National Theatre is financed from the federal budget without the necessary permits - the statement reads.

As they point out, "false platitudes about equality fall into the water precisely on the example of two decades of intense struggle and efforts by the Islamic Community to build a representative religious-cultural facility in Mostar, which is a vital need for Muslim believers of this multi-ethnic city, and is not a political demand or an issue over which tensions in this city should be raised."

The Islamic Community, they add, has always remained committed to the principle of respecting legal norms and procedures in the implementation of necessary infrastructure facilities.

- As responsible people who have taken upon themselves the sacred trust of the honorable mufti duties in the past and present time, we will not silently watch the new degradation of the Islamic Community and the attack on the honor and dignity of all our members and sympathizers. On the contrary, we will raise our voice even stronger and more powerfully for true equality and protection of the rights of all believers and all residents of this city - states the statement signed by Mostar mufti Salem ef. Dedović and retired Mostar mufti Seid ef. Smajkić.