Ceremonial Opening of the Restored Arnaudija Mosque in Banja Luka on May 7, 31 Years After Its Destruction

(Patria) - Arnaudija, the last restored mosque in Banja Luka, will be ceremonially opened on May 7 this year, on the anniversary of its destruction and the Day of Mosques.

The decision was confirmed at today's first session of the Organizing Committee for the ceremonial opening of the Arnaudija Mosque, held in Sarajevo.

„The session was focused on forming operational teams, which will, each in their own domain and segment, prepare the opening program and all other support needed to carry out this activity at the highest level, as this mosque deserves. We also expect our media to follow the activities of the Organizing Committee, just as they have been interested so far in when Arnaudija would be returned to its primary purpose. The Riyasat accepted the decision of the Organizing Committee that the opening be on May 7, the day of its destruction,“ stated Ismail-ef. Smajlović, the Mufti of Banja Luka and President of the Organizing Committee.

Ismir Husedžinović, President of the Executive Board of the Islamic Community Council of Banja Luka, emphasized that the opening of Arnaudija is a great joy for the people of Banja Luka.

„The Arnaudija Mosque was destroyed on May 7, 1993, and thank God it will be opened on May 7, which will be a great joy for all people of Banja Luka, for all people of good will, who have expected and inquired for many years why we still are not opening Arnaudija. It is the last mosque, of the 16 destroyed in Banja Luka, that is finally completed and we can open it to be of use to all its believers, as well as to other people who respect faith, the history of Banja Luka, because it is a historical monument of this city, just like our Ferhadija,“ he said.

One of the signatories of the Ferhat Pasha endowment deed, the minister of finance of the Bosnian Eyalet - defterdar Hasan efendija, built this beautiful domed mosque, known as Arnaudija, in 1595.

The Arnaudija Mosque is one of the 16 mosques destroyed in Banja Luka during the aggression. The idea of restoring Arnaudija was put forward in 2015, at the end of 2016 a Protocol on the reconstruction of this Banja Luka beauty was signed, while the following year, 2017, the foundation stone for its construction was ceremonially laid.

The mosque has been reconstructed in an authentic style.