Joint prayer for war victims by four traditional religions at the Jewish Community

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The Interreligious Council in Bosnia and Herzegovina (IRC BiH) will today hold a joint prayer of the four traditional religions, in memory of all victims of the past war in BiH, and the signing of a new agreement with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in BiH. The meeting will take place at the premises of the Jewish Community at 10:30 AM.

The prayers will be led by the Rais al-Ulama of the Islamic Community in BiH Husein ef. Kavazović, His Eminence Cardinal Vinko Puljić, priest Nemanja Đureinović, and Igor Bencion Kožemjakin, cantor of the Jewish Community of Sarajevo.

Following the joint prayer, Jakob Finci, President of the Jewish Community of BiH and Chairman of the IRC BiH Assembly, and Bonie Glick, Deputy Assistant Administrator of USAID, will sign a new agreement between the IRC BiH and USAID. Through this agreement, USAID commits to supporting the activities of the Interreligious Council in monitoring and responding to incitement, hate speech, and attacks on religious sites in BiH.

The signing of the agreement will be attended by the US Ambassador to our country Eric Nelson, USAID/BiH Director Nancy Eslick, members of the US delegation from Washington, and numerous members of religious communities and the IRC BiH.

The main goal of the joint project is to minimize the possibility of escalating hatred after any negative event and to strengthen interreligious dialogue as a basis for promoting empathy and preventing violence. In recent years, the IRC BiH has been monitoring and responding to attacks on religious sites in BiH, including desecration of places of worship and cemeteries, and attacks on related persons. With USAID's one-year assistance, the IRC BiH will increase cooperation with authorities, civil society, and the media, as well as with youth and their networks, in order to combat hate speech and attacks on sacred sites, it was announced from the Interreligious Council of BiH.