Renewed mosque, Islamic center opens in Belgrade

A building to house educational facilities of the Islamic Community in Serbia opened in downtown Belgrade next to the Bajrakli Mosque on Thursday. The premises were built with the help of grants of benefactors, primarily the government of Azerbaijan. Renewed mosque, Islamic center opens in Belgrade The ceremony was attended by guests from Azerbaijan, Church dignitaries and Boris Tadic who up until recently held office of Serbia's president. The building was damaged in the fire caused by hooligans in 2004, who were angered by attacks staged by ethnic Albanian extremists in Kosovo and Metohija against the Serb population, churches and monasteries there. Church dignitaries, including Patriarch Irinej of the Serbian Orthodox Church, called for brotherly harmony between religions and expressed hopes that the time of conflicts in which the Mosque was damaged would never come again. Mufti of Belgrade Muhamed Jusufspahic said that the Bajrakli Mosque is a part of the old Belgrade and that Muslims born in Serbia's capital deserve the chance to education in their own city. Reis-ul-ulama of the Islamic Community of Serbia Adem Zilkic expressed gratitude to Tadic for restoring dignity to Serbia by his statesman's vision, democratic capacities and promotion of peace and stability and enabling the completion of the spiritual and educational complex through his friendly relations with the Azerbaijani president. The patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church said that the Thursday meeting in the Bajrakli Mosque should serve as an example of good government in the present times so that it could be a time of heavenly blessing, harmony and love. The sacred site was unreasonably set on fire and a great wound was inflicted upon both Muslims and Orthodox believers, Patriarch Irinej said and added that this occurred in a murky period when the people of Serbia were going through difficult moments and some lost their minds and performed actions the rest of the people did not agree with. Irinej expressed hopes that this period now belongs to the past and that it will never come again. The guests at the ceremony were addressed by President of the Administration of Muslims of the Caucasus Shaykh al-Islam Alahsukur Pasazade and Bishop of the Diocese of Baku and Azerbaijan Alexander Ishenin, who underscored the high level of inter-religious tolerance in Azerbaijan and expressed the expectation that Serbia would continue to maintain the policy of tolerance. Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Elchin Efendiev said that the Thursday ceremony comes as a result of the friendly ties between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Boris Tadic. Boris Tadic, presidential candidate of the Democratic Party (DS), was the last to address the guests and said that he is moved by the reconstruction of the Bajrakli Mosque in the vicinity of which he spent his childhood. The medressa, the university and the Bajrakli Mosque testify of Serbia's multi-culturalism and connections between religions in the territory, Tadic said and added that the presence of all religious heads in the yard of the Bajrakli Mosque serves as a testimony of the reconciliation and the atmosphere in Serbia today. The ceremony was attended by dignitaries of all traditional religious communities in Serbia and the diplomatic corps, and the ceremony was opened by a release of a flock of white doves. (Tanjug) Tanjug

Renewed mosque, Islamic center opens in Belgrade

The ceremony was attended by guests from Azerbaijan, Church dignitaries and Boris Tadić who up until recently held office of Serbia's president.

The building was damaged in the fire caused by hooligans in 2004, who were angered by attacks staged by ethnic Albanian extremists in Kosovo and Metohija against the Serb population, churches and monasteries there.

Church dignitaries, including Patriarch Irinej of the Serbian Orthodox Church, called for brotherly harmony between religions and expressed hopes that the time of conflicts in which the Mosque was damaged would never come again.

Mufti of Belgrade Muhamed Jusufspahić said that the Bajrakli Mosque is a part of the old Belgrade and that Muslims born in Serbia's capital deserve the chance to education in their own city.

Reis-ul-ulama of the Islamic Community of Serbia Adem Zilkić expressed gratitude to Tadić for restoring dignity to Serbia by his statesman's vision, democratic capacities and promotion of peace and stability and enabling the completion of the spiritual and educational complex through his friendly relations with the Azerbaijani president.

The patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church said that the Thursday meeting in the Bajrakli Mosque should serve as an example of good government in the present times so that it could be a time of heavenly blessing, harmony and love.

The sacred site was unreasonably set on fire and a great wound was inflicted upon both Muslims and Orthodox believers, Patriarch Irinej said and added that this occurred in a murky period when the people of Serbia were going through difficult moments and some lost their minds and performed actions the rest of the people did not agree with. Irinej expressed hopes that this period now belongs to the past and that it will never come again.

The guests at the ceremony were addressed by President of the Administration of Muslims of the Caucasus Shaykh al-Islam Alahsukur Pasazade and Bishop of the Diocese of Baku and Azerbaijan Alexander Ishenin, who underscored the high level of inter-religious tolerance in Azerbaijan and expressed the expectation that Serbia would continue to maintain the policy of tolerance.

Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Elchin Efendiev said that the Thursday ceremony comes as a result of the friendly ties between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Boris Tadić.

Boris Tadić, presidential candidate of the Democratic Party (DS), was the last to address the guests and said that he is moved by the reconstruction of the Bajrakli Mosque in the vicinity of which he spent his childhood.

The medressa, the university and the Bajrakli Mosque testify of Serbia's multi-culturalism and connections between religions in the territory, Tadić said and added that the presence of all religious heads in the yard of the Bajrakli Mosque serves as a testimony of the reconciliation and the atmosphere in Serbia today.

The ceremony was attended by dignitaries of all traditional religious communities in Serbia and the diplomatic corps, and the ceremony was opened by a release of a flock of white doves.