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By Dr. Husein ef. Kavazović, Grand Mufti of Bosnia-Herzegovina

قُلْ أَرَءَيْتَكُمْ إِنْ أَتَىٰكُمْ عَذَابُ ٱللَّهِ بَغْتَةً أَوْ جَهْرَةً هَلْ يُهْلَكُ إِلَّا ٱلْقَوْمُ ٱلظَّٰلِمُونَ

وَمَا نُرْسِلُ الْمُرْسَلِينَ إِلَّا مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنذِرِينَ ۖ فَمَنْ آمَنَ وَأَصْلَحَ فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ

وَالَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا يَمَسُّهُمُ الْعَذَابُ بِمَا كَانُوا يَفْسُقُونَ

(The Holy Qur’an, Al-An’am, 47–49)

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds of the known and unknown. It is to Him that we give thanks for sending us Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace be upon him), and for showering us with His many blessings. It is our obligation to continually remember His blessings and to reflect on His verses and to take instruction from them.

My dear brothers and sisters!

We are on the eve of the 26^th anniversary of the Genocide committed against us, Bosnian Muslims, in Srebrenica on 11 July 1995. This year, this date coincides with the first day of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, the month of Hajj and Eid al-Adha. This month, which makes our worshipful obedience to the Exalted One complete, will now begin with another festival of pain and of our immeasurable sorrow.

The memory of the Genocide, the most terrible crime committed in Europe after the Second World War, awakens great sorrow and deep pain in us, which will remain a permanent part of our collective being. The Srebrenica Genocide is an image of the world at the end of the twentieth century, as well as an image of it at the turn of that century – bloody and tragic. This image will remain engraved in our memory until the Day of Judgement. But it will also be long remembered by the world, which will look at its bloody projection in disbelief. For the evidence of the Genocide has been preserved and the evidence is horrible and indisputable, accessible to all: it leaves no doubt about what happened; about what was planned and systematically carried out by murderers – whose identities are visible and clear, and whose acts are well known.

The scale of the crime has horrified people the world over. Many governments of the civilised world commemorate this date; investigate and analyse the root causes of that evil and its ideological platform. They continue to remind their citizens of the horror that some people can inflict on others. Remembrance of the Srebrenica Genocide should be a warning to people, to prevent the seed of evil from ever sprouting again.

We wonder what instruction we can take from Srebrenica, both we as the victims, and those who continue to deny this Genocide and who glorify its perpetrators, the prisoners in the Hague, who were given long sentences or life imprisonment. What is the fate of the people who do evil and who glorify it, and who do not repent?

Reading the Qur’an, we can find no place in it where Allah says that He will destroy or ruin a disbelieving people. He is quite clear in this regard: And say: “The truth is from your Lord, so whoever wills - let him believe; and whoever wills - let him disbelieve!”(Al-Kahf, 29) Going astray spiritually is a great human misfortune, but going astray morally – doing evil to people, denying such evil, and even glorifying and enjoying it – is even more severe. Therefore, those who do not believe in God, who “hide the truth”, will inevitably “face disasters that will continue to afflict them or strike close to their homes for their misdeeds.”(Ar-Ra’d, 31) The Exalted One destroyed Nations for the evil they had done. People will face the consequences of their disbelief in the hereafter.

Non-Muslims, all those who do not believe in the Qur’an as God’s revelation, may adopt many correct patterns of behaviour and may be advanced and prosperous in terms of civilisation, owing to their moral uprightness. Muslims are encouraged to maintain friendly relations with them as fellow beings and to cooperate with them in good deeds – exchanging experiences and in supporting each other. “Allah does not forbid you from dealing kindly and fairly with those who have neither fought nor driven you out of your homes – surely Allah loves those who are fair.” (Al-Mumtahanah, 8)

On the other hand, those who will face God’s great punishment already in this world, visiting perhaps even ruin on themselves, are wrongdoers who commit violence and do not repent for it. The Qur’an notes this unequivocally: “...who would be destroyed other than the wrongdoing people? We have sent messengers only as deliverers of good news and as warners. Whoever believes and does good, there will be no fear for them, nor will they grieve. But those who deny Our signs will be afflicted with punishment for their rebelliousness.” (Al-An’am, 47–49)

In this world, ruin comes only after violence, i.e., there is no violence that will not bring with itself either partial or complete catastrophe for its perpetrators. This is a principle set forth in the Qur’an, a book that is free of any falsehoods. It reads: “And how many societies of wrongdoers We have destroyed, raising up other people after them!” (Al-Anbya', 11) The reason for their destruction was, therefore, that they committed violence, as revealed by their own words: “Woe to us! We have surely been wrongdoers. They kept repeating their cry until We mowed them down, [leaving them] lifeless.” (Al-Anbya', 14–15) They would confess their evil deeds only when it was too late. Furthermore, this verse also indicates that this principle is constantly active and will always remain in force. For Allah is always active, always in action. Kulla Yawmin Huwa Fi Shaan! (Ar-Rahman, 29)

Regarding the Srebrenica Genocide, we see a body of people whose individual members committed this horrible crime and they refuse to condemn and renounce these murderers. On the contrary, they persist in denying it, negating it, despite the clear evidence. They seek to cover it up and minimise it while celebrating the perpetrators behind the genocide. It appears that the mindset of this body of people does not change at all. This could eventually result in a moral catastrophe of unprecedented proportions.

Repentance is a profound act of faith in all revealed religions, and it touches upon the very essence of belief. Without repentance, the paths of forgiveness and of salvation are shut. Without repentance, there can be no protection from God’s fierce punishment.

We believe that when violence is committed against a single person, it extends to others and thus affects their relatives, friends, and acquaintances. But when violence is done to tens, hundreds, or thousands of people, it takes on such proportions that it cannot even be comprehended. And there is no curtain between the one who suffered violence and God: God responds to such a person’s cry. Muhammad, Peace be upon him, said:

“The prayer of the oppressed is raised by Allah up above the clouds and the gates of heaven are opened to it. And the Lord says: ‘By My might, I shall surely aid you, even if it should be after a while.’”(Al-Tirmidhi)

All of us have been oppressed, our entire Bosnia and Herzegovina. We, our sons and daughters, call the Lord in our prayers. He will, God willing, hear our cry and our prayer. We feel this with our being. Bosnia is also full of martyrs, of innocent people who died at the hands of criminals, and these people are, according to the letter of the Qur’an – alive forever!

My dear brothers and sisters, we are duty-bound to preserve the memory of the Genocide as long as we exist. This is the job of national, cultural, and religious institutions. It is also our obligation not to suffer the evil done to us in silence, but to work to remove it. And Allah gives His support to those who fight for the truth!

I invite you to offer a funeral prayer on Sunday, 11^th of July for our brothers and sisters at the martyrs’ cemetery of the Genocide perpetrated against Bosniak Muslims in Potočari near Srebrenica. This will be a painful moment and a difficult day for all of us, especially for the families who will lay their loved ones to rest in the graveyard. This is a day of great instruction and admonition for all people. Indeed, one cannot stress enough how important it is for the entire human race to learn and take heed from Srebrenica about the atrocities that some people of our time are willing to commit.

It is important not only to take instruction, but also to act immediately, today, and deny every criminal the opportunity to commit and glorify evil, and to justify it, diminish it, and cover it up, especially those who have already committed the greatest act of evil.

Our Lord, You can do everything, so we ask You to expand for us our chests and ease for us our burden.

Allow the Truth to rise as much as it takes to suppress a lie.

Instil in our hearts an invigorating hope that relief will come after distress.

Bless our sincere and good deeds, so that, when we complete them with good avail, we may come even closer to You.

Our Lord, do not allow burdens on our shoulders that we cannot bear; blot out our sins and give us Your forgiveness – honour us with Your mercy.

We ask You, our Lord, to bestow Your noble forgiveness upon all our martyrs and to let them, with Your mercy, into their vast dwellings in the hereafter.

Our Lord, grant us good in this world and grant us good in the hereafter, and protect us from suffering in the fire!

Ameen.

Notes: 

1. Friday Sermon by the Grand Mufti of Bosnia-Herzegovina distributed in the UK and Europe by the Bosnia Heritage Foundation, East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre and the Muslim Council of Britain.

2. For more information contact: [email protected] | +44(0)7947 787 222

 

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