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Friday Sermon (khutbah) of the Grand (Raisu-l-) of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Husein ef. Kavazović, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide Sarajevo, 10 July 2020

Foundation FRIDAY SERMON (KHUTBAH) Brothers and sisters, Today is OF THE Friday, 10 July 2020 and believers (RAISU-L-ULAMA) OF BOSNIA- pray to Allah piously, earnestly seeking His forgiveness and mercy. HERZEGOVINA, HUSEIN We are grateful for the blessings He EF. KAVAZOVIĆ, ON THE bestows upon us each and every OCCASION OF THE 25TH day. We are here responding to His ANNIVERSARY OF THE call, because Friday is the day of our SREBRENICA GENOCIDE congregational prayer, the day of renewing our oath that we will obey Gazi Husrev-Bey , Sarajevo, God’s word and answer His call. 10 July 2020, Islamic Community of Bosnia-Herzegovina The strength of one’s belief in Allah is shown through his moral Praise be to Allah, the Lord of behavior and his persistence on the the Worlds, in whose name we start right path. A Muslim whose faith is every prayer, every speech and every firm and unshakeable will not give beneficial affair. up in times of adversity, even when his own life is at stake. A sincere Peace and blessings to all his Muslim will patiently endure all messengers and the last among them, hardships which afflict him as well beloved Muhammad, his family and as helping others who are suffering his companions. with compassion nd empathy. The foundation of our is our belief Today and every day upon that the power of our faith in Allah which the sun rises, we ask for and trust in our Messenger and the forgiveness for our martyrs and Muslim community are sources of our hearts remember the sons and strength. Allah says: And to Allah daughters of Srebrenica, both living belongs [all] honor, and to His and deceased. We remember those Messenger, and to the believers, who were killed by monsters who but the hypocrites do not know. (Al- committed the crime of genocide. Munafiqun, 8) Cursed be every criminal and his deed and those who helped him, till Brothers and sisters, The the Judgment Day. moral greatness of a Muslim is shown through his commitment

Friday Sermon (khutbah) of the Grand Mufti (Raisu-l-Ulama) of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Husein ef. Kavazović, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide

2 to performing good deeds, even There is no greater shame towards those who have wronged than a Muslim living humiliated in his him. Forgiveness and repentance own home. demands we rise up are necessary for life in any time against evil and injustice wherever and place. Forgiveness is strength we find it. Brothers and sisters, do and repentance is the courage to not bow your head down before evil, admit one’s own mistakes. One of because wrongdoers and oppressors the beautiful names of Allah is The do not deserve to be bowed down to. One Who Forgives and The One Who is Let us always bear in mind the words Merciful. of Allah: Fear them not; fear Me, if you are true believers. (Al-Imran, He said: And whoever endures 175) patiently and forgives—surely this is a resolve to aspire to. (Al-Shura, 43). The truths and gifts of faith This ayat (verse) of the Qur’an should must be received willingly, not be written in the heart of every through oppression. Faith does not believer, as well as the of allow one man to be a true slave of the Messenger: All the sons of Adam another. Our obedience is to our are sinners, but the best of sinners are Lord. No matter how long we may those who repent often. live, at the end we will have to face the Secret of Life and testify the truth The dignity of a Muslim is about ourselves before the Lord of demonstrated by letting people know the Worlds. But faith also asks us to that he does not forget the kindness face each other in this world and to they show him, nor the evil they admit our own faults, in the hope that inflict upon him. Muhammad (peace truth will unite us and set us free. be upon him) taught us that a person who is not grateful for the goodness True submission to God asks of others is not a good Muslim us to reject the devilish glorification because: The one who is not grateful to of crime and its perpetrators - it asks people is not grateful to Allah. He also us to reject false heros and murderers taught us that a person who allows and accept the word of God that has others to cheat him repeatedly is not come to us as our savior and the glad a conscientious Muslim, because a tidings delivered by the messengers believer is not to be stung twice out of Musa (Moses), Isa (Jesus) and a same hole. Muhammad, peace be upon them all.

Friday Sermon (khutbah) of the Grand Mufti (Raisu-l-Ulama) of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Husein ef. Kavazović, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide

3 In these days of the Serbian Army and Police Force commemorating our brothers and massacred over 8,000 innocent sisters, the victims of Genocide in people in Srebrenica. All of us, both Srebrenica, we reaffirm a religious at home and abroad, still feel the truth spoken long ago: no man can consequences of that evil deed and serve himself only without becoming yet, even today we face the challenge so obsessed with self-love or the love of overcoming that evil taking hold of his own people that he turns them again. into a fake deity. Know well, brothers and sisters, that if a person does not Now it is much clearer to us obey the One God, then he is building that the evil behind the Genocide of fake gods to justify his own evil. Good Srebrenica cannot be destroyed easily and evil are not the same, says the and that its poison will continue to Qur’an, even if we are dazzled by the circulate this region. The reason for abundance of evil that surrounds us. that is that evil cannot be overcome if the community is passive towards it. On the face of every victim of a We must fight against it, otherwise, crime, wherever it was committed, are it will triumph, deceiving us with the the bloody traces of false religion and lie that it is beneficial for us. We have sacrilege. We see that everywhere, witnessed this in action in recent and we see it in the memorial center years. The evil of the Genocide in of the Genocide in Potočari. The Srebrenica is slyly trying to regain its white tombstones in this memorial voice among us, to rear its ugly head center are witnesses. Their image will and justify its existence. continue to be a warning even when we as living witnesses are long gone, Even today, twenty-five unable to speak of the evil committed years later, we are taken aback by by the hands of those in whose hearts the fact that, despite all knowledge that evil was born. Our prayers will and confirmed facts about what preserve the memory of our loved happened in Srebrenica, we still have ones and save them from oblivion. to face the shamelessness of those We firmly believe in their innocence who deny the existence or scale of the and immortality. atrocities committed. It is not even uncommon for those who do so to be Brothers and sisters, it’s been rewarded. One such example is the twenty-five years since members of Swedish Academy. We are confused

Friday Sermon (khutbah) of the Grand Mufti (Raisu-l-Ulama) of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Husein ef. Kavazović, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide

4 by the reluctance of Office of High can understand it better. Srebrenica Representative (OHR) to impose the should become a place of memory, law banning denial of genocide in not only of the Genocide but of Srebrenica and other places. everything that happened to us in the 1990s. All this brings us back to the times of aggression, when the Tomorrow [Saturday 11 July] Genocide happened because of the we will gather at the memorial center hesitance of the UN Security Council. in Potočari to remember our loved On the other hand, we are pleased ones through prayer. We believe that countries such as the UK, the our martyrs are alive and that they USA and Canada, are standing firmly are looking upon us every time we with the victims and preserving the come here and recite Al-Fatiha for memory of Srebrenica. them. Each of our visits to their place of abode, their memorial center in Brothers and sisters, despite Potočari, is a conversation that brings all the difficulties, life in Srebrenica peace to souls that yearn for each is being rebuilt. Like the rays of the other. May every visit to Potočari we sun, the truth of what happened is make be our oath that we will remain slowly dispersing the darkness that true to the values of good and peace. wants to rule over this beautiful Only those whose souls are restless, town. People are approaching each who have been wronged against, other, aware of the burden they’ve know the true blessing of peace. And been forced to carry. I believe that yet, brothers and sisters, we should Muslims and Christians will find a be aware of Allah’s promise that the way to understand each other and victim has the last word – the word of help each other. A difficult past can du’a, and that between the du’a of the be an opportunity for getting to victim and God Almighty there are no know each other better and building curtains and no obstacles. a better future. Brothers and sisters, let’s All good people should help make du’a for us, for our loved ones, Srebrenica, not by keeping silent those who live and those who were about what happened, but by killed, our brothers and sisters who explaining where the evil behind have given their lives so that we may the Genocide originated, so that we have ours.

Friday Sermon (khutbah) of the Grand Mufti (Raisu-l-Ulama) of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Husein ef. Kavazović, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide

5 Our Lord, we turn our faces to You, asking You for Your help and protection: protect us and others from the evil of our own selves and the evil of our enemies, who hate us and have no mercy. Our Lord, bring glad tidings of your protection, mercy and forgiveness to our martyrs, as You have promised them in Your book.

Our Lord, help us by keeping our hearts clean of hatred and want of revenge and help us always strive for the justice You call for.

Our Lord, accept our prayers and the prayers of those who exceeded us in our faith, strengthen our trust in Your word, and protect us from disbelievers.

Our Lord, give all people Your mercy and Your blessings and guide us in the paths of peace and mercy that You will be pleased with.

Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the next world, and protect us from the difficult trials of this world, from sickness and from war. Husein ef. Kavazović Grand Mufti (Raisu-l-Ulama) Our Lord, You are peace and of Bosnia-Herzegovina from You is peace, exalted You are, O Lord of Majesty and Honor. Ameen.

Friday Sermon (khutbah) of the Grand Mufti (Raisu-l-Ulama) of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Husein ef. Kavazović, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide

6 Friday sermon distributed in the UK and Europe by the Bosnia Heritage Foundation, Muslim Council of Britain and the and London Muslim Centre. For more information contact us at: [email protected] and +44 (0) 7947 787222

Foundation www.islamskazajednica.ba www.bosniaheritage.com www.mcb.org.uk www.eastlondonmosque.org.uk