prijava
SARAJEVO, May 5 (FENA) - Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, who headed the delegation of this country at the opening ceremony of the rebuilt Aladža Mosque in Foča, said today that the renovation of this gem of cultural heritage shows that racism and hatred can only cause material damage, but that they can not harm the culture of coexistence and the spirit of fraternity that has prevailed in the Balkans for centuries.
"It is our duty, instead of building the future on the pains of the past, to create and act in accordance with the ideals of the future in which we will be sure that great pains would never be repeated again. The Aladža Mosque, which is being elevated today in its magnificence, is a symbol of this ideal in this region," said Minister Ersoy, addressing the participants at the opening ceremony of the rebuilt Aladža Mosque.
He recalled in this context the messages of the first president of the BiH Presidency, Alija Izetbegović, who once said that nobody would seek revenge but only justice and that revenge would trigger a chain of evil that has no end, that is, that we must not live in the past, but that it should not be forgotten.
Minister Ersoy highlighted the connection that the Aladža Mosque has with the region and the identity characteristic of BiH, and praised the engagement of all those involved in its reconstruction.
The value of the project of rebuilding the mosque was about five million KM, and it was realized on the basis of the Protocol signed on March 10, 2014, between the Waqf Directorate of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the General Directorate of the Republic of Turkey's Waqf.
This project was supported by the United States Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which provided funding for the preparation of the project documentation and for the construction of the mihrab, and it is important to underline that the United States was the first donor for the rebuilding of the Aladža Mosque.
(FENA) S. R.
