11th July 2018
Twenty three years ago today more than 8000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were systematically killed based on ethnic and religious grounds by Bosnian Serb forces under the rule of President Slobodan Milosevic and General Ratko Mladic. The genocide has been dubbed as the worst atrocity since the Second World War.
Every year, further remains are found in mass graves, and on 11th July each year, they are laid to rest honourably with a burial at the Potocari Memorial Centre in Srebrenica. Today, 35 newly identified bodies will be buried including 16 year old Vesid Ibric, 71 year old Sahin Halilovic, and Remzija Dudic who was 6 months pregnant.
Harun Khan, Secretary General of the MCB said, “Today we commemorate and remember the victims and families of the Srebrenica genocide – we cannot begin to imagine the pain the survivors, women and children go through each year as many more bodies are laid to rest. We pray that the families attain peace and are rewarded for their patience.
The atrocities of Srebrenica reinforce our principles of not letting hatred win, and ensuring hateful ideologies and intolerance are not left unchallenged. We must tackle all kinds of hatred, whatever form it comes in, be that Islamophobia, racism, sexism, or others. And we must work together to convey a powerful message that hate will never win”.
Download the Friday sermon (Khutba) remembering Srebrenica genocide here. (With thanks to Remembering Srebrenica for permission to republish this sermon)
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