The ALL NEW Bosnia topic!

Salam

AugustusLatifah where in Bosnia are you from?

She doesn't know. She was smuggled out as a baby.

Omrow

(*_Shazan

AugustusSouth America is an incredible place... no other word for it.

It's one of the last untamed frontiers on Earth, and one of the most gorgeous and I love the culture.

Stop writing essays and thesis and focus on your travelogue :lol:

lol yea seriously - hell of a lot more interesting that's for sure

OmrowSalam
She doesn't know. She was smuggled out as a baby.
Omrow

In your short (and yet superbly descriptive piece!) you have managed to say absolutely nothing worth replying too. :roll:

Court hears Balkans genocide case

The first trial of a state charged with genocide has opened in The Hague, where Bosnia-Hercegovina will accuse Serbia and Montenegro of war crimes.

Bosnia says Belgrade was responsible for crimes of genocide on its territory during the early 1990s Bosnian war.

Belgrade denies its intention was to wipe out Muslims in eastern Bosnia.

The EU is also exerting pressure on Serbia, as foreign ministers threaten to freeze association talks unless it co-operates over war crimes suspects.

The ministers did not set a specific deadline, but indicated that they wanted fugitive suspect Ratko Mladic handed over by the end of March. He is accused of genocide and other crimes committed during the Bosnia war.

The ministers warned that negotiations with Serbia scheduled for April could be postponed if the former Bosnian Serb general was not surrendered to the UN war crimes tribunal.

Compensation

Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus said the security services had been told to arrest Gen Mladic and he hoped this would happen by the end of March.

The genocide case against Serbia and Montenegro is being heard at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also in The Hague.

On Monday, hundreds of survivors of the war held a vigil outside the court and read out the names of Bosnian Muslims killed by Serb forces.

The hearings at the ICJ or World Court, which mediates in disputes between states, are scheduled to run until 9 May, but a ruling is not expected until the end of the year.

The BBC's Geraldine Coughlan in The Hague says if Bosnia wins the genocide case, it will seek compensation from Serbia, which could run into billions of dollars.

"The Belgrade authorities have knowingly taken the non-Serbs of Bosnia and Hercegovina on a path to hell, a path littered with dead bodies, broken families, lost youths, lost future, destroyed places of cultural and religious worship," Bosnia lawyer Sakib Softic told the court.

Historic challenge

Serbia will deny that the state - rather than a group of individuals - had the specific intent to wipe out the Muslim population of eastern Bosnia.

Bosnia's case will focus on the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, already established as genocide by the International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

Proving the Serbian nation's responsibility for the most serious war crime of genocide is an historic challenge for the Bosnian legal team, the BBC correspondent says.

The hearings have been delayed for more than a decade, since Belgrade filed a series of counter-claims and disputed the court's authority.

BBC News

Salam

Latefa.

Go. Go.

Omrow

loool

Omrow you found some real life communists!

Well done, you a truly a droog now.

Keep the red flag flying here.

"We are the last generation to have finished secondary school in socialist Yugoslavia," Aldin says

How can I go back when the only available men are commies who marry non-Muslim girls?

I’ll have to stay a little longer.

😃

Augustus

I was talking to a Chechnyan named "Qaz" last night on the MPACUK Chatroom - really interesting guy. But he was telling me that "the Mountains of Allah" Chechnya is largely forgotten by British muslims and that he was concerned that "white muslims" were often forgotten.

He gave me an example, when the earthquake hit Bam and Iran a couple years ago there was general sadness among the muslim community, but absolutely nothing like the Kashmir earthquake. He basically cited the reason for this as nationalism amongst south east asian muslims especially pakistanis.

This idea of nationalism specifically in the Pakistani community seems to be a reoccuring them with non-Pakistani muslims I talk to.

In fairness he praised the activities of groups like MPAC and other islamic political organizations for mobilizing support for Palestinians.

I brought this one over from the 1971 topic cos its prob more appropriate to talk about it here.

Augustus, What the Chechen guy was talking about is said a lot by Muslims from eastern Europe in relation to peoples from Muslim lands. There is an attitude where Chechens, Bosnians, Albanians, ect are perceived as being ignorant of Islam and basically Muslim in name only. I’m not saying that’s how others really see us but it is the way many Balkan Muslims feel treated. A paranoid view maybe.

It is true that most are ignorant of religious matters but not as much as might be believed. Islam there is more internal, more Sufi than anything else. Its just that during the times of the Communists religion was severely limited. To be called a Muslim was enough to cause suspicion, while actually attending a Church or Mosque was practically like declaring your allegiance to the overthrow of the socialism. No chance of a job and much chance of arrest. In Albanian relgion was banned. No joke.

Yet before that Islam was in the region for up to 500 years, it didn’t die out. Knowledge was lost but not for ever. It will remain there forever in the people.

As for the raction to events like Kashmir earthquake, I just think its cos people who have family there are going to feel it the most. I don’t think its down to racism, just cultural conditioning. Its natural for people from India and Pakistan to feel the pain of the victims of the Kashmir earthquake most, just as its natural for Turks to feel especially upset after the disasters there.

AugustusLatifah where in Bosnia are you from?

Did you have any buildings that looked like the really pretty stuff above - and what's the land like... looks really dense with forests and a lot of rivers

I’m from Sarajevo, the very city in most of the pics and article on this topic. Where i used to live is not far from here. Not a great pic but thats the Mosque mentioned in omros article.

latifahAugustus, What the Chechen guy was talking about is said a lot by Muslims from eastern Europe in relation to peoples from Muslim lands. There is an attitude where Chechens, Bosnians, Albanians, ect are perceived as being ignorant of Islam and basically Muslim in name only. I’m not saying that’s how others really see us but it is the way many Balkan Muslims feel treated. A paranoid view maybe.

The thing about many Muslim minorities that dot the 'Russian' landscape is that we had to endure centuries -- not years -- of continuous Russian domination and subjugation.

Thousands upon thousands were deported by Stalin, to Siberia, under his "divide and rule" plan.

Thousands of Muslims [I'm talking close to a million] were forced to convert, against their will.

Many of their beautiful Masjids were burnt to the ground, Qur'ans burnt and our Mullahs [and Mo'alims] were killed.

My friends grandparents had to learn, then teach Islam underground, as did I'm sure, thousands of their forefathers.

Despite this, Muslims throughout Central Asia and the former Soviet Union still held on to the rope of Allah swt, and still identify themselves as Muslims though they may not have been, nor are, practicing their Islam as they should be.

Curse the Communist

latifahI’m from Sarajevo, the very city in most of the pics and article on this topic. Where i used to live is not far from here. Not a great pic but thats the Mosque mentioned in omros article.

Did the ottoman build that Masjid?

(*_Shazan

latifahI’m from Sarajevo, the very city in most of the pics and article on this topic. Where i used to live is not far from here. Not a great pic but thats the Mosque mentioned in omros article.

Did the ottoman build that Masjid?

It’s an Ottoman era Mosque like most in BiH. Loads of them were ruined in the war but the are being rebuilt in the old style with money donated from Muslim countries.

http://www.islamicamagazine.com/content/view/169/59/

As this is a personal topic... 😃 This is my old neighbourhood.

latifahI’m from Sarajevo, the very city in most of the pics and article on this topic. Where i used to live is not far from here. Not a great pic but thats the Mosque mentioned in omros article.

It's a very pretty city - is that bridge from Sarajevo too?

Augustus

latifahI’m from Sarajevo, the very city in most of the pics and article on this topic. Where i used to live is not far from here. Not a great pic but thats the Mosque mentioned in omros article.

It's a very pretty city - is that bridge from Sarajevo too?

That last picture was too big, damn.

The bridge is in Mostar, now rebuilt.
Its tradition to jump off it... 😃

http://www.technologystudent.com/struct1/arch2.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3919047.stm

latifahAs this is a personal topic... 😃 This is my old neighbourhood.

YIKES that's gorgeous! What kind of trees are those btw? I see them a lot in and around Venice, maybe it's just the picture but they look incredibly vibrant - especially the one in the forground

And what's that curious looking Ottomanish building thing?

It's too small looking to be a mosque or government building but it's so ornate

Like some sort of pagoda lol

Lead us around here lol what am I looking at - is this a market or something? Where in there did you live?

And that's a really cool... high... looking bridge.

That's gotta be at least 75 feet and people jumped off it?! Without dying?!

Maybe my eyes are playing tricks but is that road made out of rough pink marble blocks?

That would make it Roman wouldn't it?

I bet it's a bird managerie right? - the curious ottomanish building?

It looks just about the right size, and i know i've seen that construction somewhere before I could have sworn it was from pictures of the Sublime Porte

AugustusI bet it's a bird managerie right? - the curious ottomanish building?

It looks just about the right size, and i know i've seen that construction somewhere before I could have sworn it was from pictures of the Sublime Porte

or it could contain benches inside for people to sit on - i've seen summat like that before...
and wow, latifah that place really is beautiful!!! :shock: 😃 those hills in the background remind me of switzerland.
i'm assuming thats a marketplace? it looks like there are loadsa tourists in that pic too...

*DUST*

AugustusI bet it's a bird managerie right? - the curious ottomanish building?

It looks just about the right size, and i know i've seen that construction somewhere before I could have sworn it was from pictures of the Sublime Porte

or it could contain benches inside for people to sit on - i've seen summat like that before...
and wow, latifah that place really is beautiful!!! :shock: 😃 those hills in the background remind me of switzerland.
i'm assuming thats a marketplace? it looks like there are loadsa tourists in that pic too...

lol I was just thinking that about Switzerland - over by St. Gallen and the hills closer to Austria.

I hope they are tourists... I know since actually looking it up i'm rather interested in seeing this

Augustusover by St. Gallen and the hills closer to Austria.

lol yea exactly! 🙂

AugustusI know since actually looking it up i'm rather interested in seeing this

same here - never seriously considered going there but it seems like a place well worth visiting, looks amazing in all the pics u guys posted up.

That last picture is beautiful. What a town. Is that really your place joker ?

AugustusGorgeous isn't it, a lot of the pictures i've seen they've got what looks like a lot of stucco and brick and mortar buildings with red (clay tile?) roofs. Really gives it a mediterranean look - especially with the turkish high civic influence like in that bridge (can you actually walk across that?!)

It's a bit of a crossroads isn't it?

My home with red clay tile's

http://www.geocities.com/shazan20000ad/banglahome.JPG

http://www.geocities.com/shazan20000ad/banglahome2.JPG

Very pretty, I like the portico out front in the first one. Who was the architect? I like his take on the classical villa, especially the ballistrade arcade above the portico.

I can't for the life of me figure out what that interesting tower thing is in the second picture. Is it some sort of pool house?

AugustusVery pretty, I like the portico out front in the first one. Who was the architect? I like his take on the classical villa, especially the ballistrade arcade above the portico.

I can't for the life of me figure out what that interesting tower thing is in the second picture. Is it some sort of pool house?

It's not a tower (persay, you could call it that 🙂 ) it’s a roof top balcony leading from a second floor bedroom- cant actually see it, I will need to find a picture which shows it- someone else guessed was it’s a helipad

It wasn’t designed by any Architects, simply by a builder working off his imagination

*DELETED*

Hi there Augustus.

This building was part of the entrance to the public bath in the old (“Turkish”) days. Now a water fountain/tourist resting place.

In those days only mighty Istanbul could match Sarajevo for its splendor.

Ottomans built for beauty rather than practicality, while the commies had the exact opposite in mind with their ugly buildings. Those apartments were really nice on the inside but an eyesore from a distance.

The Mosque in the pic is Gazi Husrev-beg's Mosque, the most famous in Sarajevo.

I have no idea what trees they are but they provide good shade from the hot summer sun.

Were I grew up was just about ½ mile to the north of that picture.

It still is a market place but now mainly for tourists. Its called Baščaršija, part of the old Muslim quarter of the city.

Lol…very few people actually die from diving from the bridge in Mostar…(they generally die from drowning… 😃 )

*DUST*

AugustusI bet it's a bird managerie right? - the curious ottomanish building?

It looks just about the right size, and i know i've seen that construction somewhere before I could have sworn it was from pictures of the Sublime Porte

or it could contain benches inside for people to sit on - i've seen summat like that before...
and wow, latifah that place really is beautiful!!! :shock: 😃 those hills in the background remind me of switzerland.
i'm assuming thats a marketplace? it looks like there are loadsa tourists in that pic too...

Yeah its a major tourist area at the moment

I should get a job in the Sarajevo tourist board. 😃

OmrowThat last picture is beautiful. What a town. Is that really your place joker ?

It is indeed, droog

My home town is Baščaršija

I posted the wrong article before :oops:

Here is a good one about Bosnia's Mosques.

http://www.islamicamagazine.com/content/view/169/59/

Salam

latifah
My home town is Baščaršija

Its a good thing you are not there.

It seems your town is still being bombarded.

I can see a lot of shells falling on it.

Omrow