On October 5 of this year, for the first time in history, the Islamic community got its head based in Slovenia. That title, despite not knowing the Slovenian language and climate, was taken by Mufti Osman Đogić, who arrived from Australia for the occasion. In addition to the high-ranking religious delegation from Bosnia and Herzegovina (led by the highest representative of Muslims in Bosnia, reis-ul-ulema Mustafa Cerić), the inauguration, which began with a prayer, was also attended by some ambassadors, local politicians and representatives of other religious communities operating in Slovenia.
It is interesting that the President of the State Milan Kučan, Prime Minister Janez Drnovšek and the Mayor of Ljubljana Vika Potočnik canceled their participation due to "other obligations"... Thus, on behalf of the state, the inauguration in the white hall of the company SMELT in Ljubljana was accompanied by the director of the government's Office for Religious Communities.
BIG THE VOID: The new Slovenian mufti lived in Australia before taking office, and he was elected mufti by the assembly of representatives of 22 local communities in Slovenia. During the ceremonial appointment, Mufti Đogić stated that the most important task was to "increase trust and friendship among people, regardless of their religious or any other beliefs."
There is no doubt that for the large Muslim community in Slovenia, this event is an expected turning point, especially since until now the believers were represented by the acting president of the mosque and the assembly of the Islamic community. According to census data from 1991, the Islamic community in Slovenia numbers about thirty thousand believers.
One of the most important tasks of the new head of the Muslim community in Slovenia remains the issue of building religious buildings; it is known that Slovenia is the only successor state of the former SFRY that has not tolerated the existence of a mosque on its soil, which is why, according to Muslim believers, there is only a "big void" in that area. Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants and many other smaller religious communities have had their churches for a long time, only Muslims are forced to use temporary facilities during their ceremonies. In Slovenia, the debate on the construction of a mosque has been going on for almost thirty years and has never left a deadlock; the fiercest opponents of that idea are primarily right-wing political parties, which is why "Slovenian Muslims" practice their religious rituals in a small house, hidden in one of the suburbs of Ljubljana.
It is similar in other parts of Slovenia. In Trbovlje, about 1800 members are enrolled in the Islamic Community Board, and about 200 Muslims, mostly immigrants from Bosnia, participate in regular rituals. The board has been waiting for site permission to build a simple meeting house for local Muslims - more than seven years. In the municipality of Trbovlje, this bureaucratic delay was explained by "complaints from the neighbors". It is no less unusual that the permit was eventually obtained, but according to the interpretation of the administration from the municipality of Trbovlje, despite the issued permit, the Islamic community only has the right to "perform administrative tasks" in the said house, but not to "perform religious ceremonies." Then the representatives of the Islamic community decided that based on the "socializing" in the "congregational house" they would also practice religious ceremonies as needed. So let's see who will forbid them.
It is clear that on October 5, Mustafa ef took advantage of his opportunity. Cerić, a guest from Bosnia, who was very clear during the inauguration of his colleague in Slovenia, saying that "responsibility for peace and common life will be greater" only when Muslims in Slovenia "are guaranteed a legitimate right to a mosque in Ljubljana", since the mosque is for Muslims. the basic symbol of the representation of faith.
In addition to the fight for the mosque, another, no less important task awaits the new mufti - the translation of the Koran into the Slovenian language. Although Slovenia has traditionally had good relations with other, predominantly Muslim countries, Slovenians have not had the opportunity to become familiar with the holy book of Islam in their native language. Representatives of the Islamic community claim that they do not blame anyone for this, but that they will need the help of the Slovenian state to solve the problem of translating the Koran.
MOSQUE KAO INSULT: Debates about the location and existence of the mosque in Ljubljana are no more moderate than ten years ago. On the contrary. Odium to the increasingly loud demands of Slovenian Muslims comes from different parts of society. Thus, a few years ago, after violent protests by residents of the Ljubljana neighborhoods of Moste and Bežigrad, the decision to build a mosque was temporarily postponed. Now the decision to build a building in the area of the municipality of Vič has been given the green light, but the protests of representatives of right-wing parties are not abating.
Among the more vocal are supporters of Janša's Social Democratic Party (SDS); and they also have role models - SDS member Jože Snoj, for example, claims that "the Muslim ghetto, the true fortress (of Muslims), will only be determined after the mosque is arranged", while the representatives of the New Slovenia party (NSI), whose head is former the president of the Slovenian government, Andrej Bajuk, laments that "the mosque will offend the religious feelings of Slovenians" and that a "complete research on the consequences of the planned center on the environment" should be done first.
That similar opinions are neither rare nor excessive is also confirmed by the Ljubljana Institute of Urban Planning, with the argument that almost every day "citizens from all parts of Ljubljana warn about the excessive spread of Islam". Should it be said that in recent days the discussion about the role of Muslims in Slovenian society has been particularly emphasized (after the current events in the world and the demolition of the WTC in New York). It turned out that the "fight against terrorism" is an excellent slogan not only for the various discriminatory statements of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dimitrije Rupel (at the expense of Muslims), but also for the postponement of work on the Ljubljana mosque. And perhaps this could be a good opportunity for Slovenian society to confirm its commitment to tolerance and at a moment when Islam is not only under attack from the media but also from bombs, the Slovenian state enables Muslims on its soil to fulfill full religious freedoms - rights that are written down not only in the Slovenian Constitution than in other international documents.
