Speech of dr. Mustafa Ceric at the Funeral in Srebrenica, 15th Anniversary

SPEECH OF

REISU-L-ULEME DR. MUSTAFA CERIĆ

AT THE FUNERAL IN POTOČARI

15th ANNIVERSARY

(Sunday, 29th Rajab 1431/11th July 2010)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحي

قال الله تعلي في كتابه الكريم: قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ.  اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ.  لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ.  وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ. صدق الله العظيم

1 God is One! He has begotten no one, nor is He begotten; and there is no one comparable to Him! (Qur'an: 112).

2 Two is a couple, a male and a female, who make up family of which comes tribes and nations that should know each other and cooperate for the sake of the common good of humanity!

3 There are three ethnic communities in our country, which have appreciated diversity of one another since ancient times and have complemented each other with similarities in the spirit of Bosnian coexistence and tolerance!

4 There are four religions and traditions in our homeland: Judaism, Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity and Islam, as gifts from Jerusalem and proof of God's will to have several religions and traditions as a means to encourage people to compete against each other in making good deeds!

5 There are five rivers: the Drina in the east, the Una in the west, the Neretva in the south, the Sava in the north and the Bosna in the middle of our country, from which we all, irrespective of our faith and ethnic background, absorb the power of life!

6 There are six indefeasible human rights guaranteed to any person: right to life, right to faith, right to freedom, right to property, right to dignity and right to a family!

7 There are seven green wheat ears that should be preserved from drying out during the seven hungry years!

8 There are eight pillars of morality: sanctity, philanthropy, patriotism, nationalism, veracity, fairness, pacifism and tolerance!

9 There are nine reasons for you to live and to bear up: to be a witness of genocide; to be a fighter for truth and justice; to be in Potočari on July 11th; to preserve the memory of shahids (martyrs) - one's own relatives and brothers; to disclose war crimes, wherever they happened; to fight for the rights of the vulnerable and disempowered, irrespective of who they are; to return to your home and your homeland; and to be a proud advocates of peace and reconciliation among the people, wherever you are!

10 There are the ten Commandments of God: worship only God, be kind, honorable and humble to your parents, look after your neighbors, love your homeland, care for orphaned children, do not kill, do not steal, do not lie, keep promises and stay on the path of righteousness.

11 Eleventh is the day contained in each of the twelve months, which reminds us all of the day of genocide that took place on July 11, 1995 in Srebrenica!

12 There were the twelve apostles of 'Isa (Jesus), a.s., the followers whom shall we learn from all over again, trusting that their path is the only right path for all of us - the path of faith, love, peace and reconciliation! There is no other path to success and salvation of humanity!

13 There are thirteen ways to look after the victims of genocide: by showing them respect; by giving them hope; by not giving up on them; by offering them love and friendship; by fining them a shelter; by ensuring them the right to work and employment; by recognizing them the right to compensation for emotional pain and suffering; by saving them from offenses and humiliations; by offering them solidarity; by ensuring that in their homeland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, at any place and at any time they enjoy fundamental human rights; by ensuring that in Srebrenica they do not encounter those police officers who have killed their children; by having all states of the world to sign the resolution that condemns genocide!

Here we would like to express gratitude to those who came to share with us this day, but also to we want to say it now and here. If the politicians are honest in what they are saying today because we do not know what is in their hearts, they should free us of the guilt because of our faith, because of our culture, because of our desire to have homeland, and because of our desire to have a state that will protect us from genocide.

If they are honest in what they are saying, they should open the doors of ghetto and allow us to travel around Europe and the world as free citizens, without visas.

I want you all to know now and forever that it is not true that the civilization does not begin from the moment of the burial of a Bosnjak. The truth is that the  civilization starts from the moment when a Bosniak is born without a fear from genocide in the future.

I also want to say that, as people who have memory of genocide in Europe, just like Jews, we are deeply offended and humiliated by the fact that our honorable men, who defended this much freedom and dignity that we have now, are nowadays being arrested at the European airports.

We want freedom for all, as we want it for ourselves. We want to live without fear in this Europe -without the fear for our children and grandchildren.

We pray to Allah to help us all in fighting for one another, for the rights of us and the others in Europe, so that we do not experience expulsion in this century as the Jews and Muslims have experienced it on two occasions.

This is for these who are lying before us here, who brought us all together to this place today.

14 Rijad Gabeljić, who shall we burry today, was only fourteen when he was killed in Srebrenica genocide on July 11, 1995!

15 For fifteen difficult, sad and painful years the families of genocide victims in Srebrenica have been searching for their beloved ones. For fifteen years perpetrators of the Srebrenica genocide have been denying their crime, outraging the victims and defying the International Court of Justice. We hope that on the 15th anniversary and day after this funeral in Potočari, on July 12, we will not look again at hordes of unknown people wearing well-known symbols of hatred and terror, mocking all of us who came here to pay respect to victims of the most hideous crime since holocaust! Victims of the Srebrenica genocide must be saved from the insults and humiliations, which had happened in the middle of town of Srebrenica right after this solemn gathering, because these people know how to bear their pain and distress in a dignified manner! This is a proud and honorable people who means no harm to anyone, but also the people determined not to be subject to any mocking and humiliation!

***

Thus, if we really want to prevent future genocides we must do much more than sympathize with the victims. We have to comprehend the psychological depth of the perpetrators of genocide and indifference of genocide observers.

We have to learn what makes some persons, who were once normal, to hate other persons and people to the extent that they want to systematically and methodically eliminate them all! But we also need to learn about those who support genocide against innocent people or observe it from the distance! We need to learn more about them too!

We also need to learn about the holocaust and genocide not only as of historical facts but also as a means to teach our children about the dangers of racism, anti-Semitism, islamophobia and other examples of human intolerance.

We must teach younger generations to appreciate democracy and human rights and encourage them to reject hatred, intolerance and ethnic conflicts.

Today, here in Potočari we all must be united, in our country, in Europe and world wide in condemning genocide.

This prayer is our hope that our future will be better than our past:

1 Merciful God, if we forget thee, do thou forget us;

2 If error befalls us, give us the strength of Adam's repentance;

3 If disaster befalls us, teach us of Noah's Ark;

4 If heresy darkens us, enlighten our path with Abraham's orthodoxy;

5 If we area caught by the fear of tyrants, empower us with Moses' justice;

6 If hatred offers itself to us, save us with the Isa's love;

7 If we are expelled from our homes strengthen us with Mohammed's desire to return.

8 God Almighty, unite our hearts in faith and love.

9 Strengthen our steps in truth and justice.

10 Strengthen our will in brotherhood and harmony.

11 Bring together out thoughts in home and homeland.

12 Just God, please take away the violent sword from tyrants and empower the weak with the faith in truth and justice..

13 God, please

14 Turn our sadness into hope;

15 Turn our vengeance into justice; turn tears of a mother into prayer so that Srebrenica never happens to anyone again!