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The lecture commemorates the 33rd anniversary of the war crimes committed in Ahmići, Bosnia, where 116 civilians, including women and children, were brutally killed by the Croatian Defense Council (HVO) on April 16, 1993. The speaker emphasizes the importance of remembering these victims and the historical context of the violence, highlighting the destruction of mosques and homes in the area. He calls for collective remembrance and justice for the victims, invoking the Quranic principle that martyrs are alive in the sight of Allah, and urges the community to remain vigilant against such atrocities in the future.
Transcript (English)
0:00 Dear friends, peace be upon you.
0:02 I have come to Ahmići.
0:04 Today marks
0:06 33 years since
0:09 the war crime. One of the greatest crimes
0:12 in Bosnia and Herzegovina
0:13 committed by the HVO criminals
0:15 in this area where 116
0:18 civilians were killed.
0:21 civila.
0:22 So, a large number of children and women.
0:26 And it is very important to record this and to take care.
0:30 This is a new mosque, alhamdulilah, in Ahmedći, for all of you who have not been here.
0:36 Here are the names of the people who built
0:39 this mosque. You see it says this house of worship was established by good and pious
0:45 waqif in 1991.
0:49 The late Hazim was
0:52 the Ustaše,
0:54 a crime
0:55 scattered on this mosque, that is, on the old mosque which you will see its picture later. So, on the windows.
1:02 the mosque, and after that, they mined that mosque.
1:05 Although he is a good servant of Allah, this good pilgrim
1:08 even donated two dulums of land
1:10 to his Croatian neighbors for their graves, cemetery, burial site.
1:15 in
1:16 this village, and he even donated twenty thousand marks for the
1:22 construction of the local Catholic church
1:24 here, in the vicinity.
1:25 After that, you see it was destroyed in 1993.
1:29 and rebuilt in 2020.
1:31 Years.
1:33 We will not
1:34 enter inside
1:36 the mosque,
1:37 here is therefore the name
1:39 or the names
1:41 of the martyrs, you see that flowers are laid.
1:45 For
1:46 these martyrs.
1:49 That is,
1:50 116.
1:51 Humans who were killed at Bigairi Hook
1:57 Killed at this place. So, in those two days of killing, as you see,
2:09 this is a memorial, a remembrance of the victims of genocide
2:10 during the aggression against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
2:11 from 1991 to 1995.
2:15 On April 16, 1993,
2:16 the HVO defense forces committed the crime of genocide
2:18 in the Ahmići community against 100.16 Bosniak civilians,
2:24 men,
2:25 The woman and children received three months of age.
2:28 up to 82
2:29 years. So that it is never forgotten or repeated.
2:33 Al-Fatiha.
2:35 And do not say about those who have died in Allah's way, they are dead; they are alive, but you do not perceive.
2:45 And,
2:46 now we will look over here at a memorial that
2:50 I think is truly very important.
2:56 Here is another detail.
3:02 So, which
3:03 We need to know.
3:05 And which is often silenced or...
3:10 Unfortunately, they do not know. Here, therefore, memorials
3:16 of the crime in Ahmići.
3:19 The greatest crime in BiH by the Croatian army occurred in Ahmići on April 16, 1993.
3:26 Years. The aftermath
3:28 of the Croatian Defense Council (HVO) committed a crime against the Ahmić community.
3:32 Killing 116 Bosniak civilians, men, women, and children aged 3 months to 82
3:38 years in an operation codenamed 48.
3:42 hours of ashes and smoke.
3:44 Two mosques, a school, 150 houses,
3:47 and complete infrastructure
3:49 in Ahmići.
3:51 So that Al-Fatiha is never forgotten or repeated. This memorial was restored
3:59 with the help of the Turkish military mission in
4:01 Bosnia and Herzegovina.
4:05 And now, let’s see how it actually looks.
4:11 We will start from right to left. So,
4:12 the appearance of the mosque
4:19 that the late Hajju Hazim built and which, after he was
4:20 at that mosque
4:22 criminals
4:22 mined
4:24 You have something very interesting here
4:27 testimony.
4:28 He said while I was passing through the ruins, it looked like a graveyard, truly.
4:32 The whole place was abandoned, there was no one. Practically every house was destroyed. The mosque's minaret was collapsed, looking like a rocket aimed at the sky, and around it lay dead dogs and other carcasses.
4:45 life.
4:47 Here,
4:48 how it looked.
4:50 extraction
4:51 And the collection of dead bodies
4:57 The burn sites
5:01 This is the handling
5:05 of the injured persons. Here
5:09 a testimony, I accidentally looked at the door and saw a hand
5:17 throwing a bomb into the house, quite
5:18 it fell next to me and rolled towards my mother. She grabbed it with her hand
5:30 and tried to throw it outside, but it exploded and tore off her hand. That bomb took both her and my brother.
5:34 Also translated into English, see
5:38 where they are wounded
5:42 And this is the hand of a human
5:47 The ruins
5:49 with carbonized
5:51 body
5:54 In the face of this strength when they come
6:01 So, indeed, the images are truly striking
6:06 which I really believe should be
6:08 seen
6:10 And it will be marked
6:23 Presentation
6:24 of sacrifices
6:26 How the sacrifices were collected
6:31 Commander Iskoraći
6:34 two steps.
6:35 He shot him straight in the chest,
6:37 I was watching that.
6:39 Then Iskoraći tells me to take those two steps forward.
6:42 I stepped forward,
6:43 I listened to him and he shot me from a meter away.
6:46 A bullet entered here and exited there. I only felt a slight warmth,
6:58 and blood splattered on me. I fell and remained lying down.
7:02 So, another testimony.
7:04 There are many more testimonies
7:06 that are mentioned here.
7:10 Here is how the village looked.
7:17 You can see that all the houses are destroyed and ruined.
7:19 Here is how the burial looked.
7:21 Here are the graves.
7:24 They are all destroyed.
7:27 Leše
7:36 Evo dakle još
7:46 I,
7:50 žrtava.
7:51 Još ovida tu.
7:53 Ovo su izvršioci
7:55 zločina.
7:59 I
8:00 još
8:01 britanski vojnik iznad
8:04 costume, target
8:07 The second mosque
8:19 This brings me back.
8:21 That morning was along the line. He mentioned the war along the line, data and the fence.
8:28 I
8:29 fusto, this is me. Here, this is it.
8:32 That morning.
8:34 Now, while I was
8:37 recording this, some other people came in and told me
8:42 that the late Hajj Hazim, who gave them two dulams before the war.
8:48 he had arranged with his graveyard
8:51 who gave money for their needs and their churches
8:56 when the children of people
8:58 to flee and leave the mosque, that is, to betray from here, from the village,
9:05 my neighbors will not help me.
9:08 And these were the last words he said, my neighbors will not help me.
9:11 my neighbors will not help me.
9:13 Unfortunately, his neighbors participated in his murder,
9:17 his here in the ambush
9:19 This is, of course, the second mosque that was built on
9:24 foundations
9:26 And this mosque, Ali, is actually an example of that criminal who was convicted
9:33 for the crimes against the Wahmich.
9:35 You saw later that he said he would do it again, and this should really be a
9:41 great lesson for all of us.
9:43 In what way do you have
9:46 people who think,
9:49 and that these are people who are actually ready to repeat
9:55 those crimes.
9:57 So, I ask Allah, the Exalted, that this remains
10:02 As a note
10:03 to our collective consciousness.
10:08 Here, the Quran was found in this mosque during the destruction in 1993.
10:12 Years.
10:14 As long as destruction, but also as long as eternal truths.
10:18 So, when the mosque burned and was destroyed, here is this Musaf.
10:23 It survived.
10:26 So I ask Allah, the Exalted, truly
10:29 to
10:30 grant us wisdom and everyone.
10:33 the presence
10:35 I ask the Lord of the worlds to punish the wrongdoers in this world
10:40 the worst
10:41 punishment that is possible to
10:45 be punished
10:47 especially to be punished in the hereafter
10:53 Here, I am glad that I succeeded
10:56 to record it so it remains
10:59 for the record.
11:02 For our collective memory and collective consciousness is
11:06 extremely important
11:10 in these regions. May Allah reward you. Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings!