Connect with us

Anti-Muslim Bigotry

3 Points You Need to Know About Srebrenica

Published

1. Worst massacre in Europe since WWII

bosnia

Srebrenica was the first ever UN safe area. Yet in July 1995 the worst atrocities in Europe since WWII occurred there. Over an 11-day period the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) slaughtered 8,000 Muslim fathers, sons and brothers and buried them in mass graves. They forcibly deported the women and children who were later subjected to sexual and physical violence. This highly organised brutal episode was part of the larger ethnic cleansing campaign during the Bosnian War (1992-1995) where between 20,000-50,000 women were imprisoned and raped in gyms, hotels, abandoned houses and concentration camps.

The International Court of Justice ruled that this massacre constituted genocide. Judge Fouad Riad, from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, said these were “truly scenes from hell, written on the darkest pages of human history.”

Aida Civic, a Bosnian Muslim refugee woman from Srebrenica, screams as she enters a container with the remains of around 3,500 killed Bosnian Muslims, most of them from Srebrenica, in an identification centre of the Institute for missing persons in Tuzla in this December 10, 2002 file photo. Twenty years ago on July 11, 1995, towards the end of Bosnia's 1992-95 war, Bosnian Serb forces swept into the eastern Srebrenica enclave, a U.N.-designated "safe haven". There they took 8,000 Muslim men and boys and executed them in the days that followed, dumping their bodies into pits in the surrounding forests.     REUTERS/Damir Sagolj/Files  TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY FROM THE FILES PACKAGE “SREBRENICA MASSACRE - 20TH ANNIVERSARY� SEARCH “SREBRENICA MASSACRE� FOR ALL 15 IMAGES      TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Keep supporting MuslimMatters for the sake of Allah

Alhamdulillah, we're at over 850 supporters. Help us get to 900 supporters this month. All it takes is a small gift from a reader like you to keep us going, for just $2 / month.

The Prophet (SAW) has taught us the best of deeds are those that done consistently, even if they are small. Click here to support MuslimMatters with a monthly donation of $2 per month. Set it and collect blessings from Allah (swt) for the khayr you're supporting without thinking about it.

Aida Civic, a Bosnian Muslim refugee woman from Srebrenica, screams as she enters a container with the remains of around 3,500 killed Bosnian Muslims, most of them from Srebrenica, in an identification centre of the Institute for missing persons in Tuzla in this December 10, 2002 file photo. Twenty years ago on July 11, 1995, towards the end of Bosnia’s 1992-95 war, Bosnian Serb forces swept into the eastern Srebrenica enclave, a U.N.-designated “safe haven”. There they took 8,000 Muslim men and boys and executed them in the days that followed, dumping their bodies into pits in the surrounding forests. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj/Files

2. The Context – Territorial Conflict between the Orthodox Serbs and the Muslim Bosnians (Bosniaks).

In the aftermath of WWII, 6 Balkan states including Bosnia-Herzegovina together formed the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia. After the collapse of Communism, different ethnic groups vied for independence. In the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, three groups fought over control: the Bosnian Muslims (44%), Orthodox Serbs (33%) and Catholic Croats (17%). Despite a referendum declaring Bosnia-Herzegovina an independent state that had gained international recognition, the Bosnian Serbs with outside support mobilised their military forces in order to create a land for ethnic Serbs only. War spread across the country along with ethnic cleansing of Bosniaks and Croatians. The massacre of Srebrenica was part of the war and became the predominant symbol of the conflict. It was after this brutal event NATO intervened and the war ended in 1995.

3. Why should we remember Srebrenica?

PILICA MASS GRAVE

It has been twenty years and families are still searching for their loved ones’ bodies to give them a proper burial. It has been twenty years yet  justice still has not been served to the victims.[1] Only in the last few years has the Srebrenica massacre began to be memorialised in Europe.

In the words of a survivor:

“The work that Remembering Srebrenica is doing is of vital importance. We need to teach people about the genocide, particularly young people, so that they can learn to be tolerant and challenge hatred and prejudice where they see it.”

Nirha Efendic Genocide Survivor[2]

For more information on attending a memorial and resources please visit this website.

References:

Facts, figures and quotes were taken from:

http://www.srebrenica.org.uk/

http://www.history.com/topics/bosnian-genocide

[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/29/world/europe/karadzic-calls-military-commander-as-witness-in-bosnia-genocide-trial.html?_r=0;

For moving pictures see http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2015/07/20-years-since-the-srebrenica-massacre/398135/

[2] http://www.srebrenica.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2014-Annual-Report-08-Absolute-final-for-website.pdf

Keep supporting MuslimMatters for the sake of Allah

Alhamdulillah, we're at over 850 supporters. Help us get to 900 supporters this month. All it takes is a small gift from a reader like you to keep us going, for just $2 / month.

The Prophet (SAW) has taught us the best of deeds are those that done consistently, even if they are small. Click here to support MuslimMatters with a monthly donation of $2 per month. Set it and collect blessings from Allah (swt) for the khayr you're supporting without thinking about it.

Hira Amin is a British muslimah of Pakistani descent. Despite originally being a mathematics graduate, after a few years inside the corporate world, she decided to change paths drastically to studying history. She completed her Masters in the History of International Relations and is currently undertaking her PhD at the University of Cambridge. Her focus areas are South Asian Muslims and their migration to the UK, Islam’s interaction with Western imperialism and modernity, feminism and 20th century international history.

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. Raadiya

    July 14, 2015 at 4:00 PM

    Inna Iil Allahi wa inna ilayhi raageeoun. May Allah (swt) help the Muslim people of Bosnia gain strength and conquer their enemies. And May Allah (swt) help them become a peaceful and just nation.

  2. Muhammad Yusuf Musa

    July 15, 2015 at 1:52 AM

    I shed tears for over 20 mins while reading the story of the survivors! I cant imagine the brutal killings! They have done nothing except the said ” we believe in Allah” Oh Allah have mercy on those killed and help the survivors, strengthen their eeman

  3. Truth

    August 12, 2015 at 3:40 AM

    What a terrible thing. Let us pray to God that such a thing should never happen again. I am not justifying this terrible atrocity but think it is important to know that Balkan non Muslim people have much resentment to Muslims due to –
    1. Ottoman / Muslim persecution of Christians over the centuries of Ottoman / Muslim rule.
    2. Muslim atrocities committed against non Muslim peoples in the Balkans in WW2.
    Let us pray that the love of God and forgiveness will rule.

  4. Freed

    August 17, 2015 at 2:47 AM

    Over 750,000 Serbs died at the hands of Croatians and Bosnian Muslims who colluded with the Nazis in WWII. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem was instrumental in helping recruit Yugoslavian Muslims into the Muslim Hanjar SS division, which committed many genocidal acts against the Serbs, who were painted as racially inferior to the Bosnian Muslims and thus worthy of destruction. This set the stage for the animosities of the 1990s.

    In addition to the Bosnian Muslims killed in the late 1990s, thousands of Serbian Orthodox Christian men, women and children were also killed. Because the Serbs are of the Orthodox faith and aligned to Russia, the Western world ignored atrocities against the Serbs and allied with the Muslims and Croats. As a result, we hear only that side of the conflict. In fact, there were three sides who fiercely hated each other and all committed atrocities. It was a very sad situation. The degree of hostility between the three groups shocked even the Nazis.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending