In Serbia, Albanians demolished an ancient mosque of local Turks. Their leader called for prayers in Serbian churches
Residents of the Albanian village of Biljaca near Bujanovac in Serbia's Presevo Valley razed an old 14th-century Turkish mosque to the ground. The Turkish community called the incident vandalism, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“I suggested to my friends to ask the priest from Bujanovac to allow us to pray in the Orthodox Church, because this is the house of God,” said Taljat Adiloglu, chairman and researcher of the Humanitarian Association of Turkish-Serbian Friendship Talat Balkan.
He added that the Turks, who live in about 70 houses in Biljac, Bujanovac and Presevo, have nowhere to pray after the demolition of the mosque and that local Albanians do not allow them to visit the graves of their ancestors, who were buried in these areas for 600 years. A Turkish social activist called the demolition of the old mosque on the night of last weekend for the construction of a new one by Albanians in its place a “vandal action” approved and led by the Hoja of “a certain illegal Islamic community” with the help of a group of local residents.
“We demand that representatives of legitimate Islamic communities and government authorities of the Republic of Serbia recognize the act of vandalism during the demolition of the Turkish mosque and begin the appropriate procedure. We ask to stop the construction of a new illegal building on the foundation of the graves of our ancestors,” Adiloglu said.
With such an action, the Albanians once again showed that they do not respect the shrines of neighboring peoples, even fellow believers.
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