A groundbreaking ceremony was held in 2016 for the reconstruction of the historic mosque in Cajnice, known to have been built in 1570 by Sinan Bey, the son-in-law of Ottoman Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, and destroyed by a Serbian attack on June 8, 1992. The reconstruction work, supported by the General Directorate of Foundations and the Islamic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina, has been completed.
The graves of Sinan Bey and his wife Şemse Kadun, located next to the mosque, were also renovated and the landscaping of the structure was done in accordance with the original. Within the scope of the project, the ruins found in the area after the demolition of the mosque built in the 16th century were also used in the reconstruction work.
Gorazde Mufti Remzi Pitic said that they have completed the preparations and are ready to reopen the mosque for worship. Pitic, who stated that the mosque will reopen for worship with Friday prayers, said, “This place deserves to be opened on Friday. We thank God that the mosque will reopen for worship.”
Stating that they will open the third mosque for worship in the Gorazde region in the last 10 years, Pitic said, “We still have a lot of work to do. I think that with the reconstruction of the mosque, Cajnice will gain a new spirit and new momentum, and Bosnians will find a reason to come here more often. We have also planned some events to be held here regularly, we plan to hold the central mevlid program on September 15 in this mosque.”
Pitic also emphasized that they had organized the mosque opening and that those who came would be able to use buses departing from Gorazde at certain hours, rather than their private vehicles.
Hadis Kustura, who was a muezzin at the age of 10 before the mosque was demolished, also expressed his excitement at being in the same place again. Kustura said that they lived in Cajnice until 1992 and went to the capital Sarajevo when the war started, and said, “I am one of the last muezzins in this mosque. I used to come to this mosque all the time because it did not have “a large congregation. The feeling of meeting this mosque again is immense and cannot be described in words.”
Kustura stated that he entered the mosque and performed a two-rakat prayer of gratitude, and that he felt very good feelings about his childhood in the mosque.
Kustura thanked everyone, especially Turkey, who contributed to the reconstruction of the mosque, and said, “When you enter Cajnice now, you feel like you have entered an old Bosnian Muslim neighborhood. It was difficult to come here after the mosque was demolished.”
Many people from inside and outside the country are expected to attend the reopening of the building, which is considered one of the most architecturally beautiful mosques in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
