Mosque Geopolitics in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

In the age of globalisation, the foreign funding of mosques has become widespread in many countries worldwide. Bosnia and Herzegovina is no exception to the rule, and the post-war - and still ongoing - (re)construction process there has been accompanied by many foreign donations, in line with different forms of "mosque geopolitics" depending on the donor country. As a great number of mosques were destroyed during the Bosnian war of 1992-1995, the post-war period has inevitably required a vital reconstruction process. New needs for places of worship, caused by the nationwide war-related displacement of Bosnian Muslims, have been met by the construction of new mosques. In a relatively poor country like Bosnia and Herzegovina, the influx of foreign funds has been called for and welcomed by many Bosnian Muslim congregations. Western nations have lagged behind during this (re)construction process, while the task of helping financially with mosques has been taken over by several "friendly Islamic countries," among them were most prominently Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. But such foreign funding has not been via a top-down process, and in most cases the financial help coming from foreign donors only complements locally generated revenues invested in the (re)construction, restoration, and renovation of each Bosnian mosque. While the short-term impact of this foreign funding is clear albeit not systematic architecturally, the religious one is much more modest.