Ivo, Admir and Zeljko are three representatives of their peoples, their religions and they are also very good friends. They left their homeland of BiH and came to live in Kordun (Croatia). Friar, imam and priest are symbol of Bosnian unity, even outside their homeland.
Friar Ivo Bosnjak was born in Prozor – Rama, and he served in Kresevo for three years, then in Dubrave, near Brcko, also for three years and a year and a half in Tolisa near Orasje. He came to Vojnic in October last year and took over the Parish of St. Anthony of Padua, in order to replace sick friar Anto Ivanovic. He is taking care of 2,339 members of his parish.
Admir Muhic is from the village of Busovaca, and he lived in Pula since 1992. He got his first job back in 1998 in Varazdin, where he got married. A year later, he travelled once a week to Cetingrad to teach religion. He became the chief imam of the Medzlis of Karlovac in the year of 2012. Muhic also likes to write poems and he already made several collections. He became known to the wider public after a warm and touching letter that he wrote to Pope Francis during his visit to Sarajevo back in 2015.
Zeljko Vidakovic was born in Zvornik, and he was teaching religion in a place near his hometown for several years, after which he arrived in Vojnic back in 2011 and became the priest in the Kolaric-Veljunj parish.
“Religion connects people through some beautiful things, as well as problems that we all are going through. It is not enough to say that interreligious relations are just correct, because they are much better than that. And when it comes to the three of us, there is no need to say anything,” said Ivo, Admir and Zeljko.
“We became friends almost immediately. The mentality of Croats, Bosniaks, and Serbs from this region is very similar,” stated Mujic.
“All three of us were born in Bosnia, we are younger people, untouched by the past. We do not have boundaries since we grew up in multi-ethnic environments, but everything comes down to one thing at the end: you are either a good man, or you are not, and that does not have a lot to do with nationality,” concluded friar Ivo.
