In Banja Luka, the opening ceremony of the Arnaudi Mosque began on Tuesday, which was attended by numerous citizens, believers, and dignitaries from Bosnia and Herzegovina and abroad.
The chief imam of Majlis Banjaluka, Muamer Okanović, in his capacity as host, welcomed the attendees and expressed his joy that the mosque opened its doors again and that “to the joy of believers and citizens of Banja Luka, it will be a meeting place of good and virtuous people along with other Banja Luka mosques”.
“Hasan defterdar’s mosque is a jewel among mosques and complements the beauty of Banja Luka mosques that have adorned Banja Luka for centuries, being a meeting place of spirituality, nobility and reviving strong interpersonal relationships. Built not long after Ferhat Pasha’s mosque, Arnaudija has remained an indispensable part of the heart with its luxurious interior and fearsomeness of the harem of Banja Luka and all visitors who stayed under her wing,” Okanović said.
Arnaudija is a mosque bound by a similar fate as Ferhat Pasha’s mosque. It was built at the end of the 16th century, in 1595, just a few decades after the Ferhadija Mosque. It was built by Hasan defterdar, minister of finance of Ferhat-pasha Sokolović, signatory of Ferhat-pasha Sokolović’s endowment and his contemporary.
Arnaudija somehow got the epithet of Ferhadija mosque’s sister throughout history, so they also share a tragic fate, that is, on May 7, 1993, when both buildings were detonated in the early morning hours.
The Arnaudija mosque is one of the 16 mosques destroyed during the aggression in Banja Luka. The idea of rebuilding Arnaudija was presented in 2015, at the end of 2016, the Protocol on the rebuilding of this Banja Luka beauty was signed with the General Directorate of Waqfs at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey, while the following year, in 2017, the foundation stone for the construction was ceremonially laid.
