Back in September, two trustees from Shifa mosque, Ahmed Peerbux and Mujeeb Gallagher, gathered a small group of men from South London and travelled to Bosnia for a thrilling bikepacking adventure.
Starting in Sarajevo, they ventured up and over the Dinaric Alps mountain range before heading south to Mostar, famed for its 16th century Ottoman bridge which serves as a the symbol of friendship between peoples.
The 300-mile ride was gruelling, with heavy rain and overgrown forest trails to contend with, not to mention unexploded mines, wolves, bears and wild boar! Still, the intrepid group were blown away by the stunning unspoilt vistas and warm hospitality of the locals.
Along the way, they met with a local called Ismail Bejtovic at the ‘Qadiri Tekke’ in the small town of Ilidza and were invited to a beautiful gathering of Qur’an and dhikr.
Ismail spoke about the terrible legacy of the Bosnian War. Spanning from 1992-95, a campaign of war crimes and ethnic cleansing perpetrated by Serb troops and the Croatian military devastated the country. The massacre of more than 8000 Muslim Bosniak men and boys by Serb forces in Srebrenica is the only incident in Europe to have been recognised as a genocide since the Second World War.
Ismail said the war had left the Muslims in Bosnia feeling isolated and forgotten about. He said visitors provided a much-needed morale boost and appealed for more Muslims to come and spend time in the country.
Warm friendships were made, as was a firm intention to return in the Autumn of 2025 with a bigger contingent for a conference on the future of Islam in Europe.
