Peace at Bosnia mosque ceremony

Previous ceremonies have been marred by violence

By Alix Kroeger

A ceremony to reinaugurate a mosque in northern Bosnia has passed off peacefully, despite fears that Serb nationalist extremists would try to disrupt it.

About 500 Bosnian Muslims attended the ceremony, which took place in Bosnian Serb territory.

More than 800 police are on duty in the area, but there's been no sign of any demonstrations.

All ten mosques were destroyed in the town of Gradiska

In May, two ceremonies to begin the reconstruction of mosques were disrupted by Bosnian Serb nationalist extremists.

The Obradovacka mosque is the first in Gradiska to be rebuilt.

The Bosnian Serb army destroyed all 10 mosques in the town during the war.

Violence

One man was killed and more than 30 injured after Serb nationalist demonstrators attacked returning Muslims and international officials in two similar ceremonies in May.

The ceremony in the Bosnian Serb capital, Banja Luka, finally took place last month under the protection of more than 2,000 Serb police, who used teargas and water cannon to keep a violent crowd at bay.

But the Islamic community was taking no chances: after the foundation stone was officially laid, it was removed to protect it from almost certain vandalism.

Unlike Banja Luka, the mosque in Gradiska has been completely rebuilt.

Work started last August, and another mosque in the town is now under reconstruction.

Until May, the rebuilding of mosques in Bosnian Serb territory was going ahead slowly but without disruption.

After the violence in Banja Luka, that can no longer be taken for granted.