Intercultural dialogue: Grand Mufti Kavazovic received in Vienna

Intercultural dialogue: Grand Mufti Kavazovic received in Vienna

A significant visit occurred in Vienna when the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Husein Kavazovic, met invited guests at the Hildegard Burjan parish. This extraordinary event was organized by the Archdiocese of Vienna, which promotes Christian-Islamic dialogue thanks to its long-standing collaboration with the Muslim community in Bosnia and the commitment of Pastor Martin Rupprecht. With the signing of a “Memorandum of Understanding” with Ümit Vural, President of the Islamic Religious Community in Austria (IGGÖ), the international cooperation to promote imam training and pastoral care in Austria was sealed, as reported on the kathpress platform.

Promoting interreligious dialogue

The Grand Mufti's stay in Vienna took place in the context of a specialist conference on imam training, where important foundations for sound training in pluralistic societies were discussed. The Grand Mufti emphasized his community's commitment to democracy, human rights and European pluralism. These values ​​are particularly important for Bosnian Muslims, who see themselves as a “bridge between Islamic and European civilization.” The community's line of tradition extends back to the Ottoman period and has remained consistent despite all the challenges, which Kavazovic highlighted in his lecture, as is also emphasized on the Standard page.

The conflict between the different ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina remains due to the unclear status of the international community. Nationalist currents continue to try to promote territorial divisions along ethno-religious lines, reminiscent of the traumatic experiences of the war of the 1990s. This is in direct contrast to the vision of a common state for all citizens, which has so far compounded the challenges in the southeastern European state, as the reports on the Standard site show.