Category Archives: Videos

In Sarajevo, Dr. Amineh Hoti of the Journey into Europe team interviewed two Muslim women on the topic of Bosnian identity, Nermina Idriz and Inas Hamidadean, who both have significant connections outside Bosnia. Nermina, a social worker originally from Bosnia, now lives in Penzberg, Germany and is married to Benjamin Idriz, a prominent imam in Germany who heads the Islamic Forum of Penzberg. Inas, a businesswoman, comes from a prominent Yemeni family and lives in Sarajevo. She is married to Professor Esmir Ganic who is the president of the American University in Bosnia and Herzegovina and was a great supporter of the Journey into Europe project in Bosnia.

In Sarajevo, Ambassador Ahmed sat down with Dr. Haris Silajdzic, who served as President, Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to discuss Bosnian identity and Islam in Europe. Dr. Silajdzic is recognized as one of the leading intellectuals of the Balkans and is among the leading intellectuals of Europe. He led his nation through one of its most critical phases of history–the war in the 1990s. As a leader of the country, Dr. Silajdzic has played a critical role in establishing the modern state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

At the Srebrenica Memorial and Cemetery, the Journey into Europe team spoke with Khadijah Mehmedovic of the Mothers of Srebrenica and Hasan Hasanovic, the Curator of the Srebrenica Memorial Centre. Khadijah and Hasan’s harrowing stories of loss and survival during the 1995 Genocide moved the entire team, both Muslims and non-Muslims, to tears.

Ambassador Akbar Ahmed and the Journey into Europe team were in Srebrenica, Bosnia where they paid their respects to the victims of the 1995 genocide. In July 1995, over 8,000 people in Srebrenica were killed by Serb forces. The Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial and Cemetery for the Victims of the 1995 Genocide was established in September 2003. Over 6,000 victims have been buried at this site with additional victims buried each year as remains are identified.

The Journey into Europe team met former MTV presenter Kristiane Backer, a convert to Islam and author of the book From MTV to Mecca: How Islam Inspired My Life. Backer was among the most popular television personalities in Europe in the 1990s and won several television awards in her native Germany. In 1995, she converted to Islam and is currently a television presenter, journalist, author and a prominent activist in the field of interfaith and intercultural dialogue.

While in Munich, Germany, the Journey into Europe team traveled just outside the city to visit Dachau Concentration Camp.  Opened in March 1933 just after Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor, this was the first concentration camp established by the Nazi Party in Germany.  Originally established for political prisoners, Dachau became a model for later concentration camps used to exterminate the Jewish population as well as other communities targeted by the this genocide such as Gypsies and homosexuals. This somber visit reminds us that the Holocaust is not just a Jewish tragedy but a human tragedy and all people, whether Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or Sikh, should remember its many victims and say “Never again.”

In Cologne, Germany, Ambassador Ahmed visited the Cologne Central Mosque, currently under construction. It was commissioned by DITIB, Germany’s largest Muslim organization. When completed, it will be one of the largest mosques in Europe. Its architectural design is a blend of traditional Ottoman and modern styles.

In Berlin, Germany, Ambassador Ahmed visited the German Foreign Ministry where he sat down with Ambassador Dr. Heinrich Kreft, the Ambassador for Dialogue Among Civilizations and Director of Public Diplomacy in the German Foreign Office, in order to discuss Islam in Germany. Dr. Kreft has been a strong friend and supporter of the Journey into Europe project.

Dr. Kreft’s position, created in 2002, works with all levels of the German Foreign Office on issues related to intercultural dialogue and works to promote understanding between the West and the Islamic world.

The Journey into Europe team arrived in Berlin, Germany in time to watch the German national team win the 2014 World Cup Final in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Up to 500,000 Germans gathered at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to watch the final match between Germany and Argentina, with Germany securing the World Cup trophy with a 1-0 victory in extra time. It is Germany’s fourth World Cup title overall and its first since German reunification in 1990.

Dr. Amineh Hoti of the Journey into Europe team sat down with female members of the Muslim community in Granada, Spain at the Mayor Mezquita de Granada. Constructed in 2003, it was the first mosque built in Granada since 1492 when the Muslim Nasrid dynasty, which built the Alhambra Palace, fell.