Serbian forces sought to create a new reality” – 218 mosques were damaged or destroyed during the war

“They were burned, destroyed, demolished and shelled.”

The mosque located near the Ibar Bridge in Mitrovica did not escape this destruction.

Today, not a single foundation stone remains in that area to testify that a religious building once stood there.

Serbian forces completely burned down the mosque in 1999.

According to Ramadan Shkodra of the Islamic Community of Kosovo, there were around 400 mosques in Kosovo before the war, while more than half of them suffered various forms of damage.

“There were approximately 400 mosques before the war. Of these, 218 were attacked, destroyed or demolished in various ways. This includes the headquarters of the Islamic Community of Kosovo, the Llapi Mosque, and, in Vushtrri, the Bazaar Mosque, as well as many other mosques,” Shkodra explains.

He explains that in certain cases, the objective was not only to demolish the mosques, but also to erase every sign indicating their existence.

“Serbian forces wanted to create a new reality. After mining and destroying Islamic heritage sites, they levelled the ground with an excavator so that every trace would disappear and a new reality could be created, one in which churches or other buildings could be constructed,” he says.

Some of the mosques were not only physically damaged, but also desecrated with nationalist inscriptions.

“We also had cases of the desecration of places of worship. Nationalist graffiti was written inside the mosques, including graffiti expressing Orthodox affiliation, as well as anti-Albanian, anti-NATO, anti-US and anti-European messages,” Ramadani said.

Most of the mosques damaged during the war have now been restored.

However, the mosque near the Ibar Bridge remains unrestored.

The television broadcaster also sought a response from the institutes responsible for protecting monuments, but they did not reply.