BOSNIA - HERZEGOVINA: THE DESTRUCTION OF A NATION [Main Title]

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  • Title: BOSNIA - HERZEGOVINA: THE DESTRUCTION OF A NATION [Main Title]
  • Film Number: MGH 6808
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: This film links the current persecution of Muslims in Bosnia to the region’s history, from the arrival of the Ottomans and mass conversion to Islam to the oppression of these people by successive rulers, from the Austro-Hungarians in the early 20th century to the Serbian Chetniks during the Second World War. It argues that the West has left Muslims to face complete destruction by the heavy weaponry and tanks of the Serbian army and it urges Islamic states and its citizens to help these Muslims in their current plight.
  • Description: Islamic Relief presents ‘The Destruction of a Nation. The Tragedy of Bosnia-Herzegovina’ (1992) April 1992. Scenes of Sarajevo under attack, defenders of Sarajevo and funerals of the dead. The narrator says that the ‘existence of Islam in the very heart of Europe is threatened’. He says that Serbs are destroying minarets and places of worship and are slaughtering and desecrating women. However Sarajevo is defiant and will remain to tell future generations of the slaughter of a whole people. Shots of bodies on the ground with bloody wounds. Black and white archive footage from the First World War period of troops saluting a general and planes in the air. Series of shots showing notable figures from Bosnia’s past and present including Ottoman leaders, Marshal Tito, Slobodan Milosević, Radovan Karadžić and President Izetbegović. Maps and illustrations show the Ottoman expansion into the Balkans during the second half of the fourteenth century as the ‘Light of Islam spreads across the Balkans’. In 1389, the Serbs suffered an overwhelming defeat at the Battle of Kosovo. Clip of Milosević from 1987 telling Serbs in Kosovo that ‘the second battle of Kosovo has begun’. Clip of statement by Sheikh Salih Colakovic, Grand Mufti of Bosnia, who says that it is not true to say that all Muslims in Bosnia are Turks as there were Muslims in Bosnia long before the Ottoman conquest of 1463. The narrator says that surprisingly the people of Bosnia accepted Ottoman rule happily and embraced the ways of Islam. Interview with Sheikh Shawqi Umar Bakhshish, Grand Mufti of Croatia, who says that there are reports of Bosnian Muslims travelling around Europe at this time. In 1526 Bosnia was annexed into the Ottoman Empire. Illustrations of Ottoman leaders. Modern day footage of Bosnian Muslims in Sarajevo. Narrator: ‘For more than four centuries Bosnia thrived as an Islamic land’. Then, at the Berlin Conference of 1878, Bosnia-Herzegovina was put under Austro-Hungarian administration and in 1910, formally annexed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Illustrations of European leaders. This, says the narrator, was ‘a time of cruelty’. Brief clips from the First World War period including planes in the sky, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, buildings on fire and people out on the streets. The collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire resulted in the formation of a Serbo-Croat kingdom. Freedom of belief was guaranteed in Article 12 of the Serbo-Croat constitution but a ‘wave of oppression followed’ and ‘Muslims were slaughtered’. Still image shows a row of bodies lined up for burial. Sheikh Shawqi Umar Bakhshish says that Serbia used to contain many examples of Islamic architecture but it was destroyed and 50,000 Muslims were massacred during the First World War because of their faith. In 1929 the Serbo-Croat kingdom became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. When the Second World War broke out, a civil war between Serbia and Croatia began fighting over the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Shots of bombs dropping from the underbellies of planes and destroying buildings. Serbs formed groups known as Chetniks, who killed Muslims in the name of the Serbian people. Shots of Serbian soldiers marching with the Chetnik flag, a white skull and cross bones on a black background. For Muslims this was ‘a period of slaughter and flight from their homes’. Grainy footage shows two men being executed with a shot to the head. Background map of the Balkan states. Footage of Tito imposed above, followed by marching soldiers. Tito set up the National Liberation Movement against fascism and promised to protect freedom of religious belief. However, these promises were broken. Shot of Tito greeting a crowd, announcing the creation of the Republic of Yugoslavia in front of another crowd and shots showing a deserted Bosnian village. The narrator says that Muslim institutions and newspapers were shut down. Colour footage of the police confronting members of the Muslim Youth Organisation. ‘Once again Muslims found themselves living in a period of suffering this time under Communist rule’. Black and white still showing two bodies in open coffins. Shots of Alija Izetbegović who founded the Democratic Labour Party in March 1990 and became President of Bosnia-Herzegovina after elections held later that year. Shots of people in a public square. On the 1st of March 1992, Bosnia-Herzegovina announced its independence from Yugoslavia. The war that followed pitted Serbian tanks and heavy weaponry against ‘unarmed’ Muslims (although in a shot of Muslim defenders one man has a gun). Shots of Serbian soldiers firing heavy weapons, intercut with shot of destroyed buildings, bridges, minarets and a wounded child. Bosnian Commander Zainuddin Dilalic from Conic says that the Muslims have very little ammunition in comparison with the other armies. Fuad J Dic, Leader of the Democratic Labour Party, says of the Serb Army, ‘even the West cannot understand these devils’. Sheikh Shawqi Umar Bakhshish says that Sarajevo has been destroyed. Narrator: ‘Once again Muslims face oppression and are forced to leave their homes’. Many shots of distressed women and children. This is a ‘hideous nightmare’ for Bosnia. Map graphic shows two million have been displaced from Bosnia. Sheikh Salih Colakovic, Grand Mufti of Bosnia, says that it is Serbia’s aim to destroy Bosnia and the Muslims who live there. Shots of coffins and fresh graves. This is a ‘familiar pattern’ for Muslims in Bosnia. Recent footage of suffering intercut with scenes from the past including a bulldozer shovelling bodies in Bergen Belsen after the camp’s liberation (relevance?) Numerous shots of dead bodies. Narrator: ‘The world is content to stand and watch these massacres, doing nothing but issuing statements of condemnation’, in effect allowing the Serbs to continue with this persecution. Shot of a Serb soldier followed by a shot of an injured child, a dead child, dead bodies and disconnected limbs. Narrator: ‘What sort of person delights in this?’ An old woman says she does not understand why her former neighbours have driven her from her home. She asks ‘where is my daughter? Where is my family now?’ Salim Sabac, Vice President of the SDA Democratic Party, says that the Serbs slaughter humans and slit their throats. Graphic footage of a man whose throat has been cut, a doctor slowly lifts his head up and down. The narrator says that at Serbian prison camps, Bosnians are being drained of blood, which is then used to keep Serbian soldiers alive. A small boys describes witnessing this. Women say that they were raped by Serbian soldiers and say that girls were also raped in front of their own mothers. Fathers were forced to rape their daughters at gunpoint. Shots of women weeping. Shots of partially decomposed corpses being dug up. Some have been mutilated. Limbs are dug up. Narrator: this dismemberment of the dead was a common practice among Chetniks of the Second World War. Shots of dead livestock. Shots of emaciated Bosnian prisoners of war. Rasmy al Haj Hussein, Mayor of Conic, says that Serb prisoners cannot complain because they have been treated well but Bosnian prisoners are suffering. Shots of people walking with their belongings, bare foot along muddy roads. Fleeing their homes, some people die on the road. Some woman miscarry and others give birth. Narrator: Everywhere the lives and history of Muslims are under threat. Footage of the Sarajevo National Library in flames. Mourners in a grave yard come under sniper fire. An old woman says that Islam is a religion of peace. She does not understand why they have been targeted. Shots of Milosević. The Serbian leader says that ‘we have begun the second phase of the Battle of Kosovo’. Narrator: His ancestors were ‘thugs’, while the Ottomans brought the ‘light of Islam’ into the region. Shots of Serb Orthodox priests. They have called for the land to be purified. Shots of Karadžić, Serb soldiers and tanks, destroyed buildings, the injured and the dead. Footage from the London Conference (from July 1992) of the European Community. John Major shakes Milosević’s hand. Narrator: Milosević has convinced these leaders that he is defending Europe from the dangers of Islamic fundamentalism. Europe are still afraid - remembering the Ottoman siege of Vienna - of Islamic nationalism in the heart of Europe. Shots of President Mitterand of France on his visit to Sarajevo when the airport agreement came into force in late June 1992. On that visit he told Bosnian President Iztbegović that France would not tolerate an Islamic state in Europe. Shots of aid being delivered. This aid is not even one tenth of the amount required to feed these desperate people. Bosnia is calling on Islamic countries to send their armies or arms to help them. Time is running out. When no international help came, there was no alternative but jihad. Groups of mujahideen were formed. Shots of soldiers in khaki. They have badges that read ‘Allahu Akbar’ (Allah is the greatest). Narrator: These men are heroes. Narrator: Muslims face discrimination in all part of the Former Yugoslavia. Shots of Muslim families on the streets. Scenes of destruction and death. Bodies lie bloody on the street. Narrator: ‘O Ummah of Muhammad, your people are being slaughtered in the heart of Europe, which claims to call for peace while accusing us of terrorism and extremism.’ ‘O people of the Muslim Ummah, you will not be forgiven for failing to come to the aid of these people’. ‘Allah will not forgive your inaction’. Remember the victory of the Ottomans. ‘Will you still remain silent whilst Bosnia burns?’ Closing shot of a minaret being destroyed.
  • Alternative Title:
  • Colour: Colour
  • Digitised: No
  • Object_Number: MGH 6808
  • Sound: Sound
  • Access Conditions:
  • Featured Period:
  • Production Date: 1992
  • Production Country:
  • Production Details: Islamic ReliefIslamic Relief is an independent Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) founded in the UK in 1984 by Dr Hany El Banna. (Production company) Abdulrahman, Ahamed (Production individual) Abdulrahman, Ahamed (Production individual) Taha, Asaid (Production individual) Ali, Tariq (Production individual) Amin, Ahmed (Production individual) Mohamed, Jamal (Production individual) Ali, Asaid (Production individual) Eaton, Hussan Guy (Production cast) Sulejla, Amila (Production cast) Cuprkovic, Mida (Production cast) Vezaip, Ibrahim (Production cast) Maood, Ehsan (Production cast)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: Islamic Relief (institution) Franz Ferdinand (Archduke) (person)
  • Keywords:
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: Colour Sound format: Sound
  • Technical Details: Format: VHS Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Running time: 40 mins
  • HD Media:
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    MGH 6808

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