Husović: Radojević was asked to remove scenes of hatred between Orthodox and Muslims, he said that he would "soften" the fresco

The municipality of Rožaje asked the parish priest of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), Slobodan Radojević, to remove the fresco from the walls of the religious building - the Ružica church, which showed Muslims standing over a children's cradle with knives and setting fire to the Orthodox church, he confirmed for Radio Free Europe (RSE) President of the Municipality of Rožaje, Rahman Husović.

In the Ruzica Orthodox Church in Rožaje, restored in 2021, there are frescoes depicting people in Bosniak and Turkish costumes, participating in the burning of the church and standing with knives over the cradle in which the baby is.

"Priest Radojević was asked to remove scenes depicting hatred between Orthodox and Muslims. As they told me after the meeting, the parish priest did not say that he was going to remove the fresco but that he was going to 'mitigate' it. And what that means, we don't know yet ", says Husovic.

As he says, Radojević told them that he would talk to the superiors in the church.

"We asked them to inform us how they will remove it, in order to inform the citizens and thus prevent unwanted reactions. I expect it to be like that," Husović said.

The Ružica Church in Rožaje was reconstructed thanks to donations from citizens of the Islamic religion from that city, as well as Bosniaks living abroad.

More than 90 percent of the citizens of Rožaj are Bosniaks.

The President of the Municipality of Rožaje states that the donors were taken aback by the information about what was painted inside the church, the construction of which they helped.

"People resent and feel uncomfortable, because they invested money, and this is how they got paid back," Husović says.

However, he does not believe that this situation will affect inter-ethnic relations in Rožaje.

"Negative reactions will not escalate. It is important that such things do not happen again and that future generations are not poisoned by bad examples," Husović said.

The Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro and the Diocese of Budimlja-Nikšić, whose responsibility is the Ružica church in Rožaje, did not advertise for the second day since the photos with the frescoes appeared on social networks, which the imam of Rožaje, Rejhan Hot, called "scary."

On February 20, RSE sent an inquiry to the Eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church about the motives for such a fresco and a comment about the dissatisfaction of the Bosniaks, who financed the construction and renovation of the church in Rožaje. The answer from the SPC did not arrive.

Husović says that the Ružica church is a symbol of solidarity and good relations in that local community. He is also surprised that the leaders of the SPC Diocese did not react.

"I am surprised that after the announcement in the media, Bishop Metodije (the bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church in whose jurisdiction the church in Rožaje) did not react, issued a statement and called on his people to remove it," says the president of the Municipality of Rožaje.

"Incitement of religious hatred should not be found in religious buildings. I have not found anything painted in any mosque that will harm the relations between Orthodox and Muslims," ​​concludes Husović.

Rifat Fejzić, head of the Islamic Community in Montenegro, yesterday called for the condemnation of the motifs from the frescoes and wrote on Twitter that such an action should be "explained by others", not the Islamic Community, from which the media sought a response.

"I think that this should be explained by others, I hope that our neighbors will come forward and condemn this. I would just like to send a message to the state and the politicians who persistently "pacify" us, oh well, don't "pacify" us like this anymore - he said yesterday Fejzic on Twitter.

Slobodan Radojević, the parish priest of Rožaj, who serves in that church, told "Vijesti" yesterday that the controversial fresco is called "Rožaj martyrs", that it is on the right side of the wall of the Ružica church in Rožaj, and that it depicts historical events.

"Of course, we never condemned a nation, but individuals, but there was a long list of individuals, even more than 50 of them. Also, it must not be forgotten that all those who managed to save themselves were saved by Muslims, also individuals who showed great courage ", Radojević said, among other things, to "Vijesta" yesterday.