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Photos: With just one mosque, Belgrade’s Muslims forced to improvise

The Islamic community in Serbia says Belgrade authorities have repeatedly ignored requests for new mosques to be built. Lacking permissions, the community has been praying in temporary mosques and in other private homes around the city.

Updated on: Nov 17, 2017 3:17 PM IST

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Muslims pray on a street in front of a mosque which was demolished in the district of Zemun Polje in Belgrade, Serbia. The mosque’s ruins and rows of worshippers lined outside, represent the efforts of around 20,000 Muslims in the Serbian capital to gather for worship in a city which is overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian. The community claims authorities have blocked mosque construction in the region. (Marko Djurica / REUTERS)

Updated on Nov 17, 2017 3:17 PM

Muslims pray on a street in front of a mosque which was demolished in the district of Zemun Polje in Belgrade, Serbia. The mosque’s ruins and rows of worshippers lined outside, represent the efforts of around 20,000 Muslims in the Serbian capital to gather for worship in a city which is overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian. The community claims authorities have blocked mosque construction in the region. (Marko Djurica / REUTERS)

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The 16th century Bajrakli mosque seen in Belgrade. Many Muslims left during the fall of Yugoslavia, as Serbia backed its ethnic kin in Bosnia in the massacre of Muslim Bosniaks and fought a war in Kosovo against mainly Muslim Albanians. In 2004, in response to a wave of Albanian attacks on minority Serbs in Kosovo, rioters set this mosque ablaze and torched another in the southern city of Nis. (Marko Djurica / REUTERS)

Updated on Nov 17, 2017 3:17 PM

The 16th century Bajrakli mosque seen in Belgrade. Many Muslims left during the fall of Yugoslavia, as Serbia backed its ethnic kin in Bosnia in the massacre of Muslim Bosniaks and fought a war in Kosovo against mainly Muslim Albanians. In 2004, in response to a wave of Albanian attacks on minority Serbs in Kosovo, rioters set this mosque ablaze and torched another in the southern city of Nis. (Marko Djurica / REUTERS)

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Muslims prepare to pray on a street in front of a demolished mosque in Belgrade. The Bajrakli is now Belgrade’s only official mosque. This shortage was thrown into sharp relief when authorities tore down a makeshift mosque in the northern district of Zemun Polje on the eve of Ramadan in May. (Marko Djurica / REUTERS)

Updated on Nov 17, 2017 3:17 PM

Muslims prepare to pray on a street in front of a demolished mosque in Belgrade. The Bajrakli is now Belgrade’s only official mosque. This shortage was thrown into sharp relief when authorities tore down a makeshift mosque in the northern district of Zemun Polje on the eve of Ramadan in May. (Marko Djurica / REUTERS)

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Muslim women pray in front of Kalemegdan fortress in Belgrade. Local Muslims initially came out in protest to block the demolition, but the bulldozers returned with a police escort after dark. They now gather for prayers in the house next door and in other private homes around the city. (Marko Djurica / REUTERS)

Updated on Nov 17, 2017 3:17 PM

Muslim women pray in front of Kalemegdan fortress in Belgrade. Local Muslims initially came out in protest to block the demolition, but the bulldozers returned with a police escort after dark. They now gather for prayers in the house next door and in other private homes around the city. (Marko Djurica / REUTERS)

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An Imam reads the Quran in a makeshift mosque during Friday prayers. The Islamic community says local authorities have repeatedly ignored requests for new mosques to be built. The shortage raises questions about the country’s commitment to minority rights, an important gauge of its readiness for membership of the European Union. (Marko Djurica / REUTERS)

Updated on Nov 17, 2017 3:17 PM

An Imam reads the Quran in a makeshift mosque during Friday prayers. The Islamic community says local authorities have repeatedly ignored requests for new mosques to be built. The shortage raises questions about the country’s commitment to minority rights, an important gauge of its readiness for membership of the European Union. (Marko Djurica / REUTERS)

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Men pray inside a temporary mosque in Serbia. In total, Serbia is home to around 230,000 Muslims, accounting for some 3.1% of the population, concentrated mainly in the south-western Sandzak region that borders Bosnia, Kosovo and Montenegro. (Marko Djurica / REUTERS)

Updated on Nov 17, 2017 3:17 PM

Men pray inside a temporary mosque in Serbia. In total, Serbia is home to around 230,000 Muslims, accounting for some 3.1% of the population, concentrated mainly in the south-western Sandzak region that borders Bosnia, Kosovo and Montenegro. (Marko Djurica / REUTERS)

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Muslims leave a makeshift mosque after Fridays prayer in the district of Borca, Serbia. The Secretariat for Urban Planning in Belgrade’s city hall denied blocking construction of new mosques, saying it had no record of any building requests from the Islamic community in Serbia. (REUTERS)

Updated on Nov 17, 2017 3:17 PM

Muslims leave a makeshift mosque after Fridays prayer in the district of Borca, Serbia. The Secretariat for Urban Planning in Belgrade’s city hall denied blocking construction of new mosques, saying it had no record of any building requests from the Islamic community in Serbia. (REUTERS)

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Men collect their shoes after Friday prayers at a temporary mosque in the district of Sremcica in Belgrade. Mufti Muhamed Hamdi Jusufspahic, head of the Supreme Assembly of the Islamic Community of Serbia told Reuters that they have sought permits for a number of locations, for decades but eventually never reached a point of even qualifying to submit papers. (REUTERS)

Updated on Nov 17, 2017 3:17 PM

Men collect their shoes after Friday prayers at a temporary mosque in the district of Sremcica in Belgrade. Mufti Muhamed Hamdi Jusufspahic, head of the Supreme Assembly of the Islamic Community of Serbia told Reuters that they have sought permits for a number of locations, for decades but eventually never reached a point of even qualifying to submit papers. (REUTERS)

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An Imam delivers a speech during inside a makeshift mosque in Belgrade. Despite the odds, the community is determined to continue practising their religion, regardless of the obstacles. Emin Zejnulahu, mufti of the demolished mosque in Zemun Polje, said Muslims would not be deterred. (Marko Djurica / REUTERS)

Updated on Nov 17, 2017 3:17 PM

An Imam delivers a speech during inside a makeshift mosque in Belgrade. Despite the odds, the community is determined to continue practising their religion, regardless of the obstacles. Emin Zejnulahu, mufti of the demolished mosque in Zemun Polje, said Muslims would not be deterred. (Marko Djurica / REUTERS)

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