Published book about dialogue of Catholics and Muslims in BiH


At the end of January 2019, a book was published by Msgr. Mate Zovkić “Dialogue between Catholics and Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina”.

The book was published by the Bosniak publishing house “The Center for Advanced Studies” in Sarajevo, led by Dr. Ahmet Alibašić, Professor at the University of Islamic Sciences. It is a collection of 23 author’s articles in English and five in German written in the inter-religious meetings from 1998. to 2018. The publisher and the author agreed to put a picture of Pope Francis with the religious leaders in Sarajevo on June 6, 2015. on the cover of the book.

In the first chapter, the author's presentation of Childhood and the ministry of Jesus in the Qur'an and the Synoptic Gospels, that was held at the Catholic Biblical Symposium in Budapest in 2008. The second includes a lecture How can Christians and Muslims reasonably defend their own faith without mocking each other? held in Ljubljana on November 25th, 2017, within a scientific conference on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the first mosque in Slovenia, which was built by the Austrian authorities in the First world war for Bosnian Muslim soldiers.

One of the topics is Meeting between Christianity and Islam in BiH in a missionary perspective prepared for the Book of Baptist Theologians Mission in Central and Eastern Europe - Reality, Perspectives, Tendencies (English original published in London in 2016.) Msgr. Zovkić, in June 2011., was a delegate of BK BiH at a working meeting of Catholic theologians on Christian Islamophobia in Europe and his brief presentation titled: Islamophobia in the political context of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is included in this book (p. 217-222). His presentation on the study day of the European Society for Catholic Theology in February 2008. was also included, State of Church and theology in BiH (p.223-232) because a response was touched of the Muslim theologians in Bosnia to the Catholic dialogue initiative.

Among the five works in German, one was made at the request of Petrus B'steh, editor of the Viennese Religionen Unterwegs, in 2015., that Msgr. Zovkić presents the situation among Bosnian Muslims after the election of reis Kavazović on  September 23rd 2012. and the establishment of new muftis on April 26th, 2014. This review work is entitled: Muslims in BiH between internal dialogue and peace-making relations towards those who believe different.

The book ends with the author's presentation on the discussion in Graz about religions on September 17th 2010. , at the public space of the countries of the former Yugoslavia. Zovkić spoke of resistance of the local leaders to set up a metal statue of Pope John Paul II in front of the cathedral in Sarajevo. The discussions lasted seven years and the statue was set on April 30th 2014. Now this statue is an attractive spot for foreign tourists who like to take photos there while sightseeing the city, and so far no attempts have been made to demolish or damage the statue.

In this edition of this text for the book, the author added a note about the author, the dimensions and the solemn setting of statue in the presence of state and religious leaders (385-389). The publisher has entrusted Alija Gušić to produce the Index of Names and Authors (391-401), where it is evident where the names of Jesus and Muhammad are, as well as the newer Catholic and Muslim chiefs and theologians.

At the request of the author, the Nuncio in BiH, Archbishop Luigi Pezzuto took three copies of the books, one of which he would give to pope Francis, the Second to Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and the third to retired Nuncio Michael Fitzgerald, who as a member of White Fathers taught Islamic disciplines at the Pontifical Institute for the Study of Arabism and Islam in Rome (PISAI), and with his written works, presented Islam to the Christians in a way Muslims understood it. Author Zovkić participated with Msgr. Fitzgerald in several inter-religious conferences and abundantly used his writings.