We would like to express our gratitude to everyone who attended the Exhibition, a one of a kind curation from WLIC, its stated aim was to remember, to learn from history and to educate our youth and future generations about the dangers of intolerance, hatred and discrimination. That regardless of the perpetrator, we should stand united, fairly and firmly against injustice and oppression.
A sombre and reflective weekend with many visitors, some of whom kindly shared their emotions and pensive thoughts in our guest book, a selection of snippets and comments can be read below. Our thanks as always to our amazing staff annd volunteers. The exhibition will in the future be available for community events in London, please email the office for details.
Guest Book Comments
‘Thank you for the warm welcome, for educating us and keeping their memory alive, the world yearns for peace and justice.’ [SK]
‘The exhibition was timely, very informative and extremely saddening, bringing home the tragic events which took place on our doorstep. Why does “Never Again” sound so hollow and disingenuous when humanity repeats the same mistakes?’ [AQ]
‘Thank you so very much for putting this together, our parents came from Bosnia as refugees. We grew up in the shadow and trauma that this genocide caused our families. It is important that we stay true to our faith and hold on to Islam, as they tried so hard to erase it from us. May God grant the Shuhadah Jannah.’ [AB]
‘We are fortunate to live here at home in the UK, in relative safety and security, we must always uphold truth and justice, taking care of all our friends, families, neighbours and community.’ [SR]
‘A brilliantly crafted exhibition, raising awareness about one of the greatest atrocities the Muslims of Europe have faced, much to learn. May all those who helped arrange it be rewarded. We pray for peace in the world.’ [SJ]
‘We must call out all forms of prejudice and discrimination, to achieve real community cohesion parts of the mainstream media have a responsibility not to propagate disinformation, false narratives and xenophobia, this only fuels hatred and mistrust.’ [LZ]
‘A very moving exhibition with a lot of well researched and detailed knowledge. A stark reminder, with parallels of what is taking place in the Middle-East.’ [BM]
‘Beautifully presented exhibition, I had never heard of this episode in history. Thank you.’ [PR]
‘We regularly hear that as a British Muslim community in Europe, we are not homogenous, I beg to differ as our deep faith is an overarching denominator. Our civil society needs to have organised, strong and independent representatives who work together and speak for the rights and freedoms of our community and for the common good, harmony of society as a whole.’ [KC]
‘Overwhelmingly sad, those in positions of any influence or power should take heed and shun double-standards, especially when they remain silent, a form of complicity. They will eventually be held to a much higher standard of accountability.’ [MH]
‘Immensely informative and heart-wrenching, the world needs to learn and be more aware, let us strive to be the best of people and to share compassion.’ [SM]
‘Islam has a holistic vision for all spheres of life, our scripture teaches us to be people of the middle, balanced path. To preserve our identity, it is incumbent on parents to teach their children the fundamentals of their faith and to demonstrate practice through example, our Prophet (pbuh) had the best of character and conduct.’ [NK]
‘I am genuinely heart broken and sorry for what happened in Bosnia, in Rwanda and the Holocaust, as we witness the horrific scenes in Gaza, the world should not allow this to happen again.’ [RH]
‘As a proud British Turk it fills me with honour to see this exhibition preserve the memories of the martyrs and remind us of the atrocities that took place, it also highlights the immense patience and forbearance shown by the Bosnian people and their leaders.’ [TM]
‘Exhibitions that shine a light on our collective history are extremely important, injustice of all descriptions, times and places should be taught to future generations. As we know history is often written by the victor, very appreciative that WLIC put this together to showcase a real lived history.’ [AH]
‘Great detail and mix of immersive content, poignant images and a most painful video documentary, steps to genocide display was of particular interest in light of what is happening today.’ [ZA]
‘I was unaware and touched by the verses of the Qur’an I read today, speaking of upholding justice and bearing witness to God, even if it is against yourselves or your relatives and that people were created in colours and tribes to know and respect one another. Thank you.’ [RS]
WLIC Srebrenica Memorial Exhibition 2024
In July 1995 fifty years after the world said “Never Again” a genocide took place on European soil, the victims were the Muslims of Bosnia Herzegovina. The West London Islamic Centre curated a unique exhibition as part of Srebrenica Memorial Week. It was held on the weekend of Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st of July 2024 from 12pm-5pm.
