Supervisor grants real estate to the Medzlis Islamic Community

The Supervisor of Brcko, Dr Raffi Gregorian, today has issued a Supervisory Order granting real property known as the “Ruzdija” madrassa and associated ancillary buildings to the Medzlis Islamic Community of Brcko.

 The building belonged to the Islamic Community of Brcko before it was nationalized in 1959, and would be a clear candidate for restitution if and when a State law on restitution is adopted. But there is a strong case for ordering restitution of this property early. Before the Final Award was issued, the then Republika Srpska municipality of Brcko restituted to the Serb Orthodox Church most of its property in Brcko town nationalized by the communist authorities after 1945. After the Final Award was issued, the Brcko District Government, wanting to treat the three principal religious communities in the District equally, gave to the local Islamic and Catholic religious communities in the District the use of certain nationalized real properties that had previously belonged to these communities before nationalization had occurred.

The building, centrally located in Brcko town is heavily war-damaged and currently empty, and in its present state is not put to any economic or cultural use. Aware that the Brcko Islamic Community had long expressed a desire for restitution of this particular property in order to bring it back into use for the betterment of Brcko District, the Supervisor has decided to issue this Order. By restoring ownership of the property, the Brcko Islamic Community will be able to do so.