15.08.2026 21:00
Two separate Islamic union organizations, which operated separately for about 20 years due to disagreements in Serbia, have decided to unite under the same roof following negotiations. The development was announced with the words, "A historic day for Muslims in Serbia."
The "Islamic Community of Serbia (Meshihat)" and the "Presidency of the Islamic Community of Serbia," which have been operating separately in Serbia since 2007, have decided to unify through a joint declaration signed by representatives of the two institutions in Novi Pazar.
DIVISION LASTING NEARLY 20 YEARS HAS ENDED
With this development, a process has begun that will put an end to the division that caused even the mosques in the country to be split between two separate institutions and that has continued among Muslims for nearly 20 years. According to the 23-article declaration signed amidst takbirs, all Muslims living in Serbia, regardless of their nationality, will be gathered under the roof of a single and unified Islamic Community. The center of the Islamic Community will remain in the city of Novi Pazar, where Bosniaks are densely populated in Serbia, and cultural and national ties with Sarajevo will be preserved.
THE PRESIDENCY WILL BE THE HIGHEST BODY
According to the agreement, described as "historical for Muslims in Serbia," the Sarajevo-based Presidency of the Islamic Community, which brings together the Bosniak diaspora in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, and many European countries under the same roof, will be recognized as the highest body. On the other hand, the Mufti of Sanjak will be at the head of the unified structure in Serbia. In this framework, imams who have served within different Islamic communities until today will join the common structure, and parallel structures between the two separate institutions will be ended.
"THE ISLAMIC COMMUNITY HAS BEEN ENTRUSTED TO ALL OF US"
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mevlud Efendi Dudic, the President of the Islamic Community of Serbia (Meshihat), said, "Today, we are witnessing one of Islam's greatest values, unity. Unity is not being in the same place and having a common address. Unity is the closeness of hearts." Stating that the Islamic Community in Serbia has maintained its continuity for 33 years but has been subjected to severe trials in the last 20 years, Dudic said, "The Islamic Community is not the property of any individual, generation, or group. The Islamic Community has been entrusted to all of us." Dudic stated, "All congregations, mosques, and imams belong to all of us. There is no congregation that belongs only to a certain group."
STATEMENT FROM ARPAGUŞ
Safi Arpaguş, the President of the Directorate of Religious Affairs, also issued a statement on the occasion of the end of the institutional division of Muslims in Serbia, saying, "I have learned with great satisfaction that the negotiations between the Islamic Community of Serbia (Meshihat) and the Presidency of the Islamic Community of Serbia have concluded positively and that a joint declaration on unification under a single roof has been signed. I hope that this decision will bring goodness to all the Balkans, primarily to our Muslim brothers and sisters living in Serbia."
Husein Efendi Kavazovic, the Grand Mufti of the Presidency of the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina, also said, "May Almighty Allah make this step the beginning of lasting reconciliation, unity, and solidarity. May He unite the hearts of Muslims in goodness and protect them from new divisions and disagreements."