🌼 Remembering Srebrenica: An Unforgettable Lesson in Resilience

Assalamu'alaikum,

Today's newsletter is slightly different from usual. I'm diving deeper into a piece of history we must never forget.

This day, 11th July 2023, marks the 28th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre.

Over 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed within mere days. A dark chapter of history that sadly seems to be fading from our collective memory as an Ummah.

Last May, during our Productive Muslim retreat in Bosnia, we visited the Srebrenica Memorial site to experience first-hand the essence of resilience in the face of adversity.

We connected with survivors, had lunch with a local family, and listened to stories that taught us three valuable lessons:

• The power of faith: Despite unthinkable horrors, we saw deep conviction and faith in all those we met. More specifically, their conviction in the hereafter and in the reward from Allah for all the struggle they went through was truly inspiring.

• Infectious Positivity: You'd assume that speaking to survivors would be a somber experience. However, we met such warmth, cheerfulness, and hospitality that sometimes we forgot we were talking to survivors of the worst genocide in modern Europe! Their positivity was inspired by their faith, their environment, and their beautiful characters.

• Courageous Perseverance: The physical genocide may have ended 28 years ago, but we learned that the struggle continues, and there's a slow genocide happening today, embedded in the daily struggles that the local Muslim population faces. Yet we met survivors who chose to live in Srebrenica, persist in raising awareness about what happened there, and resist the slow genocide with courage and determination.

I pray that you never face the horrors of what our brothers and sisters faced in Bosnia or in many parts of the world - but I want you to reflect on your life and what lessons you can take from the above when dealing with your life challenges.

We all face challenges in life (some are small, and some are big). How do you respond to them? Do you choose faith, kindness, and courage? Or do we falter, react negatively, and surrender to fear?

We pray that we honor the martyrs and survivors of this tragedy by learning to have unshakeable faith, resilient spirit, and unfaltering courage. Ameen.

Yours sincerely,

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