Bosnia's Franciscan Church keen on ties with Kuwaiti Islamic institutions

Bosnia's Franciscan Church is keen on launching cooperation programmes with Islamic institutions in Kuwait, the church leader has said.

Frankica Vuica said that Kuwait was "very well regarded in Bosnia" where its humanitarian role in helping the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war was appreciated.

Vuica told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) in Sarajevo that cooperation between Bosnian and Kuwaiti religious institutions would help foster interfaith dialogue.

The Bosnian clergyman, who hosted a luncheon in honour of the Kuwaiti ambassador, hoped that there would be direct cooperation between the Bosnian church and Kuwaiti religious institutions.

The Bosnian Franciscan Church, the most ancient church in Bosnia and Herzegovina, keeps a copy of an Ottoman decree ordering that religious freedom be ensured and the Bosnian church be protected, he said.

The church also keeps several Ottoman swords on which Arabic words were engraved.

Mohammad Khalaf, the Kuwaiti ambassador, said that cooperation between the Bosnian church and Kuwait's Dar Al Athar Al Islamiya (Islamic Heritage) would help promote each other's cultural heritage.

He said that he fully appreciated the "great role of the church during the war and its support for the Muslim population as a sign of interfaith tolerance."