Slovenia


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Ana is a young Slovenian woman, who has followed an Erasmus programme in Dijon, France.
Palm Sunday in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, and the Catholic community gather around the city churches. For the Muslim community it has been 30 years since they first filed a demand for the construction of a mosque, where they can practice their faith, but in vain. Tina, a member of Young European Federalists, thinks that our fears often are rooted in rumours of things that we do not really know. Only the personal meeting can give way to a valid opinion.
Ana goes to Jesenice to meet with Faila Pasic Bisic, a young Muslim woman. She has been awarded with the Face of the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All, and in 2010 ambassador for the Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion.
“I wish to enforce peace, love. I wish to become the active force that can create more of a pacifist and just world. But in order to do so, one have to start by one self”, Faila concludes.

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Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities

The 2007 European Year of Equal Opportunities for All sought to make people in the European Union more aware of their rights to equal treatment and to a life free of discrimination.

Faila Pasic Bisic

Faila is muslim care worker, daughter of Bosnian parents was born in Slovenia. For the last ten years, she has been travelling around the world, promoting tolerance and compassion, protection of the environment, coexistence of all religions, nations cultures and social others. She is also initiator of numerouos humanitarian aid projects, as well as activities promoting intercultural dialogue and understanding. She is also doing voluntary service in Bosnian, Kosovan, African, palestinian refugee camps. She has earned recognition from various social, healthcare, political personages.
She has been awarded the best Volonteer 2006, Humanist of the year 2007, Face of the European year of equal opportunities for all 2007, and nominated for Slovenian women of the year 2008 and Young European 2008.

“Today you only talk about Muslims related to sensational stories, violence – things that Europe does not know how to digest. You do not talk about the Muslim civilisation that has influenced the occidental civilisation considerably. You do not speak about the Islamic architecture, its art and its poetry. Why do we never hear about Muslims, who are extremely well integrated to its European society? The same question is repeatedly being posed: Why are some Muslims well integrated and some not? Integration is a two-way process. However the discourse is often held from a one-way perspective, where it is up to the Muslims to get instantly active on the work market, learn the culture and the language of a certain society. But no one evokes the need for the majority of the population, let us here say the Europeans, to get acquainted with these people, their culture, and to get familiar with the idea that these people can also give prosperity to a multi-religious Europe.”
Faila Pasic Bisic

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