Imam meets 21st HRVCON members

It was a traditional visit of the imam to present the culture and the religious practice of Islam as well as the mentality and religious habits of the domicile population of Afghanistan to the troops deployed to the ISAF. The lecture was part of the „Hrvatski ponos 13/1“ Exercise that has cocluded the extensive preparation for the ISAF operation. To attend it were also 33 members of the Army of Montenegro, who are joined to the Croatian Contingent as formalisation of the bilateral co-operation expanded from the partnership relations within the A 5 Initiative. The imam Botonjić underlined the experiences and observations by the mufti Ph D. Aziz effendi Hasanović at the occasion of his recent visit to the 20th Croatian Contingent in the Camp Marmal in December 2012, accompanied by the Chief of the General Staff, Lt.Gen. Drago Lovrić, when he also met the Supreme Mufti of Afghanistan and his associates in the Blue Mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif.

After the lecture, the imam Botonjić was received by Col Siniša Jurković, the Executive Officer of the Exercise and the Commander of the Armoured Mechanised Guard Brigade, Lt Col Denis Tretinjak, the Exercise Director and the Chief of the Armoured and Mechanised Guard Brigade,  Col. Krešo Tuškan, the Commander of the 21st HRVCON and Alojz Kovaček, the Army Chaplain, who himself participated in the ISAF Operation on two occasions.
The officers emphasised the importance of receiving of the lectures and information related to Muslim tradition and customs of the Afghani society, and their utility for the Croatian soldiers deployed to the Operation in a multinational environment, which requires sychronised  operation of the military, the Police and humanitarian organisations and interaction with the domicile population in Afghanistan.