The O
building O
housing O
the O
Islamic B-LOC
Community I-LOC
of O
Rijeka O
one O
of O
only O
six O
mosques O
in O
Croatia O
is O
based O
on O
a O
design O
by O
Dušan O
Džamonja O
a O
famed O
Croatian O
sculptor O
of O
Serbian O
origins O
who O
is O
best O
known O
for O
his O
spectacular O
monuments O
to O
the O
Second O
World O
War. O
While O
Muslims O
have B-PER
had O
a O
presence O
in O
Rijeka O
at B-LOC
least O
since O
the O
19th O
century O
as O
representatives O
of O
the O
Ottoman O
Empire B-PER
the I-PER
origins O
of O
the O
present O
day O
community O
are O
found O
in O
migration O
from O
Bosnia O
Herzegovina B-LOC
in I-LOC
the I-LOC
1960s O
and O
later O
from O
Kosovo O
later O
enriched B-LOC
by O
a O
large O
wave O
of O
refugees O
as O
a O
result O
of O
the O
war O
in O
the O
1990s O
in O
Bosnia O
Herzegovina. O
A O
grassroots O
effort O
that O
began O
in O
1960 O
culminated O
in O
the O
official O
establishment O
of O
the O
Islamic O
Community O
in B-LOC
1966. I-LOC
The O
Community O
decided O
in O
1981 O
to O
work O
towards O
a O
new O
building. O
It O
would O
take O
another O
twenty O
eight O
years O
however O
until O
the O
Community O
would O
achieve O
this O
ambition. O
The O
Community O
obtained O
a O
site O
from O
the O
city O
of O
Rijeka O
in O
the O
neighborhood B-LOC
of O
Podmurvice O
in O
1986 O
and O
selected O
a O
design O
by O
Sarajevo O
architect O
Ahmed O
Hadrović O
in B-PER
1991. I-PER
The I-PER
outbreak O
of O
war O
in O
Croatia O
and O
Bosnia O
Herzegovina O
unfortunately O
interrupted O
these O
plans O
as O
the O
Community O
soon O
found O
itself O
having O
to O
prioritize O
the O
flood O
of O
refugees O
into O
Rijeka. O
Following O
the O
expiry O
of O
the O
construction O
permit O
in O
1994 O
the O
city O
of O
Rijeka O
offered O
alternative B-LOC
locations O
to O
the O
Community O
which O
opted O
in O
1998 O
for O
the O
present O
site O
in O
Hostov O
Breg. O
A O
competition O
for O
a O
new O
design O
for O
the O
building O
in O
2000 O
was O
marred O
by O
controversy O
when O
it O
was O
realized O
that O
the O
winning O
design O
had O
plagiarized O
a O
design O
for O
a O
department O
store O
in O
Amsterdam. O
Džamonja’ O
stunning O
design O
won O
a O
subsequent O
competition O
and O
the O
resulting O
building O
was O
inaugurated O
in O
2013. O
Rather O
than O
adopting O
a O
traditional O
Islamic O
architectural O
expression O
it O
represents O
a O
modern O
reinterpretation O
in O
reinforced O
concrete O
and O
steel. O