Sami began by remembering the Genocide at Srebrenica, which happened exactly 21 years ago yesterday, may Allah Most High have mercy on all of the Muslims who were murdered on that day.
He then explained how the fact that Sultan Abdulhamid II had preserved the plans of the mosques of Bosnia enabled the reconstruction of mosques that the genociders had destroyed and whose sites they had sworn that Muslims would never return again.
Sami conducts inspiring tours to Bosnia and tells the stories of the Bosnian Muslims to keep the memories of the umma alive in our hearts and minds, and everyone who can should join him on his trips @halaltravelguide on Instagram.
I described the special connection of the Ottoman caliphate to the veneration of the Prophet ﷺ, how the Hijaz railway that Sultan Abdulhamid II built ended at the City of the Prophet ﷺ, how it was the last of the Arab cities to fall from the hands of the Ottomans in 1919, and how that veneration of the Prophet ﷺ should move us to serve the umma of the Prophet ﷺ.
Everyone who attended the event received a poster of the Qasida of the Prophetic Chamber, which represented the Ottoman legacy of Sultan Abdulhamid II, and which was erased from the Prophetic Chamber six years after the city of the Prophet ﷺ fell out of Ottoman hands.
Many people have inquired about the recording of the event -- insha'allah it will be posted online in two weeks. Watch out for the announcement!