Religion in Kosova Today

Illyria [New York , May 30-June 20, 2008]

In 2000 – against much obstruction by my colleagues – I wrote a report for the International Crisis Group (ICG) in Prishtina titled Religion in Kosovo. Like other ICG reports, the document was unsigned. As many Albanians, in Kosova , Macedonia , Montenegro , Albania , and the diaspora are aware, I am a Sufi Muslim. But I have also worked extensively, mainly pro bono, to support the Albanian Catholic Church. Indeed, my introduction to all things Albanian, and, paradoxically, the commencement of my active journey to Islam, began with my acquaintance and common work with Gjon Sinishta (1930-1995), founder of the Albanian Catholic Bulletin, whom I have called "my second father."

All conscious Albanians know the verse of Pashko Vasa Shkodrani (1825-92), the Catholic governor of Lebanon under the Ottomans:

"Wake, Albanian, from your slumber,
Let us, brothers, swear in common
And not look to church or mosque,
The Albanian's faith is Albanianism!" (Version of R. Elsie)

Since knowing Sinishta, becoming Muslim, and living and working in, while writing about, the Albanian lands, I have treasured these verses, and have taught "the lesson of the Albanians" – the refusal of religious conflict – to every non-Albanian I have met.

For these reasons, I was dismayed to read a blog column by Anna Di Lellio reprinted in Illyria's issue of May 23-26, 2008, and titled "Kosovars and Catholics." While I will not prognosticate at length on the future of religion in Albania , I must take issue with some of Di Lellio's statements.

1. Di Lellio states that while Serbs argue that Albanian Islam is radicalizing, in her view, "Islam might be withering away." This is an extremely provocative claim, unsupported by the evidence as I have seen it. Such an argument makes me wonder if Di Lellio is aware of the vigorous activity of the Sufi tariqats in Kosova today, including the Bektashi order, which contributed numerous combatants to the struggle of the Kosova Liberation Army, such as the martyred Luan Haradinaj. I have written about the vitality of Albanian Sufism, which cannot be doubted, in my new book, The Other Islam: Sufism and the Road to Global Harmony, to be published by Doubleday in September 2008.

In addition, the Center for Islamic Pluralism, of which I am Executive Director, has worked extensively with Sunni Muslims in Kosova and Albania. It seems improbable to me that the faith of Muhammad will undergo wholesale decline among Albanians. Nor should it; Albanian Islam is a precious resource of moderation in the global Islamic community. The loss of individual Muslims will not harm the welfare of the Islamic ummah; the disappearance of Albanian Islam would be a devastating blow to the Albanian nation if not the world, by removing a European bulwark against radical Islam.

Di Lellio clearly knows little about Islam as a faith; at the beginning of her text she describes Albanian Muslims as "episodically observant." But dedication to ritual is not a traditional standard for judging Islamic devotion. In mainstream Muslim theology, intentions count more than actions, and "episodic observance" does not dilute one's Islam. The belief that Muslims should be dedicated to exhibitionistic observance is a radical, extremist, and relatively new precept.

2. Di Lellio states that Ismet Sopi, an alleged Muslim convert to Christianity in the town of Lapushnik, and head of a family of 32 that followed him in this decision, declared that "320 or 3,200" people in the district intend to leave Islam. This is an inflammatory claim that cannot be helpful for maintaining interreligious unity among Albanians. In addition, however, the main coverage of this "event," in the Kosova periodical Express, overlooked the possibility that the Sopi family were Laramani, or "crypto-Catholics," small communities of Albanians in which family heads became Muslim to avoid payment of the jizya tax on non-Muslims, but women remained Catholic. Return of Laraman family heads to open Christianity has not been considered departure from Islam, since such families practiced both faiths for many centuries.

3. Di Lellio states as fact that "mass conversion to Catholicism" was "the dream of the late President Ibrahim Rugova." Rumors that Rugova held to such a belief have circulated in Kosova for years. There is, to my knowledge, no documentary evidence that Rugova actually embraced this view. If Di Lellio possesses such information, she should publish it.

She further states this "idea was an instinctive reaction against the isolation experienced by the Muslim Albanian-speaking majority vis-

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