I first want to make a few very important introductions. Two new interns have joined us at GAP from U of T! Todd and Yaroslav are graduate students at the Munk Centre for International Studies at the Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (say that 10 times fast) and having them in the office has been really great.

We all decided to go on a day trip to Prizren last weekend, a smaller town in South-Western Kosovo. One of the more beautiful towns in Kosovo, and seen as considerably more traditional than Pristina, we had the opportunity to experience Kosovo outside the relative modernity of the capital. As one of the most religious cities in the country, Prizren certainly looked the part. An enormous mosque was situated in the very center of the city, while smaller mosques were visible in every direction. Despite the fact that minarets (tall towers attached to mosques) are found in Pristina as well, I had never heard the call for prayer before I arrived in Prizren (although I do know that they can be heard in some parts of Pristina). This led me wonder how this apparent religiosity fit with the staunch assertions of Kosovar secularism.

Approximately 90% of the Kosovo population is Muslim, but very clearly a secularized brand of Islam. Or in the words of Ilmi Kasniqi, an imam at one of five mosques in the town of Gjilan, “Our Islam is “lite” – like Coke Lite or Marlboro Light cigarettes.” Approximately 9% of the population is Catholic, as well as a small minority of Orthodox Serbs found in the North and enclaves throughout the country. (Source)

While there is friction between the Kosovo Serbs and Kosovo Albanians, it is consistently noted that while the division is along ethnic lines, religion is not a contributing factor in the conflict between these two groups, although the Serbs claim that Kosovo is the "heartland of Serb spiritual heritage" as there are several medieval Serb monasteries throughout the country. (Source) Both the Kosovo Serbs and Kosovo Albanians have also engaged in reciprocal vandalism of each other's religious sites. For example, Serb forces during the war destroyed virtually all the Islamic libraries and archives in Kosovo (see photo to the left, found here) and the Albanians retaliated by destroying Orthodox churches. (Source) There is no visible tension between the Catholic and Muslim Albanians. In fact, a cathedral is currently being built in the very center of Pristina. According to Blerim Latifi, a local sociologist, this relaxed attitude towards religion is due to the fact that “nationalism and communism have combined to reduce the importance of religion in people’s lives”.

While Kosovo can only be lauded for creating an environment where multiple religions can live together peacefully, there could also be a more nefarious aspect to religiosity in Kosovo. Most of this stems from Kosovo’s desire for EU integration and the importance of perceived secularism in the process. It is argued, for example, that the building of the Catholic cathedral in the center of the capital, where less than 10% of the population is Catholic, is simply a form of political pandering to the West. (Source) It is thus contended that the building of the cathedral is an attempt to demonstrate a cultural shift towards Western values via Catholicism. Dom Dode Gjergji, the Bishop of the Catholic Church in Kosovo, referred to this phenomenon as “cultural baptism”. Interestingly, the United States has attempted to emphasize the fact that the majority of Kosovars are Muslim in order to demonstrate that their wars in the Middle East are politically, as opposed to religiously, motivated. (Source) (Photo to the right is of the inside of the Catholic Church, also situated in Prizren, found here).

This is of course a very limited consideration of the factors that may affect the role of religion in Kosovo. The fact that Kosovo has the youngest population in Europe may also be a factor. It is also suggested that the presence of multiple international organizations in the country might have led people to hide their Islamic identity in order to avoid upsetting the international community. (Source) Nevertheless, it is clear that there is a separation between church and state in Kosovo that has enabled various religions factions to live in relative harmony. The hope is that freedom of religion only be enhanced in the future and that it not be manipulated for political purposes.