Kosovo news in 4 points, and some Huntingtonian commentary

Four news stories that I came across recently; they are in a sense all connected and all are concerned with Kosovo...

#1) Number one on my list commes from Serbianna. Serbianna reports that a Saudi diplomat to FYROM and Kosovo, Abdullah Abdulaziz Al-Abdulkarim (1) will lobby Islamic countries for further recognitions of the separatist state.

'I hope for further recognitions in the future. We will engage and extend our impact on Islamic countries for new recognitions,' said Saudi diplomat.

Al-Abdulkarim said that Saudi’s plan on expanding their bilateral relations with Kosovo’s Islamic separatists whom they view as legitimate.

Hundreds of Serbian Churches have been destroyed by Kosovo Albanian separatists while two thirds of Christians have been forcefully expelled by the Muslim Albanian separatists.

Saudi announcement comes just as the Syrian Ambassador to Serbia Majed Shadoud said that Syria supports Serbia’s territorial integrity and has and will oppose Kosovo’s independence.

Somehow this makes me think of Huntington's Clash of Civilizations, I considered his civilisations not so well thought out in reference to the developing world but still can't help myself not to think that his theory is very much applicable to Eastern Europe. At least the Western, Orthodox and Islamic civilisations do clash and command loyalties in some cases. Of course the model is very crude and reductionist which is the major element of its critique, aside from the usual exhaltation of the West over the Rest and the pseudo-religious belief that the Rest wants to be like the West. I also found interesting his call for Westerner's to abandon the notion that their civilisation is somehow universal.

#2) The following piece of news comes from B92 which reports that Kosovo's foreign minister Skander Hyseni is unhappy with the lack of recognitions for Kosovo from Arab league states. You see, when your daddy in the sands of Arabia cannot do the job, you need to make some noise. Some of the Arab state such as Syria might not be happy about NATO created artificial state and others might be facing problems from their own irredentist movements. Here clearly we can see an element of critique for the 'clash of civilisations' theory. (2)

#3) Concerns an ideological clash particular to the Balkans and comes from the Czech online newspaper novinky.cz. They report that the head of Kosovo's parliament Jakup Krasniqi voiced his support for the Greater Albanian idea. Last time a senior ethnic Albanian politician voiced his support for such an idea, it was the Albanian prime minister Sali Berisha who said that 'it is imperative to remove the bariers that prevent Albanians from living on a unified territory.' Krasniqi said that 'it is a duty and that the possibility [for unification with Albania] is getting better year by year. He added that is the 'goal of all Albanian politicians.' Albanian prime minister started bulding a monument of his rule, highway connecting Drač (in Albania) and Priština (in Kosovo) which should cost around 1 billion Euros.(3) If you are unaware of what the Greater Abanian idea entails, have a look at the illustration bellow...

As you can see this is not a problem for Serbia only. Greece and Serbia of the concerned countries in the area do not acknowledge Kosovo's sovereignity  but FYROM and Montenegro are of different opinion. From their recognition texts [see here for Montenegro and here for FYROM] it can be inferred that they had recognised Kosovo as a part of their EU membership bid. 

#4) The Greater Albania idea is relatively modern, but it is pursued with remarkable fervor. Serbian religious attachement to Kosovo is far older and was reflected in the words of the newly elected Patriarch of Serbia Irinej said in a speach following his enthronement: 'Kosovo is our Jerusalem' and 'Serbia without Kosovo is not Serbia'. Voices from Russia also brings this translation of an Interfax report according to which the formal installation of Patriarch Irinej will take place on 25 April at the monastery of Peć in Kosovo. The monastery is the spiritual seat and mausoleum of Serbian Patriarchs and is located relatively not far from Albanian borders. I don't see the end to this conflict any time soon, no matter how many Camp Bondsteels are built in the area. 

1) This is an interesting name, in translation it means Servant (means also a slave and is used pejoratively to mean a black person) of Allah, Servant of the Allmighty (one of the 99 attributes of Allah) The Servant of the Bountiful (another of the 99 attributes of Allah)...

2) Making some searches through wikipedia I came across a story about a Tomb of a Sufi saint in Tetovo, a pre-dominantly Albanian region in North-Western FYROM, here is somethin from a blog dedicated to the issue...

In 2002, shortly after the war between Macedonia and ethnic Albanian separatists, a group of armed extremists invaded the Harabati Baba Tekke, located in Tetovo, Macedonia, a Bektashi religious site. The invaders are members of the Islamic Community of Macedonia, and their goal is to 'reclaim' the tekke as a mosque, although the structure has not served as a mosque at any time in its past.

As a religious minority, the Bektashi community routinely suffers religious intolerance and discrimination both societally as well as institutionally, and only seeks return of the tekke grounds, and recognition of their independent and autonomous status as a religious organization in Macedonia. Moreover, the tekke itself is a historical and cultural site of great value to the Macedonian people which is being systematically destroyed to add a twenty-fifth mosque to Tetovo's existing twenty-four facilities.

An attack on heterodox Islamic community certainly doesn't look good for the secularised Albanians argument.

3) I bet ordinary Albanians would miss that billion badly...