Kosovo - Europe's New Addition

The Khaleej Times, a daily English-language paper in Dubai published an interesting opinion piece about Kosovo by Claude Salhani on the 22nd of Febuary called "Europe’s new addition — a Muslim country without a veil". Salhani notes that a new European country has been added, and the maps must be withdrawn. But it's not just any country, it's a Muslim-majority European country. Salhani believes that Kosovo will be a ray of light for moderate Muslims:

To those who believe that a milder, kinder form of Islam cannot exist, allow me to paraphrase former US president John F Kennedy by saying, "Let them come to Pristina."

The Kosovo situation is complex, but I believe Salhani is making a very interesting point here. As Christian-majority European countries continue to interact with their Muslim citizens they could look to Pristina to understand the fundamental compatibility. As one Kosovar journalist explained her identity:

"I am a Muslim, but in my own way," she said. "We belong in Europe. But still, I consider myself a Muslim."

That compatibility is a theme we will explore much more in Green Shade. Bosnia was perhaps even of a "ray of light" than Kosovo. It was committed to an ambitious cosmopolitanism (influenced by a long Islamic flavored notion of he "common life" and "neighborliness") when it declared independence in October of 1991. That dream was almost entirely destroyed by war and genocide in which the Bosnians were the overwhelming victims. Now the same dangerous Serbian rhetoric of nationalism and Christian religious mythology that perpetuated those crimes in Bosnia to a large extent threatens the Balkans once again. Let us hope its influence is checked to a few burnt embassies.

A note on Claude Salhani: He is an editor with The Middle East Times, a Cairo-based paper funded by the Unification Church founded by the Reverend Moon (a.k.a. the "Second Coming of Christ"). Reverend Moon made some news in 2000 when he teamed up with Minister Louis Farrakhan, the acting head of the Nation of Islam to co-sponsor the Million Family March in Washington D.C.