Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Kosovo religious leaders issue joint appeal

On May 2nd there was an interfaith meeting held outside Peja, in the western part of Kosovo.  From the article below, it sounds as if it was constructive.  What’s interesting is that the evangelicals who were involved, who are two friends of mine, were invited as observers, not participants.  That’s not necessarily a negative, but it obviously communicates that Protestantism is not considered one of the “historic” faiths of Kosova.

PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro-Kosovo's Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious leaders issued a rare joint appeal to their communities Wednesday to join in rebuilding religious monuments and lives shattered by the province's ethnic conflict.

The appeal came at the end of a meeting organized by Norwegian Church Aid that brought together representatives of the Serb Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church and Kosovo's Islamic, Jewish and Evangelical communities.

On the other hand, I had a nice talk with Pastor Femi Sunday night.  You’ll recall that last week he took part in a debate at the local college.  In our conversation Sunday night he told me that a number of people he spoke with believe that Protestantism is the future of Kosova.  While that’s positive, you have to remember that the word “religion” has built in political and identity issues in the Balkans. 

Via Kosovo News and Views

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