Kosovo Religion

Long ago, the people of kosovo (Kosovars) were primarily Roman Catholic. In the 14th century, the Ottoman Turks conquered Kosovo and made Islam the new religion. Now, only 3% of the country is Roman Catholic. Serbian Othodox is the next greatest with only 7% practicing. The Islamic religion holds firm for the majority of Kosovars.

Kosovo is currently 90% Muslim although not all firmly religious, many continue to celebrate holidays and practice Islamic traditions. Kind of similar to the US with Christianity, Islam is the accepted fallback religion although many individuals do not identify with it, especially the younger population.

Carshi Mosque
Oldest standing building in Pristina today

Each day there is the call to prayer, which happens 5 times during the day where the Hoxha (prayer leader) reminds the people, over loudspeakers protruding from mosques, to pray. These mosques are spaced around the city, thus making the call audible from most locations. One of the girls woke up to the call this morning, stating it was extra loud and extra long (8minutes)- reminding us of the holiday.

These last 4 weeks the people of Kosovo (and other Muslim countries) have been celebrating “Ramadan.” During the month of Ramadan, Kosovars fast (no food or drink) everyday from sunrise to sunset. The reason for this is they believe Allah has told them to fast in order to avoid sins. And the reward for true fasting will be paradise. Ramadan is a time for re-commitment to the religion. During this time the mosques are often full of Muslims praying. “The Ramadan offers us the opportunity to start again and to forget the mistakes we made in the past. This is the time for our spiritual house to be thoroughly cleaned and to call Allah into each of its rooms.” <- This reminds me of how Christ died for our sins (past, present, future) so for Christians, there be no need for a lengthy fast, but rather If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness- 1John 1:9.

Uraza-bairam is the holiday that marks the end of the fast in the holy month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Today (Sunday) is Uraza-bairam- everything is closed on this day and the people celebrate in their homes with family, friends and plenty of food and drink.

I was invited along with the other new teachers to visit the home of a Kosovar/Albanian man who works for the school. I learned today that the women of the house stay home while the men visit the homes of family and friends, usually spending 15-30minutes per home. The wife usually has prepared a  snack (cookies, baklava...) and drink for the visiting guests. More and more I am learning how hospitable this culture is.

-A

References:

http://www.metaltraveller.com/en/trips/kosovo/prishtina_mosques.html

http://setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2011/08/12/feature-05