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On February 17, 2008, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. Some are concerned about what NATO, the United Nations, and the European Union have nurtured there since the military and humanitarian intervention in 1999. James Jatras, a U.S.-based advocate for the Serbian Orthodox Community, put it bluntly last year when he said Kosovo was a “a beachhead into the rest of Europe” for “radical Muslims” and “terrorist elements.” It’s an assertion without evidence. “We’ve been here for so long,” said United States Army Sergeant Zachary Gore in Eastern Kosovo, “and not seen any evidence of it, that we’ve reached the assumption that it is not a viable threat.”

Nine in 10 of Kosovo’s citizens are ethnic Albanians, and more than 90 per cent of them are at least nominal Muslims. Most are so thoroughly modern and secularised that moderate doesn’t quite say it. The only word that can fairly describe Islam as practiced by the majority of Albanian Muslims is liberal. No nation can be entirely free of extremists, but Kosovo is one of the least religiously extreme Muslim-majority countries on Earth. Radical Islamists aren’t there in significant numbers now, and they aren’t likely to be in the future. Some places may be fertile ground for radicalism in the future, but Kosovo isn’t one of them for many of the same reasons that Christian theocracy isn’t coming to Western Europe.

I arrived here shortly after the declaration of independence, and the first thing I looked for – as always when I visit a Muslim-majority country – was the treatment and status of women.

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kimi
February 14th, 2010
10:02 AM
hiii, i see a lot of serbs-cannibals are posting comments here! yooo you serbs zip it plz! just for ur information, i am muslim from Kosovo , i pray 5 times per day, i am an actor and model here in new york where i moved to study physical therapy almost three years ago,now i just got married to my beautifull christian wife, she is a journalist; Albanian from Kosovo, we enjoy living together as we enjoy sharing peace in the world, oki today is valentines day, is the day to celebrate our love , may God bless it !!! this is the Albanian reality for those who didnt know!!!

Anonym
November 13th, 2009
10:11 AM
this article is totally wrong

a shala
October 11th, 2009
5:10 PM
serbs got what the asked for,not only in kosovo but in croatia and bosnia also.

Jonathan Davis
October 4th, 2009
11:10 AM
As much as I like Michael Totten and love his on-the-scene reporting from places like Iraq and Lebanon, he is dead wrong about Kosovo and is, in my opinion, strongly biased against Serbs in his reporting about Kosovo and Serbia. I have analysed and exposed both his errors and his biases on this topic and this article on my own blog. Feel free to come and get a dissenting view of Mr Totten's assessment of Kosovo from an Irish-South African based in Belgrade. http://www.limbicnutrition.com/blog/the-propaganda-bin-of-balkans/ See also: http://www.limbicnutrition.com/blog/a-handful-of-good-serbs-should-feel-... http://www.limbicnutrition.com/blog/michael-totten-again-this-time-on-th...

Anonymous
December 15th, 2008
3:12 AM
Jesse you self advertising d..k. It was in Albania that practicing religion was abolished not in Kosovo. You seem like do not know much about the place so please be quiet and keep your seat on the back of the room. You still will get the help you from Serdja Trafkovic

Truth
September 3rd, 2008
2:09 PM
Kosovo is Serbia!

M.A
September 2nd, 2008
5:09 AM
"You're a liar in almost everything you say in this article." Unfortunately, you failed to point out any "lies" in his article. Only once again showing that you, like most Albanophobes, are not being objective when it comes to the issue of Kosovo. "Not sure what is driving you to write such drivel or if you are seriously this misguided." Does the fact that unlike you, Totten refuses to see this as an issue of those "Brave-Civilized-Western-Godly-Christian-Serbs" vs. "Bloodthirsty-Genocidal-Islamofascist-Nazi-Albanians"(The way most Albanophobes want to see it) makes him "misguided"? Apparently, if we are to believe the Albanophobes, the answer is "yes". "I was in Kosovo only last summer and saw it from a very different light." So according to the logic of the Albanophobes, if someone visits Kosovo/Albania, and does not return with the impression that Albanians are a race of Islamofascist barbarians whose very existence is a mortal threat not only to Serbia, but to ALL of Western Civilization, one must be "misguided". *sigh* "The only reason they act like such liberal Muslims is because the generation living in Kosovo grew up under a communist regime that didn't allow any form of religious fundamentalism, they didn't allow them to even practice Islam openly so they forgot about their religious past" True. Not to mention the fact that Albanians for the most part put their national identity first before any religious identity. As 19th century Albanian poet once wrote in his poem: "Awaken, Albania, wake from your slumber, Let us all, as brothers, swear a common oath And not look to church or mosque, The faith of the Albanian is Albanianism!" "now that the door is open once again and the Wahabis have far more influence in the society than you give them credit for, in a single generation or two they will be just as radical as any other Muslim country." One can hardly predict how things will be next year, nevermind in a "generation or two". Unfortunately, the Wahhabis are trying to gain influence EVERYWHERE, but fortunately, as I pointed out in my previous post here a point made by fellow anti-Jihadist Patrick Poole, ""radical Islamists have no more taken over Kosova than they have Kansas City." "What happened after only a few generations in Iran under the Shaw," The Wahhabis had NOTHING to do with the radicalization of the Iranian population that brought the 1979 Revolution. You of course, neglect to mention that now after a generation under Islamic rule more and more people become hostile to the Islamic regime of Iran, as well as that the vast majority of Iranian exiles hate it with passion. "what happened in only a few generations in Turkey after Ataturk...." Turkey, last time I checked, despite a creeping worrisome Islamization, is still an electoral SECULAR democracy. For anyone interested, should read the following blog, which debunks much of the misinformation about Albanians perpetrated by Serbian propagandists and their sympathizers: http://albanianrealitycheck.blogspot.com/

Jesse Petrilla
August 31st, 2008
12:08 AM
You're a liar in almost everything you say in this article. Not sure what is driving you to write such drivel or if you are seriously this misguided. I was in Kosovo only last summer and saw it from a very different light. The only reason they act like such liberal Muslims is because the generation living in Kosovo grew up under a communist regime that didn't allow any form of religious fundamentalism, they didn't allow them to even practice Islam openly so they forgot about their religious past, now that the door is open once again and the Wahabis have far more influence in the society than you give them credit for, in a single generation or two they will be just as radical as any other Muslim country. What happened after only a few generations in Iran under the Shaw, what happened in only a few generations in Turkey after Ataturk.... See my experiences here: http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=9A68C6F6-8A08-453E-B...

M.A
August 28th, 2008
8:08 PM
"Why don't you mention that the Saudis are opening up Mosques across the country" Yes, they are, but they are also opening Mosques in London, New York, and pretty much everywhere they can afford. As fellow anti-Jihadist Patrick Poole pointed out, "radical Islamists have no more taken over Kosova than they have Kansas City.". So what is your point, ultimately? Are you implying that because Saudis are building Mosques in Kosovo, Albanians are therefore a race of Islamofascist Barbarians? "4 of the Dix Hills military terror plotters came from Kosovo?" Once again, this says NOTHING about Albanians as a group. As another fellow anti-Jihadist Ray Robison pointed out, "The reasons why three Albanian men from Jersey became jihadists have nothing to do with Kosovo or Albania and everything to do with Islamic extremism". Yes, it is about Islam's fanatical nature, but it says nothing about Albanians as a people. "Kosovo will be just like all the other Islamic states." It might, but it's current direction is towards the west, and not the dark ages of Islam. The presence of Islamic fundamentalists among Albanians is indeed worrisome, and they are actually a bigger threat to the Albanian nation, culture and heritate than all the intellectually dishonest Serbian propagandists and their sympathizers(Yes, you too, mr. Anonymous) combined, and should not be taken lightly, but to compare Kosovo with places like Pakistan is a major overstatement. "Non-Muslims will be persecuted there, no matter what kind of spin you want to put on the country." Nevermind the fact that today most Albanians are ATHEISTS, Albanian Muslim since the Ottoman Turks brought Islam to Kosovo never persecuted their Christian compatriots. Albanians for the most part are Albanian first before they independence of Kosovo was universally supported by ALL Albanians regardless of creed. "'Moderate' Islam is not coming to the rescue." Yes, the threat of Islamic fundamentalism is universal, and there is no such thing is as "moderate Islam", only a difference of degree of adherence, but the Albanian population is largely secular and far from being Islamic, so your point is senseless in this regard.

Anonymous
August 25th, 2008
11:08 PM
...Albanian atheism is.

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