The Politics of Identity in Kosovo

Henry Srebrnik, [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian

The Albanian people in the Balkans are not descended from the Slavic migrations into the region that occurred from the sixth century onwards. They consider themselves the descendants of the first people that lived in the land, the Dardanians. And unlike the majority of ethnic groups in the region, they are mainly Muslims.   

An Albanian state was created just before the First World War, but not all Albanians were incorporated into it. Many became part of the newly created Yugoslavia, distinguished from their Slavic neighbours when it came to language and ethnicity.

Serbian-dominated Yugoslavia worked to undermine Albanians politically. Even in post-1945 Communist Yugoslavia, the Albanians in Kosovo did not acquire their own republic, as was the case for Bosnians, Croats, Serbs, Slovenes and Macedonians, but instead they became part of Serbia.   

As Yugoslavia began to disintegrate, Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic revoked Kosovo’s autonomous status in 1989. The Serbs viewed themselves as the defenders of “Western civilization and Christianity” against the Kosovar Albanian Muslims.

In reaction, the Kosovar Albanians mounted resistance to Serbian domination. They first formed the non-violent Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), under the leadership of Ibrahim Rugova.

Unable to win back their rights through the LDK, they created the Kosovo Liberation Army in 1996 which, with the help of NATO, prevailed in a war in 1999, after some 10,00 Kosovar Albanians had been killed.

In 2008, Kosovo declared its independence. NATO still has some 5,000 troops stationed in the country to keep the fragile peace. Serbia has never accepted Kosovo’s sovereignty.

Saudi-based humanitarian agencies charitable organization soon arrived in Kosovo. They took the opportunity to spread religious education and helped rebuild mosques that had been destroyed in the war.

Kosovo itself is legally a secular state. Article 38 of the constitution guarantees freedom of belief, conscience and religion, and Article 39 ensures and protects religious autonomy.

Understandably, though, Kosovo, where 96 per cent of its two million inhabitants are Muslim, has close historic, political, and religious ties with Muslim Albania and Turkey.

Kosovo is still a largely pro-western country. In the capital of Pristina, many street names pay tribute to former American presidents, owing to NATO’s 1999 bombing campaign and Washington’s support for Kosovo’s independence.

In recent years, though, more conservative forms of Islam are taking root. There were about 200 mosques after the war in 1999. Today, there are more than 800.

There is an element of society and certain parts of Kosovo that are becoming more religious,” according to Naim Rashiti, an analyst at the Balkan Policy Research Group, a Pristina-based think-tank. “This is a new experience for us.”

Kosovo’s identity remains fragile. Many Kosovar Albanians are not emotionally attached to the new state, but see themselves as Albanians, and some wish to be united with their ethnic brethren across the border.

In Pristina, even in government buildings, the Albanian red flag with a black, double-headed eagle is widely seen, instead of the country’s own flag. So for many Kosovars, Islam has filled that identity gap.

Meanwhile, low-level hostilities between Kosovo and Serbia continue. On Jan. 14, a Serbian nationalist train left the capital, Belgrade, for Mitrovica in northern Kosovo, where most of Kosovo’s remaining 50,000 Serbs live. 

It was painted with Serbian flags, religious Christian Orthodox scenes of monasteries and medieval towns, and inscribed with “Kosovo is Serbian” in 20 languages.

Not surprisingly, Pristina saw it as an act of provocation. “I believe that turning back the train was the appropriate action,” declared Prime Minister Isa Mustafa. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama also weighed in. “Serbs will be able to enter Kosovo only as tourists,” he remarked.

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic accused Pristina of attempting to ‎spark a conflict and said that he would be willing to send the army to defend Serbs in Kosovo, if necessary. “The territory of Kosovo is the territory of Serbia under international law,” he added.