Welcome Kosova!

32 Comments

1. 

   Amad

   February 19, 2008 at 12:35 AM

   mabrook to our brothers and sisters, who escaped the barbarism and hatred of the Serbs to rule their own destiny.

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2. 

   AnonyMouse

   February 19, 2008 at 12:49 AM

   May Allah grant our brothers and sisters the strength of emaan, the patience, the knowledge, wisdom, understanding, and guidance to rule their country successfully according to Islam, ameen!

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3. 

   Nadia

   February 19, 2008 at 1:09 AM

   Alhamdulillah this is great news! May Allah allow them to live peacefully in their country and relish their independance while remaining steadfast on their deen.

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4. 

   theManOfFewWords

   February 19, 2008 at 1:44 AM

   Brothers and sisters, be very careful regarding the independence of Kosova. The idea of an independent Muslim state is very attractive but it should be noted that Kosova is being manipulated by the United States and NATO in order to maintain a large military presence in the region.

   May ALLAH aid the oppressed Muslims wherever they are and protect them from the machinations of their enemies.

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5. 

   Dawud Israel

   February 19, 2008 at 2:51 AM

   The first thought that came to my mind was that this is a way of rounding up 2 million Muslims so that they can be eventually killed no?

   The other thing is most of the brothers I know from this part of the world put their race and country waaayyyy before their relation to Islam.

   I think they are going to hand over the responsibility of helping the new state to the EU which is divided over the secession so…so it’s not hard to see how problems can get started. And Russia among other states don’t want to support this because it would imply they should also secede some of their lands…

   May Allah watch over these Muslims. Ameen.

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6. 

   Abutoam

   February 19, 2008 at 2:54 AM

   Alhamdulillaahi. Allaahumma Aizzal Islaam wal muslimeen wa adhilla Shirkah wal mushrikeen wa dammir A’adaahaka wa a’adaaha deen (O! Allah, elevate Islam and the muslims and debase polytheism and the polytheists, destroy your enemies and the enemies of Al-Islam) aamin.

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7. 

   Dawud Israel

   February 19, 2008 at 2:56 AM

   By the way it’s spelt “Kosovo” not “Kosova”

   But I think Kosova is the Albanian way of referring to it…

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8. 

   Amad

   February 19, 2008 at 3:05 AM

   Yes, indeed, spelling it like Kosova is actually important… travel tip: DONT use Kosovo!

   The spelling “Kosovo” is used in English and Serbia; however, the spelling “Kosova” is used in Albanian.

   So, you can see why Kosovars (that is the adjective) would like to be known by their Albanian pronunciation, not by the pronunciation of Serbs, their sworn enemies.

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9. 

   fastaqim.blogspot.com

   February 19, 2008 at 5:14 AM

   Thank you. May Allah guide our people.

   And yes, Kosova is the correct way to say it, Kosovo is offensive to Kosovars.

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10. 

    Abdullah

    February 19, 2008 at 5:35 AM

    First they give you Independence Day, then the flag, then the national anthem. Then they make you celebrate this every year calling it Independence Day. This is nothing but the continuation of the divide and rule of Muslim world. The real independence can only be with the Caliphate.

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11. 

    Organic Muslimah

    February 19, 2008 at 7:41 AM

    Allahu Akbar!

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12. 

    theManOfFewWords

    February 19, 2008 at 3:11 PM

    Subhanallah, too much excitement. I think Muslims need to have a more nuanced understanding of what is going on.

    Though I will admit that our knowledge of the Balkans, a relatively obscure part of the world, is limited.

    It’s unfortunate because it seems like the ww I model is being repeated. Russia is irked to say the least, that the US is messing around in its backyard, so to speak. The US is trying to set up another client state and establish a permanent base there while Russia is concerned that this is the latest in US interference including moves in Georgia, Lithuania and other former Soviet Socialist republics in the Caucuses and Eastern Europe.

    The network of alliances and interests developing doesnt bode well for the future. Like WW I where all the hostilities were sparked by a relatively minor incident in the Balkans there could very well be a repeat but these Kosovar and Albanian Muslims will be caught in the middle and manipulated. I am afraid that neither the Muslims of Kosovo nor the Serbians or their respective allies are behaving very honorably not can we say that ANY side is th “good” side.

    A far more amicable solution is preferable where Kosova reacquires its autonomous status and remains part of Bosnia. The puppet leader of Kosova is a shady and disreputable character repeating a familiar Middle Eastern model. It is better to have an arrangement that guaruntees the rights of the Muslim minority and fosters cooperation and good feelings between neighboring national communities.

    The alternative is a tiny state surrounded by hostile entities relying on the US and 25k NATO troops for protection. This is only setting up the Muslims for a bad end. The troops may not be there forever and the result will be another ugly episode involving Great Game tactics with big powers manipulating and stoking ethnic conflicts for their own gain.

    May ALLAH have mercy on the Muslims.

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13. 

    Yusuf Smith

    February 19, 2008 at 3:38 PM

    As-Salaamu ‘alaikum,

    Kosovo is the country’s original and historical name; Kosova is the Albanian name. One presumes they are different genders, but in Albanian, a place’s name changes depending on where it appears in a sentence. So, the town of Gjirokaster, in Albania itself, is often called Gjirokastra (gj is like the d in the British pronunciation of due).

    A bit about the status of Islam and Muslims in Kosovo:

    http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1189959421350&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout

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14. 

    Ahmad AlFarsi

    February 19, 2008 at 7:13 PM

    From the above link Yusuf posted it says:

    The girls donned the hijab just before the start of the school year on September 3, becoming the first in Skenderaj to abide by the Islamic dress code.

    Skenderaj’s 70,000 population are all Muslims and the city is home to 14 mosques. The two schools are the only high schools in the city.

    SubhanAllah, what a sad state for the Muslims there to be in. If I am understanding the article properly, these 3 high school sisters are the first sisters in Skenderaj (in this era) to EVER wear hijab?!?!? Something sounds way off about that… that would make the fraction of hijabis in the city roughly 3/35000 sisters… or 0.008 % of the city’s population. I pray to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala that the reality isn’t THAT dismal and I am just misunderstanding the article.

    Wa Allahu al-Musta’an!!!

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15. 

    fastaqim.blogspot.com

    February 20, 2008 at 1:25 AM

    Yusuf, only serbs use “kosovo”. gjirokaster and gjirokstra is used in different sentences, just like kosova and kosove. for example, im from kosova, and im going to kosove. serbs have different names and pronouncinations of our cities and places, which the west uses. and we do not.

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16. 

    Amad

    February 20, 2008 at 1:42 AM

    fastaqim, are you from kosova? If you are, then would love to hear more perspectives about the Muslims over there.

    wslam

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17. 

    meh

    February 23, 2008 at 11:25 PM

    Ahmed al-Farsi, why don’t you ever express horror when your precious Taliban murder young girls who dare to get an education? Why don’t you ever bring awareness to Dukhtaran-e-Millat fanatics who throw acid on the faces of women who defy the burka diktat?

    In addition, I bet none of the hypocrites on this site would welcome the Hazaras had they declared independence from Afghanistan. After all, according to many Muslims, it’s perfectly okay to murder Shi’a Hazaras because they didn’t want to live under Taliban control. The same government that many people on this site blindly support and praise, despite their brutality that is just as comparable to the Serbs against Muslims.

    
    **First of all, “meh”, this comment is 100% COMPLETELY unrelated to the post. We ask that you please stay on topic, otherwise, your comments will be moderated. We are letting this one pass, since you made a few sweeping generalizations that we would like to address.

    (1) MM, as an organization, has never supported nor denounced the Taliban as whole (while individual opinions criticizing certain practices of the Taliban have been expressed in the past).

    (2) If we are going to talk about all those incidents, lets also talk about the number of rapes/sex harrasment that occur in western countries, the # of girl-abortions that take place in india, the sita rite (burning widows alive) in india, etc… It is completely out of place to bring up some practices of the Taliban out of thin air, in the context of the oppression of Kosovars by Serbia.

    Again, in the future, please make sure your comment is related to the topic at hand, or your post may be moderated. – MM **
    

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18. 

    Party Pooper (whatever)

    February 24, 2008 at 3:37 AM

    I also share the concern of Dawud Israel.

    Further, there is also the scenario of having “created” Kosova for Muslims and Israel for Europeans caucasian zionists.

    Will Muslims complaining about Israel be pointed to the case of Kosova as an example of the fair “justice” dished out by America?

    A more fantastic solution to the thugs in Serbia would have been to take the persecuted Muslims and give them the land of “Israel”. In return the “Israelis” could have been displaced to the beaches, and other resourceless areas delineated with walls (places like Gaza and the West Bank). Or they could simply just be returned home to Germany and other European countries which have now become far more zionist friendly – despite retaining their hatred of other faiths that they see as non-white.

    The land of “Israel” is also a promised land for the Muslims, so I am surprised that it was not a serious solution put on the table. After all, it was a very serious solution to the protection of Caucasian European Jews from the Christian Nazi thugs – planting those persecuted Europeans in the Middle East – after all, they could have made Lichtenstein into “Israel” at that time.

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19. 

    jdawg

    February 25, 2008 at 10:44 AM

    yes, and may the new Kosovar state send your sister’s and daughters into prostitution supported by the current PM who has Mafia ties…don’t be surprised when the US leaves your satellite state high and dry after they’ve depleted Albania’s natural resources and the conflict with Russia ends.

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20. 

    jdawg

    February 25, 2008 at 10:49 AM

    by the way, how is Kosovo “oppressed by Serbia” right now? The region is 90% Albanian, with less than 10% of the population being Serbian in the north bordering with Serbia. And, you have Nato soldiers protecting you, so guess what would happen if they weren’t there? Serbs would come in and kick your arses, but you have Big Brother to help you declare your phoney independance…enjoy it while it lasts.

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21. 

    Amad

    February 25, 2008 at 11:03 AM

    Serbs would come in and kick your arses

    The Serbs are not famous for “kicking arses”, but in committing genocides. Killing innocent men, women and children. I don’t think that that is anything to be proud of, is it jdawg?

    I don’t know what the US and its “co-conspirators” have in plan for Kosova (get your spelling right buddy), but it can’t be any worse than living under a regime whose majority almost tried to eliminate your entire population.

    Why don’t Serbs concentrate on development and growth, rather than engaging in their national pastime of killing ethnic Albanians (Muslims)? If Kosova is 90% Albanian, then let them be ruled by Albanians, not by people who have great enmity against them?

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22. 

    jdawg

    February 25, 2008 at 2:52 PM

    Well there’s animosity towards the ethnic Albanians b/c they came in and took over their heartland, they have a country don’t they? Or is Albania not home to Albanians? They left that country b/c the backwater poverty of Serbia is still prolly better than that craphole. And who committed genocide? I see you’re buying into American propaganda, I was under the impression that there was a civil war going on and both sides were killing one another.

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23. 

    jdawg

    February 25, 2008 at 2:53 PM

    And depending on which ethnicity you are, it’s pronounced “Kosovo”

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24. 

    Amad

    February 25, 2008 at 3:24 PM

    jdawg, I think it would be respectful to pronounce a nation’s name by how the locals like it pronounced, esp. if they find the other pronunciation offensive?

    I don’t think that Kosova suddenly became Albanian dominated because Albanians moved there. I imagine that they have been there for generations.

    Civil war may be technically correct, but when there is a government-sponsored ethnic-cleansing, then that civil war becomes kind of lopsided. At that point, it is a war of aggression against a helpless minority.

    If the information on the killing fields of Kosova and before that Bosnia, were simply based on a couple of accounts, I could accept that as more American propaganda. But I think the facts make it clear that this was definitely ethnic-cleansing. Obviously Serbs don’t like Albanians, and I get that even in your few comments. So, keeping Kosova under Serb control would be a recipe for disastor and more killings.

    If Serbs were smart, they’d accept the reality of things, set up good relations with the Kosova government, and move on. There is a lot more gained in moving on than to bemoan about what’s already done.

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25. 

    jdawg

    February 25, 2008 at 4:53 PM

    Ethnic assumptions aside, I think I’ll refer to the “nation” the same way I see it spelled in Western articles, you know the West right? That magical place that recognized Kosovo’s indepednance illegally. And to lay any questions to rest, I am of Canadian decent living in France, with ties to Croatia and Serbia and I know a handful of Albanians, none of whom I find offensive by the way. We all agree that the West’s intervention in the matter is totally unnecessary and illegal, and adding fire to an already volatile situation. And while I couldn’t care less whether or not Kosovo-and-Metohija remain a part of Serbia, I am against the US meddling and the precedent it sets.

    It’s true that Serbs in Serbia don’t like Albanians for the most part, but there haven’t been any incidences since ’99 so how can you assumed that it would be “a recipe for disaster”? If Serbs were smart (and we know they’re not the brightest, re: riots in Belgrad this week), they would set up good relations with the Kosovo government, which is something they’ve been trying to do for some time, but in efforts to keep Kosovo within Serbia. It appears it’s not going to happen, my beef is the legality of the issue, and just remember folks, the US helped put Saddam into power in Iraq back in the day and we all know how that turned out.

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26. 

    Amad

    February 25, 2008 at 5:23 PM

    jdawg, thank for your measured response.

    I don’t think we can use the incident-rate since ’99 as a measure for harmony, because Kosova has been under UN protection. Who knows what would have happened if it was free for all?

    I agree though, that considering the precedences that US has been setting in foreign affairs, there is much to be suspicious of. And I also agree that the US uses the UN’s mandate when it wants, and ignores it when it doesn’t. Like for instance, the US’s blind-eye towards outstanding resolutions against Israel (to withdraw from occupied territories).

    But as Muslims, we will take what we can get! After all, we haven’t been getting much of a break on other probably worse state offenders… Chechnya, Kashmir, Palestine, etc.

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27. 

    jdawg

    February 25, 2008 at 6:24 PM

    No problem, this is not hate mongering, it’s a forum to express opinions and I hate when name-calling enters the fray. It’s hard to disconnect completely with some issues emotionally, but let’s try people.

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28. 

    jdawg

    February 25, 2008 at 6:28 PM

    And we use “Kosovo” but the name changes depending on which case is being used in Serbo-Croatian

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29. 

    Manas

    February 26, 2008 at 1:43 AM

    Salaam

    I am not very sure about realities on ground, but is there any chance that they may merge with Albania and Bosnia?

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30. 

    whatever

    February 26, 2008 at 4:16 AM

    This idea is really beginning to gain momentum with me.

    Why not take the Muslim people of Kosova and Albania and airlift them to Israel. The European Israelis could be airlifted to the prime European soil of Albania which would be properly in Europe – this would help them get back their EU membership cravings and give them a feeling of getting back to their European roots.

    It would get rid of all the problems, turmoil, and conflicts caused by European Israelis, and at the same time make the Xenophobic Serbs and Russians happy.

    The Islamophobic, pro-Israel Europeans would be happy as they would get their buddy to be closer to them and get rid of a “Muslim” country in Europe. I am really surprised that Russia is not pushing this idea.

    What’s wrong with the idea. I would like a Centre for Strategic Studies “of some kind” to take up this idea and lobby the would be powers.

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31. 

    jdawg

    February 26, 2008 at 8:14 AM

    I think the main problem with airlifting and “country swapping” would be that you’d be displacing millions of people.

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32. 

    jdawg

    February 26, 2008 at 8:48 AM

    also, someone on this thread mentioned combining Kosovo(a) with Bosnia, which probably wouldn’t be a bad idea, but I dont think the Albanian government would go for it, and neither would B&H seeing as how there is also a large serb population there, unless the serb state within B&H was given to serbia in exchange, which again would most likely never happen. The course of history has been put into motion and I think it’s best to leave the rest to the puppet masters (Bush, Putin and the rest of the gang)

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