Kosovan - and Catholic

The Guardian ^ | Wednesday May 21 2008 | Anna Di Lellio

[Cronos]

The youngest state in Europe, Kosovo, is known for its majority Muslim population that is only episodically observant, likes very much beer and the local grappa called raki, and is extravagantly fond of the US.

Commentators like to call this particular brand of religion "Islam-lite," and favourably compare the "good Muslims" that it breeds with other Muslims who fall for fundamentalism. How long this state of affairs will last is debatable nowadays. The reason is not that the jihadists are taking over, as a vicious and unrelenting propaganda spearheaded by Serb nationalists intimates. On the contrary, it looks like Islam might be withering away.

Just last week, a group of 32 individuals of the same family, the Sopi of Lapushnik, converted to Catholicism. Lapushnik is a village located in the north-eastern part of Kosovo, in the same region of Drenica that was the cradle of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and that has traditionally harboured the more fierce resistance against Belgrade. A spokesperson for the family, Ismet Sopi, has told local journalists that there are many more people who intend to convert from Islam in that region, "maybe as many as 320 or 3,200".snip

All of a sudden, the plan to build a cathedral in the very centre of Pristina does not seem absured any more. There are only about 60,000 Catholics in Kosovo -- snip -- but this is an old figure -- snip -- Father Lush Gjergj says "These people who are converting were already Christian but could not show it before because they were not free.--snip --

[Cronos]

I know this is old, but I searched for it and couldn't find a previously posted version of the article and thought it's a good piece of information to know

[Eric in the Ozarks]

"Moderate Muslims are irrelevant."
--Brigitte Gabriel

[NYer]

This is a wonderful article and thank you, for posting it!

Just last week, a group of 32 individuals of the same family, the Sopi of Lapushnik, converted to Catholicism.

This is happening in other countries, as well. Let's pray that these conversions continue to blossom around the globe.

[DTA]

>>>>>>>>Commentators like to call this particular brand of religion "Islam-lite," and favourably compare the "good Muslims" that it breeds with other Muslims who fall for fundamentalism.<<<<<<<

Like "light" cigarettes, Islam lite is a marketing ploy to repackage dangerous product and make it appear less dangerous.

See how "light" this terrorist menace is.

What is the most troublesome is that RC Church turns the blind eye to all this, and what Islam Light Savages are doing. Wholesale destruction of 90% of Christian churches and monasteries, many of them 700 years old is perhaps seen as a renovation project hoping to get several thousand new Roman Catolics, on expense of 300 000 Orthodox Christians.

This is short-sighted policy and has nothing to do with ecumenism. It will backfire badly. The perceived gain will be much smaller than the actual loss.

Siding with terrorists is the last thing The Holy See needs in these troubled times.

[eleni121]

It’s amazing how nearsighted the Roman catholics are when it comes to the Balkans. They seem to fall all over themselves hoping that the crypto Christian (more than likely) in this simplistic article is indeed a harbinger of more little catholics to come out...conveniently ignoring the fact that it is Orthodoxy that has withstood the islamic slime for hundreds of years...paying with blood.

[Cronos]

is That what you read? Fine, there is the Albanian Orthodox Church in Albania proper -- if THEY get all the Kosovar Albanians to convert to Orthodoxy, great, I'll be there cheering. however, due to some short sighted folks who seem to have displayed to the Albanians that Orthodoxy as a whole hates Albanian people and will not accept them as converts, those Albanians are finding Christ in other branches of the Church.

Would YOU accept Albanian Orthodox Christians (belonging to the Albanian Orthodox Church, not the GReek Orthodox nor the Serbian Orthodox)?

[Cronos]

And, in case that point was lost, I mean some folks like you, Boko, etc. who portray that.

I do believe nearly all Serbs are decent, good people who would seek to make Albanians come to Christ, not to obliterate them. The exceptions to this are unfortunately the ones who shout the loudest and were in control of Serbia until recently and who seem quite active on this forum

[Cronos]

What is the most troublesome is that RC Church turns the blind eye to all this, and what Islam Light Savages are doing. Wholesale destruction of 90% of Christian churches and monasteries, many of them 700 years old is perhaps seen as a renovation project hoping to get several thousand new Roman Catolics, on expense of 300 000 Orthodox Christians

What has this article got to do with The Church condemning the destruction of Churches? This is trying to solve the problem permanently by converting the Kosovar albanians to Christianity. Now, if you can preach to them about Orthodoxy and they will join the Albanian ORthodox Church, trust me, I'll cheer just as loudly. However, what's happening is that some folks are making Albanians think that Orthodoxy doesn't want them and only supports another ethnic group -- the Slavic Serbians. I don't believe that's true, but that's what they would think going by comments by various posters here preaching ethnic hatred