This Is A Kosovar Muslim

Commentary Magazine ^ | 2008 | Michael J. Totten

[nosofar]

Lee Smith laments that American Muslims have to read almost exclusively about scary Muslims and slightly less scary Muslims in the mainstream American media. “One can only sympathize with American Muslims,” he writes,

"those who may or may not be religious, but surely have no attachment to the obscurantist fanatics that drove them from the region, and must now be wondering what is wrong with the New York Times that the only Muslims that register with the paper of record are very scary ones, and less scary ones."

I have noticed and been annoyed by this tendency myself, and it goes double today: I'm writing this from the capital of Kosovo, the least “scary” Muslim country on Earth. I've grown accustomed to moderate Muslims after living in and traveling to places like Beirut and Istanbul, but Kosovo is surprising even to me. Islam in this country is so thoroughly liberal (“moderate” doesn't quite cover it) that, if it weren't for the mosques, there would be no visible evidence that Kosovo is a Muslim country at all. I've been in Prishtina, the capital, for four days, and I can count the number of women I've seen wearing a hijab on one hand. Aside from the conservative dating culture, women here are as liberated as Christian women in the rest of the Balkan region.

[nosofar]

Maybe I'm just not seeing it, but I hate it when they don't put the date on an article. I'm pretty sure this is fairly recent. Consider this a reminder to everyone (including myself) not to over generalize about Muslims (or anyone else). It just makes a person look foolish.

[2banana]

You do know they have ethnically cleansed just about every non muslim from the country...

[Paul Heinzman]

When I worked for Kmart many years ago , I knew quite a few moderate Muslims. They were very friendly, and I loved going to bars with them because I always had a designated driver. Problem is, you get outside of the United States and the moderates are scared to death of the crazies.

The terrorists will behead them as fast as they will us.