Kosovo Islamic leaders call for independence

Reuters reports that Islamic leaders in Kosovo have added their voice to the Albanian call for independence.

Izvor: Reuters

Monday, 23.10.2006.

15:36

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Kosovo Islamic leaders call for independence

Marking the Eid al-Fitr feast in the capital, Priština, the head of the Kosovo Islamic community, Mufti Naim Ternava, said independence for the breakaway Serbian province was the only acceptable outcome to talks expected to end within months.

"We are waiting for the U.N. Security Council to make its decision," he told worshippers at the 15th century Sultan Mehmet Fatih mosque. "The will and desire of the people should be respected. Independence is the only option."

Ismail Hasani, professor of religion at Priština University, said just 8-10 percent of people regularly attend prayers, "and the majority of these people are 50 and older."

"Albanians are too busy dealing with their economic, political and social status," he told Reuters. "The Islamic religion is accepted as a vehicle of culture and tradition."

Talks on its "final status" began in February, with Western diplomats predicting some form of independence within months.

The Kosovo Albanians' secularism contrasts with the increasingly vocal role played by the Orthodox Church in Serbia's politics and society since the country emerged from 50 years of Socialist rule in the 1990s.

Many Serbs see Kosovo as the birthplace of their Orthodox faith, a land dotted with centuries-old monasteries.

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