The destruction of 150 church buildings and the simultaneous construction of 200 mosques may reveal a significant threat if Kosovo is granted full independence, claims a former U.S. diplomat, Thomas Patrick Melady. According to an August 15 report from Cybercast News Service (CNS), ethnic Albanians, most of the Muslim, are carrying on a campaign against Christians in the U.N. Protectorate, with substantial funds from "Wahhabist nations."
Kosovo is still technically a part of Serbia and Montenegro, though it is administered by the U.N. as an international protectorate. Eighty-eight percent of Kosovo's population is Muslim Albanians, with a minority of Serbs, Turks, Roma and Slavs. The province has been the centre for the Serbian Christian Orthodox Church since the twelfth century. However, between 1999 and 2004, approximately 150 churches, monasteries, seminaries and bishop residences have been attacked and priceless relics destroyed. CNS has obtained a video of the destruction of one Orthodox Church, St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Podujevo. Other video footage showing the desecration of an Orthodox Church in September 1995 is being used as part of a fundraiser for a Jihad, calling on Muslims to kill Serbs. An edited segment of the video is available from CNS (click here).
Orthodox nuns and monks from the monastery in Pec report that because of the fear of snipers, a military escort is required to go outdoors to fetch water. Approximately 200,000 Serbs are reports to have fled Kosovo because of the violence and more than 18,000 legal complaints have been made against Albanians for confiscating church and private property.
Pray for wisdom for the U.N. and other governments as decisions are made about the future of Kosovo. Pray that Christians in the province will be protected and that Kosovo will not become a militant Islamic state.
