se times
12/01/2011
In an exclusive interview, Mufti Naim Ternava discusses co-existence and the nature of Islam.
By Linda Karadaku for Southeast European Times in Pristina – 12/01/11
In an exclusive interview, Mufti Naim Ternava discusses co-existence and the nature of Islam.
By Linda Karadaku for Southeast European Times in Pristina – 12/01/11
The head of the Kosovo Islamic Community, Mufti Naim Ternava, believes the country's independence has created better opportunities for all religious communities to exercise their beliefs freely and to foster better regional co-operation.
In an interview with SETimes, Ternava said that because the Islamic community is the biggest in Kosovo, it bears the most responsibility.
"That's why I feel good when security and inter-religious peace reigns in Kosovo," he said, adding that peace and security are important to all faiths.
During the 1998-1999 conflict with Slobodan Milosevic's forces, mosques were destroyed and as many as 37 imams killed. Today, in an independent Kosovo, the Islamic community feels safe, secure and respected. Still, Ternava said, some issues remain.
"The judicial position of the religious communities has not been clarified," he said. "There is not enough space given to us to contribute in fighting against negative phenomena."
The community wants religion added to public school curricula, for girls to be allowed to wear veils in school, and for more infrastructure to be built for the Islamic Community, he said.
"We are calling it traditional Islam," Mufti Ternava said when asked about the type of Islam practiced in Kosovo. "We have the right to call it that; it is genuine, clean."There is no need to give Islam another image depending on the country, the space where believers live."
He rejected allegations that radicals from outside the country are exerting influence. In the period after the war, he acknowledged, various associations entered and were active in Kosovo, and some of their members attempted to indoctrinate young people.
"It is true that ... anyone could come in and out without control for a long time; uninvited people -- from East and West -- who didn't want the best [for] Kosovo came in as well," he said.
In an interview with SETimes, Ternava said that because the Islamic community is the biggest in Kosovo, it bears the most responsibility.
"That's why I feel good when security and inter-religious peace reigns in Kosovo," he said, adding that peace and security are important to all faiths.
During the 1998-1999 conflict with Slobodan Milosevic's forces, mosques were destroyed and as many as 37 imams killed. Today, in an independent Kosovo, the Islamic community feels safe, secure and respected. Still, Ternava said, some issues remain.
"The judicial position of the religious communities has not been clarified," he said. "There is not enough space given to us to contribute in fighting against negative phenomena."
The community wants religion added to public school curricula, for girls to be allowed to wear veils in school, and for more infrastructure to be built for the Islamic Community, he said.
"We are calling it traditional Islam," Mufti Ternava said when asked about the type of Islam practiced in Kosovo. "We have the right to call it that; it is genuine, clean."There is no need to give Islam another image depending on the country, the space where believers live."
He rejected allegations that radicals from outside the country are exerting influence. In the period after the war, he acknowledged, various associations entered and were active in Kosovo, and some of their members attempted to indoctrinate young people.
"It is true that ... anyone could come in and out without control for a long time; uninvited people -- from East and West -- who didn't want the best [for] Kosovo came in as well," he said.
But that has changed. Today, he insisted, Kosovo's Islamic community "is consolidated: we have no foreigners in, we are all Kosovars. It has made it impossible for some individuals and groups to have success in Kosovo."
While the Kosovo Islamic Community "does not control the borders", the mufti said he has called on local and international institutions to be more vigilant in tracking who comes in and out of the country. Islam espouses peace and prosperity for all and opposes violence, Ternava said.
"Islam has nothing in common with terror, fundamentalism, the killing of innocent people. That is against the norms of Islam," he said. Religious co-existence, he adds, is natural and something that has been forged over the centuries.
In Kosovo "we have families of two different religions, living under the same roof," he noted. But he said he opposes "attempts by some missionaries working to convert Muslims into Christians", saying individuals must be able to choose their religion.
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com....more...
While the Kosovo Islamic Community "does not control the borders", the mufti said he has called on local and international institutions to be more vigilant in tracking who comes in and out of the country. Islam espouses peace and prosperity for all and opposes violence, Ternava said.
"Islam has nothing in common with terror, fundamentalism, the killing of innocent people. That is against the norms of Islam," he said. Religious co-existence, he adds, is natural and something that has been forged over the centuries.
In Kosovo "we have families of two different religions, living under the same roof," he noted. But he said he opposes "attempts by some missionaries working to convert Muslims into Christians", saying individuals must be able to choose their religion.
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com....more...
read more: se times
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου