I've recently heard similar stories from a young woman from our parish who is teaching in Albania. But she does say that there are large numbers of Turks and Arabs there, "students" who glare at the Orthodox when they see them and act very menacing. On the other hand, she says the average Albanians she meets are very nice to her, no matter what their religion. In the meantime, Mohammaden mobs are still sacking Orthodox Churches in Kosovo while NATO troops stand by because of the rules of engagement and there is no question, as you must know, that Al Queda or its sympathizers were active during the war over there in relatively large numbers.
Probably like most everyone else, I lapsed in paying attention to what goes on in Kosovo. This story and the report from those presently serving there has rekindled my interest. Apparently, though our forces are not being attacked, all is not sweetness. From a UN Centre article dated 24 November 2004:
Although there has been progress in reconstruction and reform in Kosovo since March's deadly violence, the worst in the five years since the United Nations took over administering the ethnically-divided province, key areas such as reconciliation and the return of minorities remain cause for concern, according to a new report released today.
While measures and mechanisms have been established for moving forward towards reconciliation between the Albanian majority and minorities, in particular the Serbs, "more action is required to translate these into concrete and sustainable results," Secretary-General Kofi Annan writes in his latest report on the issue.
[ . . . ]
On the credit side Mr. Annan cites evidence that Kosovo is getting back on track towards fulfilling the necessary standards for deciding its final status after the onslaught by Albanian extremists to drive out Serb, Roma and Askhali communities led to 19 people being killed, nearly 1,000 injured and hundreds of homes and centuries-old Serbian cultural sites razed or burned in March.
Progress in some areas has been "tangible and encouraging," with many damaged homes and schools rebuilt or under reconstruction and advances in reforming local government, of major importance in safeguarding the vital interests of minority communities, particularly Serbs, he says.
[ . . . ]
But in the debit column Mr. Annan lists the failure to establish "a systematic, properly resourced programme for outreach, including mid- and long-term reconciliation and inter-ethnic dialogue," a significant drop in the rate of Serbs returning, Serb non-participation in the elections and the continuing precarious security of minority groups.
"There continue to be substantial limitations on their freedom of movement. In some regions, Kosovo Serbs travel through areas in which there is a Kosovo Albanian majority only with escorts," he writes.
"Because of the March events, more members of minority communities have been displaced in 2004 than have been able to return to their homes."
A little context helps. Besides the ethnic cleansing & atrocities committed by the Serbs in the 98-99 war, over 200 mosques were destroyed. When the Albs returned to their burnt out villages in the summer of 99, they were somewhat irritated and went out to get some back. That's when most of the Serbs were driven out of Kosovo and when the Serb Orthodox churches were attacked. The operative term is Serb, not Orthodox. And the attackers are best described as Albanians, most probably to include Albanian irreligious and Christians, not "Mohammedan". Note that the Albanian Christian Churches were not touched.
As for rules of engagement in the 2004 riots, the KFOR troops had all the authority they needed to protect civilian lives and property. They were surprised and either didn't react very quickly in some cases, or in others apparently (Germans in particular) did not want to put their troops at risk to confront the rioters. BTW, the killed included 11 Albanians and 8 Serbs--it was not all one-sided. At least one of the Serbs and three of the Albanians were killed by KFOR.
as you must know, that Al Queda or its sympathizers were active during the war over there in relatively large numbers.
Actually, I do know something about this and reports of Al Qaeda were never confirmed and participation by outside jihadists was greatly exaggerated. The only known Al qaeda contact was bin Laden's emissary Claud Kader who the KLA threw out, refusing to accept even the weapons he brought. Kader is now in jail in Albania. If you trace the Al qaeda references, they always lead to Serb or anonymous sources. If you know anything about Balkans history, you should know that the Serb-Albanian conflict has been going on long before al qaeda existed or bin laden was even born.