A ceremony to bless a plot of land in the village of Zogaj, Vushtrri, where the Prizren-Prishtina Diocese plans to build a church in the future, has sparked protests by residents of several villages in the municipality and triggered a public debate in Kosovo.

The event, held on August 17, was interpreted differently by the Municipality of Vushtrri and the Catholic Church of Kosovo.

Municipal authorities say they were not informed in advance about the laying of the cornerstone and that they had not received an application for a construction permit. The Church, on the other hand, insists that the municipality had been notified, while clarifying that the ceremony did not mark the start of construction work on the building.

The debate began to take public shape at the end of July, when the Council of the Islamic Community of Kosovo (BIK) in Vushtrri spoke out against the plan. Its statement said that in the area where the construction is planned, “not a single Catholic believer lives there and all the surrounding villages are Muslim.”

The Council stressed that “any project that may be perceived as provocative or that infringes on the feelings of the community must be addressed with responsibility and prudence.”

BIK in Vushtrri did not respond to Radio Free Europe’s (RFE/RL) request for further clarification.

The Prizren-Prishtina Diocese told RFE/RL that the ceremony had been misinterpreted. Dom Fran Kola, the episcopal vicar, explained that on August 17 the land was blessed and a cornerstone was laid for a religious building that could be constructed in the future.

According to him, the mayor of Vushtrri had been informed in advance about the ceremony, while the Kosovo Police had been notified during July.

Kola said the Diocese had planned to hold a Mass in Zogaj on August 18 to bless the site and baptize several people.

The baptism was moved to Mother Teresa Cathedral in Prishtina, with the stated aim of preserving calm and peace in Vushtrri and among the Albanian people.

Regarding the property, Kola said that the plot belongs to the Diocese and covers an area of 11,266 square meters. According to him, it was donated by the Musa family from Maxhunaj.

The BIK Council in Vushtrri has raised suspicions that the project may be backed by individuals whom it says are known for “divisive rhetoric” and “inciting interreligious hatred.”

Kola believes that in this case BIK was referring to movements that call for leaving Islam and converting to Christianity, including the Deçan Movement and the Return Movement.

“No movement, nor any political party, is involved. Absolutely not,” Kola said, emphasizing that the initiative is being led by the Diocese.

The Return Movement told RFE/RL that it has no role in the project, but that, at the request of residents, it distributed information about the August 17 ceremony.

Arbër Gashi, a representative of the organization, said the aim is not to build churches, but for “Albanians to peacefully return to the faith of their ancestors.”

Kosovo is a secular state. According to the 2024 population census, 93.49 percent of citizens identified as Muslim, 2.31 percent as Orthodox and 1.75 percent as Catholic.

Clashes between Muslim and Catholic believers over conversions have frequently appeared on social media. Numerous reactions also followed the publication of the plan to build the church in the Municipality of Vushtrri.

Gashi said that Musë Musa, whom he identified as one of the people who donated land for the construction of the church, is not a member of the Return Movement.

Earlier, a lawyer filed a criminal complaint with the Special Prosecution against Musa, accusing him of inciting hatred and intolerance. According to the lawyer’s allegation, Musa had called on social media for the killing of Muslims.

The Special Prosecution did not comment to RFE/RL on the matter.

Gashi said that the Return Movement does not support either hate speech or insults against members of another religious community. The Diocese also said it condemns anyone who insults believers of any faith.

The Diocese said that, based on the data available to it, more than 100 Catholic believers live in Vushtrri. According to the Diocese, “when a sufficient number is reached, we will turn to the competent authorities with a project and a request.”

This figure does not correspond with the results of the 2024 population census, in which only 37 residents of the Municipality of Vushtrri identified as Catholic.

Kola said that more than 300 to 500 people are needed to move the project forward.

Speaking about the August 17 ceremony, he said: “Construction was neither present in our minds, nor in our actions, nor will it be until we have a sufficient number of people to build a facility.”

Kosovo’s Constitution guarantees freedom of belief and religion for every citizen. Religious denominations have the right to organize their activities and rites independently, as well as to establish religious schools and charitable institutions. / RFE/RL

The post Why Is the Plan to Build a Church in Vushtrri Being Opposed? appeared first on Albeu.com.

The Raška and Prizren Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo has announced that work has resumed on the Deçan-Plav international transit road within the Special Protective Zone of Deçani Monastery. The Municipality of Deçan, meanwhile, said the activities involved only road maintenance.

According to the Diocese, neither it nor Deçani Monastery had received prior notice that the work would be carried out. They had also not been provided with project documentation or given any explanation regarding the purpose, scope or legal basis of the work.

Deçan Mayor Bashkim Ramosaj explained that maintenance had been carried out on the section in question over two days. According to him, the work included filling potholes, clearing grass and shrubs, and removing dust that had accumulated along the road.

Ramosaj said the activity had now been completed. He also said the municipality had undertaken similar work before, based on an agreement with the abbot of Deçani Monastery, Sava Janjiq.

“I ask everyone for understanding and for the need to maintain this section of the road to be viewed appropriately, while refraining from assessments and characterizations that do not reflect the actual situation,” Ramosaj said.

On July 29, the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo announced that the Implementation and Monitoring Council had not received information about the resumption of work near Deçani Monastery. The council includes two ministers from the Kosovo government and the Serbian Metropolitan Teodosije, while the heads of the European Union and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) missions in Kosovo also participate in its work.

The Raška and Prizren Diocese expressed hope that the Kosovo Police and other responsible institutions would immediately clarify “who ordered and approved the work, verify its legal basis and take all measures within their authority to ensure compliance with the law, the legal order and the Special Protective Zone regime, as well as to halt the work that has begun.”

The Law on Special Protective Zones was adopted in Kosovo in 2008, based on the Ahtisaari Plan. Its aim is to protect the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and its property.

The law ensures the protection of monasteries, churches and other religious sites belonging to the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo. It also covers other sites of cultural and historical value that are of special importance to the Serbian community.

Because it passes through the Protective Zone, construction of the Deçan-Plav highway has been suspended several times to date. However, through the Implementation and Monitoring Council, an agreement was reached in 2020 to build a bypass route around Deçani Monastery. This mechanism consists of representatives of the Kosovo government, the Serbian Orthodox Church and the international community.

Avdullah Hoti, who was Kosovo’s prime minister at the time, said the agreement followed constructive discussions that had lasted several months.

The Serbian List, the main political force representing Serbs in Kosovo and backed by Belgrade, also reacted to the case. According to the party, any action carried out outside the law and the procedures established to preserve spiritual and cultural heritage constitutes “a direct violation of the legal order and further endangers the security and survival of the heritage of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo.”

“We call on all competent institutions, as well as international representatives who guarantee the implementation of existing legal mechanisms, to react urgently, halt all activities that are not in accordance with the Special Protective Zone regime and ensure the full implementation of the law,” the Serbian List said in its response.

Serbia’s Government Office for Kosovo also called on international representatives in Kosovo to ensure the immediate suspension of the work.

The office described the activities as a visible part of “a broader policy of systematic pressure on the Serbian Orthodox Church and its faithful.” It claimed that this was precisely why the work was being carried out without the knowledge or approval of the Raška-Prizren Diocese and Deçani Monastery.

Its statement also said that even regulations adopted in Pristina were not being implemented when it came to the property and guaranteed rights of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo.

The medieval Deçani Monastery in Kosovo was recently visited by Pastor Mark Burns, an informal adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump on spiritual matters. In a statement to Radio Free Europe, he said he would convey his observations about the situation of the Serbian Orthodox Church and religious freedoms to the U.S. State Department.

Burns later wrote on the social media platform X that the U.S. State Department had begun diplomatic talks with Serbia “to hold Kosovo accountable for the mistreatment of Christians, including Serbian Orthodox Church believers.”

The issue of religious freedoms was also included in the Economic Normalization Agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, known as the Washington Agreement. The document was signed at the White House in September 2020, during Trump’s first presidential term.

Among other things, the document sets out both parties’ commitment to respecting religious freedoms. This includes resuming interfaith dialogue, preserving religious sites and implementing court decisions that provide protection to the Serbian Orthodox Church.

In 2023, Kosovo and Serbia also agreed on the Implementation Annex to the Agreement on the Path to Normalization of Relations. The annex mentions formalizing the status of the Serbian Orthodox Church and states that “Kosovo must ensure an additional level of protection for the sites and heritage of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo.”

Although the Agreement on the Path to Normalization of Relations has not been signed, the European Union, which mediates the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, has said the document is legally binding on both parties.

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