The case of Hoxha’s tragic death from Dragash once again exposed the tragicomic situation among Albanians, especially Islamophobia on the part of Catholics, and not only. This is a phenomenon that I wrote about a few months ago and which I am still bringing up today.

The phenomenon of Islamophobia and religious intolerance among us

It has been a while since I started to think that maybe we are lying to ourselves when we say that we are the most tolerant people towards those who have other religious affiliations. I think that the relatively new phenomenon of the Internet and social networks has revealed to us a rather bitter reality, which speaks of a certain level of intolerance of a significant part of Albanians towards Albanians of other religious affiliations.

Perhaps I can be a bit subjective, but from what I have encountered for a long time, it seems to me that a part of the Albanian Catholic community often shows more intolerance and not a few insults towards the Albanian Muslim community. I come across this almost every day in informative and peaceful writings, lectures or pronouncements made by Albanian Muslims. It often happens that Albanian Catholic commentators enter these spaces and leave very offensive and religiously derogatory comments.

In addition to insults against Islamic religious personalities, very low insults are often encountered, made without any reasonable cause, but simply out of a senseless hatred towards their Muslim Albanian “brothers”. Anyone who wants to prove what I’m saying can go to the pages of some hoxhallars and read their posts, which are usually written in a reasonable tone and without offending anyone. However, in the comments below them, there are often offensive reactions, especially from some Catholic commentators, who do not enter there to be informed or to debate in a civilized way, but only to belittle and offend the Hoxhallars, Islam and the Albanian Muslim community.

I do not claim that some Albanian Muslims do not act in a similar way towards Catholic Albanians. Even from their side there are cases of insults and swearing. However, from what I have observed, their numbers and the language used do not seem to be at the same level as that often used by some Catholic commentators towards Muslims.

Unfortunately, the fine legacy of religious harmony built up over generations by priests and priests seems to be fading in recent decades. Every day more and more, the golden orders they left us risk remaining only as memories in some writings, like this one of mine today. Or maybe this religious harmony was just an illusion on our part; an illusion which, by repeating it often in our minds and in our writings, became a reality for us, but not for others. We forgot that others felt differently about us, or maybe we wanted to forget that. So, as long as this feeling existed among us, we ourselves generalized it, made it universal. And now, when the balance of power became more unequal, we found ourselves leaning against the wall, perhaps to some extent even hurt by a reality that is not today’s, but that is relatively well masked, even by ourselves. We received orders, but orders do not always reflect the will of those on whose behalf they are spoken, at least not the other side. However, those orders are valid and deserve to be experienced when they are read, and not be used as baseless evidence to cover up an existing reality.

“Without unity of Albanians, without religious differences, there can be no strong Albania.” (Hoxhë Vehbi Agolli, Mufti of Albania and delegate of the Declaration of Independence of Albania.)

“We really have Bajram and Easter, but we have Albania together.” (Gjergj Fishta, Franciscan priest and prominent figure of Albanian culture.)

“Albanians must respect other people’s religion as their own.” (Anton Harapi)

“The unity of Albanians is stronger than any religious difference.” (Haxhi Zeka, leader and outstanding personality of the League of Peja.)

*Hoxhe known in one of the mosques of Pristina

Source: prizrenpost