Michael Totten wrote an article in the City Journal chronicling the successful democracy that has arisen in Kosovo. The Muslims in Kosovo are not only pro-American, pro-democracy, and pro-Israel, they are also free to choose whatever religion they will follow. In February 2008, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia and became a nation. No Arab country has recognized this nation, but Saudi Arabia says it is planning to do so. The article tells the story of the genocide that was directed at the country by Slobodan Milošević during the time he was dictator of Yugoslavia. The tiny country has survived that and is now a nation.
According to the article:
"There is, however, a small group of radicals inside Kosovo who would like to transform moderate Balkan Islam into the much sterner Wahhabi variety practiced in Saudi Arabia. Several well-funded Saudis and other Gulf Arabs moved to Kosovo after the 1999 war to rebuild destroyed mosques and to impose Wahhabism on the decadent locals. Most ethnic Albanians across the political and religious spectrum in Kosovo resent these intrusions, partly because ornate Ottoman-style mosques destroyed by the Serbian military are being replaced with severe Wahhabi-style monstrosities, but also because hardly any Albanians seek guidance from the backward and authoritarian Arab world. "We don't call them Wahhabis here," a well-connected Albanian woman tells me. "We call them Binladensa, the people of bin Laden." In Kosovo, that isn't a compliment."
The above paragraph shows me that education and democracy are the keys to peace in the middle east. People who are free to choose their religion and who go to work everyday are less likely to become terrorists. We need to find a way to show the radical Muslims that they can live in peace and follow their religion.
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