Religious Reactions

Reactions by religious leaders around the world have been varied, but have often conformed to the religious divisions which underlie the conflicts in the Balkans. Be sure the read my article describing the fundamental religious causes to what has occured in Kosovo.

Muslim reactions to the NATO bombings of Serbian targets are positive, but strained. Muslims have traditionally condemned US attacks on other nations like Iraq, Sudan and Afghanistan. They, of course, are predominantly Muslim countries. Now there is a notable silence, punctuated by regular praises of Western actions. Arri Atwan, editor of the London-based Arab language newspaper Al Quds points out that "The Americans are bombing under the banner of protecting Muslims. It would not look very nice if the Arab world was opposing that."

Jordan

The new King Abdullah has recalled his ambassador from Belgrade in protest of Serbian actions in Kosovo and has joined manyh other Arab nations in pledging humanitarian assistance to the Kosovo refugees now filling neighboring countries.

Muslim Brotherhood

Jordan's powerful Muslim Brotherhood Movement has criticized NATO and the Serbs over Kosovo, calling the conflict in the Balkans a "dangerous international conspiracy." The movement strongly condemned the Serb government in Yugoslavia for its "barbaric aggression against Muslims in Kosovo," saying it reflects "a deep and historical Serb criminal hatred" towards the Muslim Kosovars.

Hammas

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has condemned the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for its persecution of the ethnic Muslim Albanians in Kosovo, soundly denouncing the "bloody massacres executed by the Serb forces against the Muslims of Kosovo." The group also criticized the NATO air bombardments against Yugoslavia as a Western enforcement "of controlling the Balkans under the pretext of protecting human rights and fighting so-called terrorism."

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has slammed Yugoslavia over "ethnic cleansing" against Moslems in Kosovo and said it was sending two plane-loads of aid to refugees who had fled to Albania.The Saudi Press Agency is quoted as saying "The kingdom...strongly condemns the policy of collective punishment and ethnic cleansing being implemented by the regime of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic against the Moslem people of Kosovo." In an editorial the Saudi newspaper al-Madina has said of the bombings: "It is teh only way to save teh Kosovo Albanians. NATO cannot back away."

Afghanistan

Cruise missles launched from by the United States rained down upon Afghanistan just last year in an attempt to kill Osama bin Laden, a Saudi businessman suspected of being behind the bombings of two US embassies in Africa. But now the ruling Taliban party which has been terrorizing citizens all over the country in an effort to impose their own repressive version of Islam has declared the use of armed force to be justified in Kosovo. I'm not sure if that should be considered an endorsement or instead a reason to reconsider.

The Taliban representative in the US, Abdul Hakeen Mujahid, has also said that the NATO bombings would not likely be enough to achieve an end to Serb burtality in Kosovo. He stated that Afghanistan would fully support any insertion of Western ground forces: "We want the NATO powers to prevent Serb brutality and provide protection to teh Muslims." Brutality is bad if it is emplyed by Orthodox Chrisitans against Muslims, but apparently is just fine when it is employed by Taliban Mulims against other Mulims who transgress the Taliban's ideas of Islamic law.

Iran

President Mohammed Khatami of Iran has offered just about the only vocal criticism from the Arab world of NATO bombings, but it's a good bet that he is only saying what others wish to avoid.He doesn't attack the bombings per se, but fears that they will spark even more violence among the Serbs. He has little or no sympathy whatsoever for Belgrade.

Holy Synod, Greece

Leaders of the Orthodox Church condemned NATO airstrikes against Yugoslavia and have appealed for an end to the conflict in Kosovo. The Holy Synod, the Greek Orthodox Church's ruling body, said in a statement it will appeal to the United Nations, NATO and the European Union for an immediate end to the airstrikes. Their statements have expressed "pain at the military attacks against a heroic and glorious Christian people, such as the Serbs, and against an independent European country such as Yugoslavia."

Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and all Greece, head of the Greek Orthodox Church, has urged to stop the war in Yugoslavia and to restore peace, because "no one has the right to kill peaceful civilians and violate territorial integrity."

Holy Synod, Russia

The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church called for a stop to the military action in Yugoslavia by April 2, but that obviously didn't work. The Holy Synod has passed an address to NATO's leadership, Yugolsav President Slobodan Milosevic, and other statesmen of Yugoslavia, saying that "this time can be used for consultations and talks that are necessary for finding compromise solutions. The Synod's statement called the fighting in Yugoslavia a "sin before God and a crime against humanity"

According to news reports, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Alexiy II considers the "Happy Easter" blasphemous writing on bombs dropped by the Royal Air Force in Yugoslavia is an outrage upon the holy feelings of the Serb people, P said on Sunday. "The NATO countries which call themselves Christian are far from the Christian ideals. That is a real blasphemy," the Patriarch said. There are no reports indicating that he considers the Serb slaughter of Muslims to be Christian or blasphemous.

Anglican Church

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, said that NATO was correct to launch its bombardment of Yugoslavia but it was important to get people round the negotiating table as quickly as possible. "The evils of ethnic cleansing and the dispersed populations are factors that no civilised person can be happy about," Carey, head of the world's 70 million Anglicans, said in a BBC television interview.

Catholic Cardinals

Eight Catholic cardinals, in letters to President Clinton and Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, haved called for a cessation of hostilities while the head of the U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops outlined steps to end "the unfolding human tragedy in the Balkans."

Vatican

The Pope and Vatican officials have repeatedly aske for a stop to bombings in Serbia, making much more noise now than they did when the Serbs were killing Muslims

Israel

Isreali Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the allegation that his government has offered only tepid support for the NATO bombing campaign. But debate is growing as to whether a nation founded on the ashes of the Holocaust has a greater moral obligation than others to denounce what is being called by refugees and many officials as a systematic campaign of genocide.

"Israel's silence is shrieking," the leading daily Haaretz said in a sharply worded editorial in Wednesday's editions. "A much-persecuted nation, well versed in pogroms, cannot stand on the side, watching an institutionalized process of exterminating civilians based on religion and ethnicity."

"As a human being, as a Jew, as an Israeli ... I see no greater horror than the systematic murder of innocent people and the tragic creation of a vast wave of refugees," Netanyahu's leading challenger, Ehud Barak, told the Yugoslav ambassador to Israel on Tuesday night.

See Also:

Religious Wars in the Balkans
In what ways are the conflicts in the Balkans, like in Bosnia or Kosovo, ultimately reducible to religious hatred?

Albania
Facts and details about this key nation

Balkan Overview
An overview of the different ethnic/religious groups involved

Kosovo
Basic facts and details about Kosovo, including a historical time line.

Slobodan Milosevic
Who is he and where did he come from?

Regional History
Brief overview of the Balkan region and what has historically happened there.

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