Religion and the Politics of Identity in Kosovo

click here for more details, find new or used items	Gerlachlus Duijzings New from £12.82 Used from £6.74 Pages: 250 (Paperback) ISBN: 0231120990 Pub: Columbia University Press Pub date: 2001-09-05 Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 482884

Reader Reviews:

A good read, but might be misleading (0/2 people found this helpful)

A good read. It gives an understanding that no side in Kosovo was led by religious extremism, or anything of that sort. In fact both ethnic groups (Albanians and Serbs) in Kosova can live side by side, but if and only if they're equal and treat each other as such.

What the book fails to discuss is the fact that the policies of Belgrade throughout the 1990s have led to a division between the oppressed and the oppressors. It fails to acknowledge that it was the authorities in Belgrade who divided the two peoples, hence the ultimate guilt lies with that regime.

The policies of repression and violence lead to divisions between people of different ethnicity, religion, culture, or even political views (for example, Zimbabwe). The author fails to point this out.

Excellent! (5/5 people found this helpful)

This is an excellent book on Kosovo. Ger Duijzings has spent a lot of time with all religious communities in the Province, and has understood that the conflict in Kosovo was not based on ethnic or religious hatred among various groups but was instead 'imported' and manufactured by those who wanted it to happen. His book is an important challenge to those who argue that identities (especially in Kosovo) are 'firm' and 'fixed' and in permanent conflict. I can't wait to see their response to Duijzing's argument.

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