When not leading prayers in his village mosque in western Kosovo, imam Drilon Gashi was scribbling some unorthodox thoughts on social media — like his belief in evolution.
Eventually, the embrace of both Islam and Darwinism cost him his job.
The 31-year-old was unceremoniously expelled from his post by top clergy last month, in what he says is evidence of the growing threat to Kosovo’s traditionally moderate brand of Islam.
Photo: AFP
“Living creatures are created by evolution, but this evolution is led by God,” Gashi told reporters of his theory of how Islam is compatible with the theory. “Science reveals natural phenomena as God created them.”
The political future of Kosovo, a young and troubled democracy on the EU’s fringe, is to be decided in a general election on Sunday — the fourth since the former Serbian province declared independence in 2008.
However, behind the headlines is a different battle for the soul of its dominant faith.
Embracing evolution would not seem that unusual in Kosovo, whose population of 1.8 million has long been known for its moderate flavor of Islam.
More than 90 percent of Kosovars identify as Muslim, according to a 2011 census.
Yet alcohol flows freely and abundantly, the people are famous for an ardent love of all things American and most do not wear religious dress.
However, this identity has shifted over the past two decades, with a religious revival in the late 1990s opening a schism between traditional practitioners and a new wave of imams trained abroad.
After the 1998-1999 independence war with Serbia, an influx of Persian Gulf charity money built hundreds of mosques in Kosovo, spread new teachings, and gave imams scholarships to study abroad in places like Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Gashi was one of those beneficiaries, studying in Medina, Saudi Arabia. However, he did not take to the doctrine practiced there, and the religious establishment did not like his “modern opinions,” he told reporters.
Back in Kosovo, whose Muslim roots date back to Ottoman rule, he took up his mandate at a new, Dubai, United Arab Emirates-funded mosque in Vitomirice, a village of about 5,000 people.
On social media and in comments to the local press, he aired his views.
For the Islamic Community of Kosovo (BIK), the top clerical body, this constituted a “gross violation.”
“His principles are contrary to the principles of Islam and our internal regulations,” BIK spokesperson Ahmet Sadriu told reporters after his expulsion last month.
Globally, views vary on Charles Darwin’s theory in the Muslim world. Some Muslim academics say that the Koran is less explicit on creation than the Bible’s Book of Genesis.
Xhabir Hamiti, a professor of Islamic studies, said Gashi’s beliefs might be controversial, but “it would be better and more useful if we had a debate” on the topic in Kosovo.
For Gashi’s fans, the sacking was the latest sign of a shrinking space for moderates.
“Congratulations Drilon! You know far more than these ignorant and conservative religious representatives,” one Facebook user wrote in support.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese