Kilka uwag o konfliktach albańsko-serbskich na tle religijnym w wilajecie kosowskim na przełomie XIX i XX w. (wybrane przykłady)

Abstract

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century Albanian-Serbian conflicts in Villayet of Kosovo often transformed into tensions on religious background. Most of them broke out between the Muslim Albanians and the Orthodox Serbs. However, one should keep in mind that there were also relatively frequent tensions between the Orthodox Serbian population and Albanian Catholics, especially from the part of Metochia (surroundings of the Djakovica city). The escalation of the religious tensions between Albanians and Serbs in Villayet of Kosovo occurred at the turn of the 20th century (1898–1903). To a large measure the responsibility fell on the Albanian Muslim refugees (muhadjiri), settling in the Villayet of Kosovo since the end of the 80s of the 19th century, after they were expelled from Serbia. This population often attacked Serbs, especially those who lived along the Villayet of Kosovo’s border with Serbia (at that time – until 1912 – it was the Turkish-Serbian border). With time, in the turbulent beginning of the 20th century, whole groups of Muslim and Catholic Albanians from Metochia and Kosovo were antagonized with Serbs. The Albanian-Serbian neighborhood rarely was not marked with violence, continuous clashes and incidents of different kind. The text deals with quoting a variety of data and observations concerning Albanian-Serbian conflicts, motivated by religious tensions. An attempt at characterizing their specificity, showing the real sizes and sketching contexts associated with them is made.