Kosovo's Catholics and Muslims mark Ash Wednesday and Ramadan in one week

PRISTINA, Kosovo — Kosovo 's religious diversity came to light this week as the Balkan nation's Christian and Muslim communities both embarked on a traditional period of fasting and spiritual reflection.

This year marks a rare occasion when the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Catholics' Ash Wednesday coincided, encouraging tolerance and understanding between different religions.

Kosovo, a young nation of 2 million people, is more than 90% Muslim and is still reeling from a war in 1998-99 it waged for independence from predominantly Orthodox Christian Serbia. Kosovo's ethnic Albanian authorities have pledged to promote religious and ethnic tolerance following the conflict that killed 13,000 people.

On Wednesday evening, Catholics in Kosovo's capital Pristina gathered at the city's Mother Teresa Cathedral where worshippers had their forehead marked with ashes in a symbol of repentance for sins and humility.

To Catholics, the day marks the start of the 40-day Lent period of penance, solemn reflection and fasting before Easter. The Islamic holy month of Ramadan, similarly marking a period of increased worship before the holiday of Eid al-Fitr, started in Kosovo on Thursday.

“It is a special opportunity that this year we have Lent and Ramadan together," said Dode Palukaj, a Catholic. “What unites us is fasting, shared prayer, solidarity and love.”

Ash Wednesday and the start of Ramadan coincide approximately every 30 years or so. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar; the start of the month traditionally depends on the sighting of the crescent moon and may vary among countries.

Don Agim Qerkini, the Catholic priest in Pristina, praised religious tolerance in Kosovo over centuries, noting that divisions that still plague Kosovo have been stemming from national rather than religious differences.

“Faith is what enriched us for many centuries,“ he said. "It is a reality we are proud of, precisely because our history, as we all know, has faced many different hardships,"

Serbia still refuses to recognize Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence and the dispute between the two has been a source of continuous tension in the volatile Balkans.

Varis Hashimi, a Muslim from the southern historically multi-ethnic town of Prizren, has made it his mission to keep alive a tradition dating back to the centuries of Ottoman rule in Kosovo.

For the entire month of Ramadan, Hashimi walks every day to a medieval fortress above Prizren to light fireworks and thus signal the end of the daily fast. In the Ramadan tradition, families then get together for the evening meal.

Locals say this was done with a cannon in the past. Nowadays, Hashimi rushed uphill at sunset on Thursday to light his first fireworks this year into the sky.

“The idea is to revive an old tradition," he said.

Down the hill, Prizren's mosques echoed with Iftar, sounding the end of the daily fast as the town's restaurants opened their doors for hungry visitors.