Sandzak

So I should probably post about Sandzak!
Novi Pazar is a city in the south of Serbia that is pretty ethnically split between Serbian (orthodox) and Serbian Muslims. It is about a five hour drive, through beautiful mountains and along a river and some crazy winding towns. Just gorgeous. Absolutely.
We stayed in a great hotel (for rather dark reasons it turns out. This area is home to a lot of organized crime and trafficking, and this hotel was (at least temporarily) the most honest. The Balkans in general are a crossroads between Turkey and the east and Europe and the west. This brings good and bad (money from trade- but also a black market and a history of violence) to the region without a doubt. The area is interesting because it had a major industry that has died out (major producers of textiles- jeans- and shoes previously) and has some interesting political things going on. The heavily Muslim area has two religious leaders who are dividing the community, and two political leaders who are doing so as well. One of the religious leaders has opened an (unaccredited) school for Islamic Studies. The division is huge though, and its interesting because the tension here is not between Serb and Bosniak (Bosnian Muslims, as the people here are. The whole region during Yugoslavia was ignored and the people relate their identity with the Bosniak group mostly). The division is entirely among the Muslim population. And its really about which leader you follow- the one linked to Belgrade, or the one linked to Sarajevo. But both leaders have HUGE control of everyday life. They own the media, the influence the politics with a degree of control I think Chenney would be jealous of, they influence education on all levels, and they are both very successful businessmen.
Rasa came with us. He is a friend of Orli's, and was working until about last month with OCSE (organization for cooperation and security in Europe) in Sandzak. Guide isn't really the right word but neither is host. He definitely arranged introductions and meetings for us and showed us around though. His (former) organization ran programs for the public- like counseling and support for trail witnesses and abuse victims. It also runs programs for the government- like training cops to be fair and honest, and pretty much better organized.
We also met with students from the new (several years old) Islamic Studied Faculty. We had this very interesting group discussion where they asked us what Americans thought of Islam. We said that people know it is misunderstood, but we don't really know what it is all about as a general population. A great unkown. They insisted it is a peaceful religion (which we all told them we already knew) and that media was misrepresenting them. One girl in particular was very outspoken and passionate about it. "Osama Bin Laden is not a Muslim," she said. "What he believes goes against everything our religion tells us. " It was interesting because these students so obviously wanted us to understand that they were not fanatics (although they did not sell that point to me very well) but were just human beings. The passion they had for their religion and their lifestyle was intense and overwhelming. I don't think I have ever felt that passionately about anything in my life- and i am a fairly passionate person about some things. This was an (intimidatingly) new level of dedication.
We asked if they felt like an ostracized minority in Serbia, and they said yes. Until recently by law they had to remove their head scarves for ID photos- which was humiliating and insulting and against their religion. They feel like second class citizens here for sure.
We also asked what they thought of Americans. They said that they had negative views, until they met some. This is such a universal truth it blows my mind. Everywhere I see prejudice it is gone once people actually meet and interact with someone of said category. They said their friends in America feel confident and free to practice and express their religion in public, and they are so happy to have heard this. They also said that they thought Americans were really good people, but corrupted and manipulated by the government and Hollywood. They don't hold the ordinary citizens responsible for the perceived war against Islam. Which when you look at it from their point of view is an understandable notion. After the attack by extremists who have been kicked out of every country in the middle east except Afghanistan, the US invades first Afghanistan and then Iraq. The media at home shows Islam to be the source of danger and conflict, and within the United States conditions for Muslim people decline. I would probably feel threatened by the United States too.
Some of the statements made though really made me wonder. One guy- who converted from orthodoxy after giving up his pro-soccer career and apparent bad boy ways here in Belgrade- said that people who read the books and religious texts converted. and it was a FACT. It was also a fact that all civilization sprung from Muhammad.
We went to lunch with these students, and they were so nice. So sweet, so interesting and interested. It was hard for me to reconcile this political conservativeness and religious fervor (I think all things in extreme are bad) with people being so generous, and taking the time on a saturday to wait around for us. They so wanted us to see them as peaceful (so true) and loving (so true) regular people. It was a very interesting experience.
We also spoke to two of the only journalists who try to present fair and factual news in the region. It is hard when 4 of the 5 media outlets are owned by the religious leader who also runs the faculty (college) and pretty much the rest of life as well. One is the founder of Radio 100+ and the other is a journalist. This whole country suffers from a lack of journalistic integrity. The propoganda and misinformation that spreads is unbelievable. A left over from the socialist and Milosevic days of totalitarian control.

In less serious manner- i had the best cevapi so far in Novi Pazar. It is this ground beef dish served with onions and this fantastic bread. Its amazing. We also had terrible pear rakja (local brandy that is very popular and can be very good) and saw one of the oldest Orthodox monasteries. It was beautiful on this huge hill and just gorgeous.
Unfortunately, everything on this trip was tainted by some form of political scandal. The orthodox monastery was partially funded by the government (it was just rebuilt) in an effort to keep people quiet and satisfy political demands. Because Belgrade didn't want the region to claim for independence like the rest of the regions here (kosovo, montenegro etc.) they have just ignored it for twenty years. This allows huge crime to take place, and tax free sales. and no infrastructure or public works.

It was all very interesting and a very pretty place...pictures to come don't worry. But i am really returning to bed now.