[NYC-L] FW: Could you distribute

[Isa Blumi]

As regards to Simon's response and disjoinder as per
the religious aspect of the wars in the Balkans.  With
all due respect, the symbol itself is a religious
symbol and one cannot take the Serb vandalism and
symbolic targeting of religious communities and
promoting such activities using the vehicle of the
illegitimate "leadership" of the church which has
joined hands with neo-fascists.  A second point, I am
aware of the thin line one treads but if one were to
go back to the message, one will see I have sent two
seperate messages, the one to the reporters is not
reflecting on the inherent anti-Muslim aspects to the
gesture; in that respect, I have used the langauge to
adddress the issue to the Islamic-American relations
council out of frustration with my own multi-faith
community which has demonstrated an utter lack of
media savy has resulted in Kostunica being the sole
voice of authority on things Kosova.  I am desperately
trying to put Kosova back on the media map and as I
suggested in the letter, the fact the NBA is ignorant
to the antics of two Serb players reflects a lack of
interest in things not involving people who are
underrepresented in Washington.  And no, Divac or
Stojakovic do not have a "right" to use fascist
symbols on the platform they operate.  Neo Nazi's
using a stiff arm would never play in the league and I
think the victims of Serb facism in the 1990s should
have similar respect as per Divac.

If anyone is interested, I believe in the US in the
late afternoon, Divac and his teammate will appear on
NBC, Saturday.

I hope some of you in the states realize that we are
losing Kosova, that the process is excellerating and
it is, as I have always said, our fault.  We were
better than what we are going to get.

Tung,

Isa
--- SimonVukel at aol.com wrote:
> Regarding Isa Blumi's email, I have to admit I
> haven't watched enough 
> basketball lately to see what Divac has been doing
> on the court, so I can't 
> comment on that without seeing it for myself.  If in
> fact he has been 
> fluanting a Serb symbol of hatred, then he should be
> taken to task for it.  
> Thankfully we live in a free country and he can do
> as he wishes (as 
> unfortunate as his actions may be), but as Isa
> states, his team members and 
> his fans should at least be made aware of what that
> symbol potentially 
> represents before they join him in its expression.  
> 
> Nevertheless, I do have an issue with Isa Blumi's
> attempt to portray this as 
> a Muslim issue.  Serb aggression knew no religious
> boundaries -- Albanian 
> Christians and other non-Serb Christians were just
> as equally slaughtered as 
> Muslims, so it is unfortunate that Isa make this a
> call to arms, so to speak, 
> for Muslims.  I would encourage all Albanians to
> resist any effort to make 
> what happened in Kosova a religious issue.  It was
> not Christian vs. Muslim.  
> It was Serb vs. Albanian.  And whether one believes
> in God, Allah, Yahweh, or 
> none at all, let's all pray and hope that Kosova one
> day truly be free, and 
> that the nations of the Balkans can one day come to
> a peaceful understanding. 
>  They don't have to love each other, but no one's
> going anywhere, so they 
> might as well learn to live together.
> 
> Have a good weekend everyone.
> -Simon Vukel
> 
> 


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