“Brothers who used to be Muslim are not always received kindly by practicing Muslims,” explains Saliu Abazi, a former Muslim who speaks Albanian, “and our families wrongly conclude that we have abandoned them because we have chosen a new religion. Then, too, because of the ethnic tensions between Albanians and Serbs, it is not always easy for former Muslims to preach to Serbs.”

Nevertheless, a multiethnic group of 30 people was meeting together in Saliu’s home. “In those years,” remembers Saliu, “meetings were held in Serbian, and we received our literature from Belgrade. One day the police unexpectedly came to my house. At the time the brothers from Belgrade had just delivered the literature, and we were all associating together. When I told the police that they were my brothers, they could not comprehend how Serbs and Albanians could be brothers.” In 1998 this group of publishers was able to rent a place for use as a Kingdom Hall in the largest city in Kosovo, Priština.

In the spring of 1999, ethnic tensions and nationalism intensified alarmingly. “My neighbor threatened that if my son and I did not join the war, our house would be burned down,” relates Saliu. “The political climate had a terrible effect on people. Because they did not recognize the former Serb government, laws could not be enforced, and people became violent and did whatever they pleased.”

As the political situation deteriorated, conditions became increasingly difficult for Serbs living in Kosovo. During the conflict of 1999, both Serbs and Albanians by the thousands were forced to flee to neighboring countries. Yet, in that climate of extreme ethnic strife, Saliu risked his life by allowing his Serb brothers to take refuge in his home.

[Picture on page 235]

Saliu Abazi