ISA BOJA: How can Kosovo win recognition from the Vatican?

On 18-19 October 2024, in Prishtina, a conference was held in memory of Rexhep Boja—my late grandfather. Commemorated in particular was Boja’s defining role in forging Kosova’s relations with the ‘Muslim world’ during the country’s struggle for independence, and in the decades following. His success, which many of the conference’s distinguished speaker guests—including the former Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the former President of Kosova, Fatmir Sejdiu, and the former Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Kosova, Enver Hoxhaj affirmed—was down to his pioneering command of interfaith diplomacy. All of Kosova’s recognitions from Muslim-majority countries, particularly the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, are attributed to Boja’s statesmanship.

Rexhep Boja (1946-2021) served a leading role in the decade leading to Kosova's emancipation from Serbia in 1999 as the country's Grand Mufti and Islamic Community President (1991-2003). Boja's career included many other significant firsts. He was the first Albanian to achieve a doctorate in Islamic theology, later founding and serving as Dean of the Prishtina University Faculty of Islamic Studies. Notably, he served as Kosova's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, the Maldives, and Djibouti (2010-2018). Watch Boja's exclusive with Ahmed Mansour for Al-Jazeera, and read Peter Steinfels profile of him for The New York Times.

Boja, nonetheless, serves as a stark reminder of the importance of Kosova pursuing interfaith diplomacy. By reviving this form of diplomacy, integrating it more closely to the periphery of national foreign policy strategy, Kosova has a much stronger chance in bringing about new recognitions, particularly by Abrahamic faith-based countries, than without.

Among such potential recognisers is the Vatican, which, along with Kenya, is widely speculated within Kosova's diplomatic circles to be close to recognising Kosova. This month, Serbia sent its First Lady, Tamara Vucic, to Nairobi to dance away—quite literally—Kenya’s anticipated recognition of Kosova, at least for now. So, the attention has shifted to the Vatican, in hopes that it will be the 118th recogniser of Europe’s youngest country. And what may give the Vatican the final push towards extending recognition is Kosova’s engagement with the Document on Human Fraternity.

The last country to recognise Kosova was Israel in 2021, shortly before the incumbent Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz, took office. No country has recognised Kosova since.

The Document on Human Fraternity, formally known as the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, is a joint statement signed by Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb, outlining a framework for fostering peaceful coexistence and mutual respect among different faiths. In 2000, following the war in Kosova, the country's Muslim, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic religious leaders established a joint council to promote democracy and human rights. "With one united voice, we strongly condemn all acts of violence and violations of human rights" the leaders—Grand Mufti Boja, Artemije Radosavljevic, Orthodox Biship of Rasko-Prizren, and Bishop Marko Skopi of Kosova's Roman Catholic Church—declared in Prishtina.

Signed on February 4, 2019, in Abu Dhabi, the Document on Human Fraternity signifies a revival of interfaith diplomacy within the context of world politics. To date, many of Kosova’s allies, including the United States,  recognise the Document on Human Fraternity as part of their efforts to consolidate this form of diplomacy. In a presidential statement celebrating the International Day of Human Fraternity—an officially recognised United Nations day commemorating the signing of the Document on Human Fraternity—President Biden said that “an open dialogue with people of all backgrounds, cultures, and faiths is vital… [and the International Day of Human Fraternity, by extension, the Document on Human Fraternity that it honours]… offers us an opportunity to see each other as equals, created in the image of God.”

The signing of the Document on Human Fraternity took place during Pope Francis’ historic visit to the UAE in 2019—the first-ever visit by a pontiff to the Arabian Peninsula. Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of al-Azhar in Egypt, the highest seat of learning for Sunni Muslims, and is therefore regarded as the leading figure in Sunni Islam. Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic Church, leads the Vatican. Both the Pope and the Grand Imam, along with the UAE, are strongly committed to the Document on Human Fraternity. The UAE established the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity in memory of their late founder, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and in tribute of the Pope and Imam’s joint historic declaration.

The Document on Human Fraternity shares many of the principles espoused by Kosova’s Constitution, including Human Dignity, Peace and Tolerance, Social Justice, and Equality and Non-Discrimination, to name a few. Ibrahim Rugova, the ‘father’ of modern-day Kosova, whose son, Ukë Rugova, also attended the late Boja’s conference, met Pope Francis’ predecessor, Pope John Paul II, who blessed Kosova’s historic first president, expressing “the hope that [Rugova’s] contribution and efforts to achieve a just peace in Kosova would be immediately successful”. The war ended just over a month later after their meeting, on June 12, 1999.

There’s a strong possibility that Kosova’s commitment to the Document on Human Fraternity could bring about what I call a 'threefold' progress for the country’s diplomacy. I’m particularly compelled by this possibility, especially given my participation in a series of high-level diplomatic events celebrating the Document on Human Fraternity’s fifth anniversary earlier this year. These events included the first-ever Majlis (Arabic for assembly) on Human Fraternity at the Abrahamic Family House, the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity 2024 Ceremony, and the Roundtable on Human Fraternity in Abu Dhabi.

This 'threefold' progress includes, I believe, the potential for Vatican recognition, as the Document on Human Fraternity is dear to the Pope. Kosova’s recognition of it could compel the Pope to extend Vatican recognition to Kosova. Additionally, it involves strengthening interfaith and cultural diplomacy with the UAE, as well as providing a basis to revive relations with Egypt, given the Grand Imam’s leadership in the Document on Human Fraternity and his influence in Egypt, which is on par, if not greater, than that of the country’s president.

However, regarding Egypt, Kosova has had rather absent relations with the country, particularly in light of the current War in Gaza and Kosova’s recognition of Jerusalem—both East and West—as Israel’s capital. This makes attempts to strengthen relations with Egypt all the more important. Ambassador Boja prevented Egypt from rescinding its recognition of Kosova.

This belief was affirmed by my conversations at the events with several key figures, including, among others, President José Ramos-Horta of Timor-Leste, the UAE’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahyan, Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, Secretary-General of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity, Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam, Secretary-General of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity, Ambassador Khalid Al-Ghaith, Cardinal Miguel Ayuso Guixot, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue of the Holy See, and Former Vice President of Costa Rica, Epsy Campbell Barr.

The Document on Human Fraternity is currently the leading manifestation of interfaith diplomacy in today’s contemporary and often hostile international political arena. It also presents an opportunity for Kosova to reconnect with this form of diplomacy, which has historically benefited the country’s international consolidation of statehood. I presented this, as a comprehensive foreign affairs strategy, to Kosova’s Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairss—whose portfolio particularly focuses on the MENA regions—Kreshnik Ahmeti, and Speaker of Kosova’s Parliament, Glauk Konjufca.

This past year, I served in the Cabinet of Kosova’s Foreign Minister at her request, through the government’s “Citizen Diplomacy Fellowship,” which aimed to engage the second-generation diaspora in supporting the nation’s domestic and international development. I approached this role as an act of patriotic public service, non-politically. Based on my time in Cabinet, I’m not aware of any other strategies for fostering relations with the Vatican or enhancing ties with the UAE and Egypt.