Chauvinism Hidden Behind Religion: The Case of the Church in the Courtyard of the University of Prishtina

Abstract

This article critically examines the construction of the Serbian Orthodox “Church of Christ the Savior” in the courtyard of the University of Prishtina during the 1990s, framing it as a symbolic and ideological act of occupation rather than a religious endeavor. Positioned within the broader context of Serbian nationalist-chauvinist policy under Slobodan Milosevic, the church’s construction is analyzed as a calculated attempt to assert Serbian dominance over Kosovo’s cultural and educational spaces during a period of institutional apartheid and ethnic repression. The paper argues that this act represents a flagrant violation of international humanitarian and human rights law, including the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Convention on Cultural Property, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Far from serving a local religious community, the church functioned as a hybrid weapon—an instrument of propaganda cloaked in religious symbolism to project control, erase Albanian identity, and reshape historical narratives. The study also deconstructs contemporary efforts to rehabilitate the church's image through propagandistic discourse in Serbian media and pseudo-academic commentary, highlighting how such narratives serve as tools of strategic mobilization and interethnic polarization. Ultimately, the paper argues that the issue should not be framed as a matter of heritage protection within Kosovo–Serbia dialogue, but as a legacy of illegal occupation and symbolic violence. By dissecting the fusion of nationalism, religion, and propaganda, the article reveals how the misuse of faith can become a strategic instrument of domination in hybrid warfare.