Kosovo's Muslims surprise Catholic Albanian 

(28 Jun 2023)
FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER:4441927
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Pjetershan, Kosovo - 27 June 2023
1. Catholic church in Pjetershan village
HEADLINE: Kosovo's Muslims surprise Catholic Albanian
2. Wide of damaged home
3. Various of Imam Abdurrahman Bejtullahu and his aides bringing food and clothes
ANNOTATION: Ahead of a major Muslim festival, an Imam gifted a Catholic a much needed new home for the impoverished family.
ANNOTATION: Prenk Nreca, 41, has been living in a damaged house with his five children.
ANNOTATION: Last year, Imam Abdurrahman Bejtullahu saw the Nreca family's poor living conditions, and decided to raise funds for building a new home for the family.
4. Various of Bejtullahu showing Prenk Nreca and his sons the new house
ANNOTATION: Ahead of the Qurbani Eid, also known as Eid Al Adha in other parts of the Muslim world, the new house is almost ready.
ANNOTATION: During the festival, Muslims slaughter livestock and distribute the meat to the poor, or more generally donate to charitable causes.
5. SOUNDBITE (Albanian) Prenk Nreca:
++PARTIALLY OVERLAID WITH SHOTS 6-8++
"I thank the Imam. He came to visit me at difficult times, in the winter almost seven months ago, and took me and the five children to an apartment in Gjakova. He paid everything for me at the apartment, for six months. It has been bad weather. It was not possible to start building this home you are seeing now earlier. It is almost finished. I thank the Imam."
6. Bejtullahu showing Nreca and his sons the new house
7. Construction workers installing electric cables
8. Mid of new windows
9. Pan from old house to new house
ANNOTATION: Imam Bejtullahu said when someone is in need, religion is not an issue of concern. It is the Albanian national identity that unites people.
STORYLINE:
Ahead of a major Muslim festival, an Imam in Kosovo gifted a Catholic a much needed new home to an impoverished family.
Prenk Nreca, 41, has been living in a damaged house with his five children aged between 6 and 11 in Pjetershan, a village near Gjakova city some 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of the capital Pristina.
His wife had abandoned him last year, as she couldn't cope with the difficult life with the family.
Last Christmas, Imam Abdurrahman Bejtullahu saw the Nreca family's poor living condition from local news and decided to raise funds to build a new home for the family.
Nreca himself is unemployed and relies on sporadic daily jobs and people’s charity.
The Qurbani Eid, also known as Eid Al Adha in other parts of the Muslim world, is the festival of sacrifice, a joyous occasion celebrated by Muslims around the world to commemorate Ibrahim’s test of faith.
During the festival, Muslims slaughter livestock and distribute the meat to the poor, or more generally donate to charitable causes.
Bejtullahu said when someone is in need, religion is not an issue of concern.
Nreca said the Imam had helped him last year during the difficult winter season by paying for an apartment in the city for his family for six months.
Bad weather had delayed the building of his new home, Nreca said while showing the two-bedroom house. “It is almost finished. I thank the Imam.”
“God wanted us to come for the Qurbani Eid to show the surprise to them,” said Bejtullahu, adding they would soon hand over the keys.
Kosovo’s 1.8 million population is predominantly Muslim, with two smaller Catholic and Orthodox communities.
Nreca’s house was the 11th the Bereqeti has built since 2015.
AP video shot by Sylejman Kllokoqi
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