Markovic: The goal is to present Serbian cultural heritage as Albanian

Historian Marko Markovic assessed for Kosovo Online regarding an article in the Pristina-based "Koha", in which the Church of Our Lady of Ljevis in Prizren is presented as if it were built on the "foundations of a pagan Dardanian sanctuary", that this was another form of abusing history for political purposes with a clear goal of presenting Serbian and Christian cultural heritage as Albanian.

"In this case, the attack on our cultural heritage is clear, with a long-term goal, considering everything that has happened in recent months, and I would say even years, it creates a clear picture and a clear goal, not only for Albanian political elites but also for the professional public", Markovic said.

Responding to the "Koha" article, the Visoki Decani Monastery stated that there were no concrete written pieces of evidence "about any Dardanian ethnic churches" and that the text incorrectly represented the history of the church in Prizren, with which Markovic agrees.

"I call on the Albanians who claim otherwise to show written historical sources that confirm their claims, to present the results of archaeological research that confirm their claims, and then, based on historical sources, we can interpret the past of this Christian sanctuary", Markovic said.

Markovic recalls that this is not the first attempt to rewrite Serbian history.

"The goal is clear, what they did during the Ottoman occupation, for example, converting Our Lady of Ljevis into a Friday mosque, colloquially speaking, because prayers of Islamic believers were held there on Fridays, so because of that it is called Friday mosque, today they are looking to abuse that term as if it is something else, which it truly isn't, and the goal is clear, to appropriate this religious and cultural heritage of the Serbs", Markovic said.