Islam in Albania

The lead mosque in Shkodra was built at the end of the 18th century; Although it was placed under cultural monument protection in 1948, its minaret was demolished.

The Islam in Albania there is the religion with the most followers. It is divided into two directions: the majority of Albanian Muslims are Sunnis , a significant minority are followers of non- Sunni Sufi orders such as the Bektashi .

The information on the number of Muslims today is contradictory. Neither the Islamic communities nor the Albanian authorities conducted a religion - or confessional - statistics . Various estimates and studies assume 40 to 45 percent, around 60 percent or even 70 to 79.9 percent of the total population. After the European part of Turkey and Kosovo , Albania is the European country with the third highest Muslim population: Among the Albanians of neighboring Kosovo and North Macedonia , the proportion of Muslims is between 95 and 98 percent. Many Albanians, regardless of religion or denomination, no longer practice their faith since the ban on religion in 1968.

distribution

Muslims live in all parts of Albania. In the center, in the south and in the north-east of the country they form the majority of religions almost everywhere. The Bektaschi are mainly represented in the center of the country and in the south and have their strongholds in the regions of Bulqiza , Gramsh , Skrapar and Tepelena . Other Sufi orders such as the Mevlevi and Halveti are hardly or not at all present today, especially because of the religious ban in the communist period.

In 2002, 17 different Islamic associations were registered with the state authorities, running mosques , Koran schools , etc. Some of them are led by foreign missionaries from Arab countries , Turkey and Iran . There are some general education schools run by Muslims whose curricula, like those of Christian schools, are reviewed and approved by the Ministry of Education. In April 2011 Bedër University, Albania's first Islamic university, was opened in the capital Tirana; In 2018 it was converted into the Bedër University .

The two Muslim festivals known as Bajram are national holidays in Albania, as is Christian Christmas .

Selim Muça was chairman of the (Sunni) Council of Muslims and Grand Mufti of Albania from 2004 to 2014 . Skënder Bruçaj has been chairman of the Muslim Community of Albania since 2014 . Baba Edmond Brahimaj has presided over the Bektashi since 2011 .

history

The Et'hem Bey Mosque in the capital Tirana is one of the finest examples of Ottoman architecture in Albania. In the photo the inner dome is shown, with the typical ornaments as decoration

Islam finds its way into Albania

The first Muslims probably came to what is now Albania in the 9th century. At the beginning of the Ottoman rule in Albania - in the south at the beginning, in the north towards the end of the 15th century - almost exclusively Turkish immigrants in the cities (mainly merchants, craftsmen and soldiers) were followers of Islam. Added to this were the timariots , who were scattered across the country and made up a significant proportion of the new landowning upper class. For these immigrant Muslims, sizeable mosques were built during this time - among others the King Mosque of Elbasan , the King Mosque of Berat , the Mirahor Mosque  in Korça, the Fatih Mosque in Durrës - or churches were converted into such. The Islamic sacred and urban architecture of the Ottomans ( Ottoman architecture ) shaped the image of almost all Albanian cities as early as the 16th century.

Reasons for islamization

Arabic inscription on the outer wall of the Halveti-Tekke in Berat . The Halveti are a branch of Sufism .

The Islamization of large parts of the population began at the beginning of the 16th century, again more and more in the south than in the north. There were several reasons for the success of the new denomination among the Albanians : The Ottoman Celeb system's favoring of cattle breeding suited those parts of the population who lived as semi-nomadic migrant herders . As a Muslim, one could best participate in this system. As in Bosnia , many aristocrats converted to Islam in order to continue to belong to the landed upper class as timariots and spahis . The cities that flourished under Ottoman rule, such as Elbasan , Berat , Delvina and others, were targets of internal migration . The new residents coming from the country soon adopted the beliefs and culture of the Islamic upper class. Another important reason for converting to Islam was that Muslims did not have to pay poll tax . Ultimately, the strong Islamization of Albania was also due to the fact that many men from the poor country sought their fortune with the Ottoman military, where they soon adopted the new faith. The social and economic reasons, which were often the motivation to change religion , led to the fact that some converts were crypto-Christians who secretly continued to celebrate the old religion. Often only the head of the family converted at first and his relatives remained Christians. Forms of Islamic-Christian syncretism also developed . In the north, for example, it is common for Muslim farmers to ask for the Catholic cattle blessing for their herds and for the priests to donate it.

Historical research assumes that the Albanians were less attached to the church at the time of the Turkish conquest than among other Balkan peoples because the country was divided between Eastern and Western churches and because the church in the rival principalities had few institutions, few possessions and thus had little influence on the population. This is said to have favored the Islamization of Albania.

At the end of the 16th century, the vast majority of townspeople were Muslim, while 80 percent of the villages were still Christian. During the 17th century, the pressure on Christians to convert increased. On the one hand, this had political causes - the Ottomans were increasingly on the defensive against the Christian powers, and on the other hand there were economic reasons - the decline of the timar system led to increased exploitation, especially of Christian farmers, by the large landowners. In order to avoid at least the poll tax, entire village communities often converted to Islam in the 17th century. Since that time Albania has been a predominantly Muslim country.

First half of the 20th century

When Albania became independent in 1912, the Muslims, the largest religious group, played a leading role in founding the state. In contrast to the Christian-dominated Balkan states, the Muslim upper class did not migrate to Turkey. The Muslim institutions remained. The Albanian King Ahmet Zogu , who ruled Albania from 1925 to 1939, was a Muslim, but at least did not practice his belief in public. Always aiming at a balance between the religions and sometimes depending on the favor of the Catholic tribes and the Italians , he married a Catholic countess from Hungary .

The Koran was first translated into Albanian in the 1920s . The translator Ilo Mitkë Qafëzezi , a Christian, followed French and English models in his 1921 work. The translation of the Koran by the religious scholar Ibrahim Dalliu from Tirana followed the original Arabic text and appeared in 1929.

In 1925 all dervish orders ( Tekke ) in Turkey were closed under Ataturk and the world center of the Bektaschi, who were influential in the Ottoman Empire, was settled in the Albanian capital Tirana , where it was re-established even after the ban on religion in Albania was lifted in 1990. In the interwar period, the reform movement of the Ahmadiyya from northern India developed its missionary activity in Albania. The only European country with a Muslim majority should be the starting point for the mission in Europe. The success was modest.

In the People's Socialist Republic of Albania and the time thereafter

The minaret of a mosque in Borsh, southern Albania, was demolished during communist rule

It was not until the communist rule in August 1945 that the Islamic foundations ( vakuf ), which formed the basis for the maintenance of mosques and madrasas, were expropriated. Like the Christian clergy , the Muslim clergy was exposed to severe pressure of persecution. With the religious ban of 1967, all mosques were closed, the minarets demolished, the buildings converted into warehouses or completely destroyed. Only a few historically significant mosques escaped this fate as museums. Most of the Muslim clergy were sentenced to forced labor. Dozens died in prisons.

In a survey that was kept secret, the communist regime found out in the late 1980s that 95 percent of the young generation born after 1960 still knew to which religious denomination their own family belonged. It was not possible to erase the religious and cultural memory of the Albanians in this short period of time.

After the fall of the communist regime, the renaissance of Islam began in Albania. Hafiz Sabri Koçi presided over the first public prayer since 1967 in the Shkodra Mosque in November 1990. He was soon elected chairman of the Council of Muslims.

As with the Christians, the religious reconstruction was largely accomplished with foreign aid (donations and missionaries). The Wahhabis from Saudi Arabia and the mullahs from Iran, among others, were heavily involved. However, their strict form of Islam has remained alien to many Albanian Muslims. Neither one nor the other was able to gain decisive influence over the Muslim community. In the last few years, Turkey in particular has been very involved. There is talk of a division of Muslims into those influenced by Arab and Turkish influenced. A league of Albanian imams was founded, which distances itself from the Muslim community , which is more closely related to Turkish beliefs and influence.

Interreligious Relationships

See also : Religion in Albania

As before, the two dominant tendencies of Islam in Albania (Sunni and Bektashi) are characterized by a high degree of tolerance towards those of different faiths. The common experience of the persecution under Enver Hoxha has made it possible to this day that (Catholic and Orthodox) Christians and Muslims treat each other with a lot of mutual respect. Triggered by the situation in communist times, interreligious marriages are not uncommon in Albania today, while this is hardly the case in the other Balkan countries with a Muslim population, as is the case with the Albanians in Kosovo and Normacedonia .

Irritation between religious communities is rare. In 2003, Kastriot Myftari , author of a book called Islamizmi Kombëtar Shqiptar (National Albanian Islamism) , was arrested by the police for causing religious strife . He had described Islam as un-Albanian and called for conversion to Catholicism .

In 2006 Ismail Kadare published an essay on the cultural identity of the Albanians ( Identiteti evropian i shqiptarëve / The European Identity of the Albanians ), which attracted a great deal of attention from the Albanian public. Kadare was of the opinion that the Albanians were a western nation whose intellectual and cultural basis was Christianity; The non-denominational writer characterized Islam as a religion that was imposed on the Albanians during the Ottoman rule, with predominantly negative consequences for them.

See also

• List of mosques in Albania
• Haxhi Qamili

literature

• Aydın Babuna: The Bosnian Muslims and Albanians: Islam and nationalism. In: Nationalities papers. 32, 2004, pp. 287-321.
• Ali Musa Basha: Islami në Shqipëri gjatë shekujve . Tirana 2000.
• Nathalie Clayer: Religion et nation chez les Albanais. XIXe - XXe siècles . (= Analecta Isisiana. 64). Istanbul 2002. ISBN 975-428-235-8
• Nathalie Clayer: Islam, state and society in post-Communist Albania. In: Hugh Poulton (Ed.): Muslim identity and the Balkan State. London 1997, pp. 115-138.
• Robert Elsie : Islam and the dervish sects of Albania . In: Kakanien Revisited . Vienna / Olzheim May 27, 2004 ( article as PDF ).
• Nexhat Ibrahimi: Islami në trojet iliro-shqiptare gjatë shekujve . Prishtinë 2000.
• Stephan Lipsius: Politics and Islam in Albania. Instrumentalization and dependencies. In: Southeast Europe. Zeitschrift für Gegenwartsforschung 47, 1998, pp. 128-134.
• Georg Stadtmüller : Islamization among the Albanians. In: Yearbooks for the History of Eastern Europe. NF 3, 1955, pp. 404-429.
• Petrika Thëngjilli: Aspects të Islamizimit në Shqipërinë e veriut në SHEK. XVII. In: Studime Historike, vol. 2002, pp. 29–49.
• Frances Trix: The resurfacing of Islam in Albania. In: East European quarterly. 28, 1994, pp. 533-549.

Web links

Commons : Mosques in Albania  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official homepage of the Muslim Community of Albania - Komuniteti Mysliman i Shqipërisë (Albanian)
• Official homepage of the Bektashi Order in Albania (English, Albanian, Turkish, Bosnian)
• Robert Elsie : Islam and the dervish sects of Albania. In: Albanisches Institut St. Gallen, Switzerland from January 1, 2012 (entire text as PDF file , 155 kB)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Nathalie Clayer: Islam, state and society in post-Communist Albania, p.116
2. ↑ Research results of the University of Tirana together with the University of Potsdam , published in: Arqile Bërxholi, Dhimitër Doka, Hartmut Asche (ed.): Population geographic atlas of Albania . Ilar, Tirana 2003, ISBN 978-99927-907-6-2 ( information on the book project ( Memento from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive )). Population geographic atlas of Albania ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ Arqile Bërxholi: Ethnic and denominational structure of the population of Albania , in: Österreichische Osthefte , Volume 45, Vienna 2003 (without considering non-denominational and Protestant groups ); Country information from the Federal Foreign Office on Albania ; CIA World Factbook - Albania
4. ↑ Tracy Miller (Ed.): Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population . Pew Research Center , October 2009 ( online (PDF) [accessed December 27, 2015]).
5. ↑ CV e Kryetarit të KMSH-së H. Selim Muça ( Memento from December 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
6. ↑ Skender Bruçaj zgjidhet Kryetari i ri i KMSH-së. Official homepage of the Muslim Community of Albania, March 8, 2014, accessed on December 27, 2015 (Albanian). 
7. ↑ Olsi Jazexhi: Yearbook of Muslims in Europe . Ed .: Jørgen Nielsen, Samim Akgönül, Ahmet Alibašić , Egdunas Racius. tape 5 . Brill, Leiden, Boston 2013, Albania, pp. 23 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed March 12, 2016]).
8. ↑ Rezarta Delisula: Tirana-Mahnia . Maluka, Tirana 2018, ISBN 978-9928-26018-5 , Tiranasi që prktheu Kuranin, p. 104 f . (Reprinted from an article published in Gazeta Shqiptare (p. 15) on April 21, 2002.).
9. ↑ Nathalie Clayer: The Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement and the reform of Albanian Islam in the Inter-War Period. Maisonneuve & Larose, Paris 2004 (PDF; 98 kB)
10. ↑ Altin Raxhimi: Albanian Muslims Grapple with Religious Identity. In: Balkan Insight . December 1, 2010, accessed June 14, 2015 . 
11. ↑ Ismail Kadare: Identiteti evropian i shqiptarëve . Tirana 2006 ( The European identity of the Albanians . German translation ( Memento from April 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive )). Identiteti evropian i shqiptarëve ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.