Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, Volume 8...Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, Volume 8 Editor-in-chief Oliver Scharbrodt Editors Samim Akgönül Ahmet Alibašić Jørgen S. Nielsen Egdūnas

Yearbook of Muslims in Europe,Volume 8

Editor-in-chief

Oliver Scharbrodt

Editors

Samim AkgönülAhmet Alibašić

Jørgen S. NielsenEgdūnas Račius

LEIDEN | BOSTON

For use by the Author only | © 2017 Koninklijke Brill NV

Contents

Preface ixThe Editors xvEditorial Advisers xviList of Technical Terms xvii

Researching Muslims in Europe: Four Decades of Development 1Jørgen S. Nielsen

Country Surveys

Albania 19Olsi Jazexhi

Armenia 34Sevak Karamyan

Austria 45Kerem Öktem

Azerbaijan 69Altay Goyushov

Belarus 82Daša Słabčanka

Belgium 91Jean-François Husson

Bosnia and Herzegovina 119Muhamed Jusić, Aid Smajić and Muhamed Fazlović

Bulgaria 143Aziz Nazmi Shakir

Croatia 161Dino Mujadžević


vi contents

Cyprus 174Ali Dayıoğlu and Mete Hatay

Czech Republic 194Štěpán Macháček

Denmark 203Brian Arly Jacobsen

Estonia 221Ringo Ringvee

Finland 239Teemu Pauha

France 255Anne-Laure Zwilling

Georgia 285Thomas Liles and Bayram Balci

Germany 305Mathias Rohe

Greece 324Konstantinos Tsitselikis and Alexandros Sakellariou

Hungary 337Esztella Csiszár

Iceland 352Kristján Þór Sigurðsson

Ireland 362James Carr

Italy 380Maria Bombardieri

Latvia 403Simona Gurbo


viiContents

Lithuania 410Egdūnas Račius

Luxembourg 422Elsa Pirenne and Lucie Waltzer

Macedonia 441Piro Rexhepi

Malta 456Arsalan Alshinawi

Moldova 463Aurelia Felea

Montenegro 479Sabina Pačariz

The Netherlands 495Martijn de Koning

Norway 514Sindre Bangstad and Olav Elgvin

Poland 531Agata S. Nalborczyk

Portugal 549José Mapril

Romania 562Irina Vainovski-Mihai

Russia 578Elmira Akhmetova

Serbia 598Ivan Ejub Kostić

Slovakia 611Michal Cenker


viii contents

Slovenia 627Christian Moe

Spain 639Jordi Moreras

Sweden 656Göran Larsson

Switzerland 669Mallory Schneuwly Purdie and Andreas Tunger-Zanetti

Turkey 688İştar Gözaydın

Ukraine 701Mykhaylo Yakubovych

United Kingdom 717Asma Mustafa


© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2017 | doi 10.1163/9789004336025_028


Macedonia

Piro Rexhepi1

Introduction

The disintegration of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, accompanied by mass violence, genocide, and the displacement of Muslim populations, left the position of Muslim communities in the for-mer Yugoslav republics in a precarious state. This is particularly the case where Muslim communities constitute a minority, as in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia where Muslims constitute around 33.33% of the pop-ulation.2 Post-independence Macedonia was conceived of as an “exclusively ethnic Macedonian nation” with ethnic Macedonians being defĳined in the constitution as narod (nation) and minorities as nacionalnosti (nationali-ties) instituting, as Vasiliki Neofotistos argues, a “sharp distinction between the Macedonian narod, as the ‘real Macedonians’ who deserved full political membership in their state, and other nacionalnosti, who could never qualify.”3 Constitutional arrangements, combined with traditional forms of widespread discrimination towards minorities and Muslims in state institutions and soci-ety, have recently converged with the overall rise of Islamophobia around Europe4 and the increased infringement of civil rights in the name of national security and European Union integration.5 Portrayals of Albanian Muslims as a threat to the nation, and as being backward or terrorists, have facilitated ongoing structural racism and segregation that resulted in violent clashes

1 Piro Rexhepi holds a PhD in Politics (2013) and is currently a research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity in Göttingen.

2 Mughal, Abdul Ghafffar, “Muslim Population of the Republic of Macedonia: A Demographic and Socio-economic Profĳile”, Balkan Social Science Review, vol. 5 (2015), pp. 87–88.

3 Neofotistos, Vasiliki P., “ ‘The Balkans’ Other within’: Imaginings of the West in the Republic of Macedonia”, History and Anthropology, vol. 19, no. 1 (2008), p. 25.

4 For more on this, see Lean, Nathan Chapman, The Islamophobia Industry: How the Right Manufactures Fear of Muslims (London: Pluto Press, 2012); and Kaya, Serdar, “Islamophobia in Western Europe: A Comparative, Multilevel Study”, Journal of Muslim Minority Afffairs, vol. 35, no. 3 (2015), pp. 450–465.

5 Rexhepi, Piro, “Mainstreaming Islamophobia: The Politics of European Enlargement and the Balkan Crime-Terror Nexus”, East European Quarterly, vol. 43, nos. 2–3 (2015), pp. 189–214.

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between ethnic Albanian insurgents and Macedonian security forces in 2001.6 The end of the conflict was followed by the Ohrid Peace Agreement that sought to address some of the structural ways in which the marginalisation of minori-ties in Macedonia had become a constant source of conflict.7 The crisis resur-faced in 2014 and is ongoing after the failure of the Government to implement the peace agreement, combined with larger political and economic crisis and several controversial police and judiciary actions in the arrest of Albanians under charges of terrorism.8

Attacks on Islamic institutions and Muslim communities and individuals are widespread and increased in 2015. A recent report on Islamophobia in Macedonia9 indicates that attacks directed at Muslim communities are difffĳi-cult to track as they are either underreported or converge with intersectional violence geared towards ethnic minorities and poor communities, particularly Muslim Roma and Albanian communities. The media and public offfĳicials have exploited the now global trend of “Islamic radicalism” to explain the various eco-nomic and political crises of 2015, including the violent clashes on 10 May in the town of Kumanovo that left 18 people dead.10 While there is still no verdict on the events, the Ministry of the Interior undertook several raids of mosques and Muslim community organisations in August 2015 implying a link between the incidents in Kumanovo and radical groups aligned with ISIS.11 In addition, the Government frequently justifĳied the clampdown on refugees and migrants seeking passage through Macedonia with claims of suspicion that there could

6 For more on the 2001 conflict, see Koppa, Maria‐Eleni, “Ethnic Albanians in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: between Nationality and Citizenship”, Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, vol. 7, no.4 (2001), pp. 37–65.

7 For more on the Ohrid Peace Agreement, see Reka, Armend, “The Ohrid Agreement: The Travails of Inter-ethnic Relations in Macedonia”, Human Rights Review, vol. 9, no. 1 (2008), pp. 55–69.

8 Bieber, Florian, “Macedonia on the Brink”, Open Democracy, 28 July 2014, www.opendemocracy.net/opensecurity/florian-bieber/macedonia-on-brink, accessed 28 June 2016.

9 Georgiev, Mitre, “Macedonia”, in Enes Bayraklı and Farid Hafez (eds.), European Islamophobia Report 2015 (Istanbul: SETA, 2016), pp. 355–373.

10 Dimovski, Sase, “Kumanovo gunmen face trial in Macedonia”, Balkan Insight, 8 February 2016, www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/kumanovo-gunmen-face-trial-in-macedonia-02-08-2016-1, accessed 28 June 2016.

11 Marusic, Sinisa J, “Macedonian police targets ISIS suspects”, Balkan Insight, 6 August 2015, www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/macedonia-launches-anti-terror-busts-08-06-2015, accessed 28 June 2016.

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be members of terrorist organisations traveling among the refugees.12 The ill-treatment of refugees by authorities and lack of institutional response to the refugee and migrant crisis led to the most signifĳicant humanitarian activity among Muslim communities in the country since the Kosovo refugee crisis in 1999. Despite the fact that contact with refugees who have not claimed asylum in Macedonia is considered a crime, several local Muslim community mem-bers organised humanitarian relief packages, transportation, health care, and shelter for refugees and migrants passing through Macedonia. Several mosques opened their doors to refugees, particularly the central mosque of the town of Kumanovo, which was one of the main transit points of refugees crossing from Macedonia into Serbia.13

The controversial government sponsored “Skopje 2014” project, meant to transform Skopje into a proper “ ‘European’ capital,”14 has deepened the grievances of Muslim communities on issues relating to land appropriation and designation of historical Islamic sites for new urban projects that do not acknowledge the multi-ethnic and multi-religious population of Skopje sig-nifying “that neither Albanians, nor Muslims have [a] place in a European metropole.”15 The appropriation of mosques and other Islamic structures by the State as sites of cultural heritage is a long standing issue in Macedonia, par-ticularly as the return of religious property to the Muslim communities after 1991 was frequently either not addressed or declined by authorities.16 Of 300 applications made by the Islamic Religious Community of Macedonia (ICRM) for the return of 3,869,806 m2 of land and 41,258 m2 of nationalised buildings, the IRCM has only had 10% of this property returned.17

Finally, 2015 saw the offfĳicial accreditation of the fĳirst Faculty of Islamic Sciences in Macedonia. Funded by the Islamic Religious Community of Macedonia, the faculty had received its fĳirst generation of students in 2007. With the help of the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA), 2015 also saw the reopening of the Ishak Çelebi mosque,

12 Pajaziti, Naser, “FYROM: Fears a wave of refugees, the stability of the country is at risk”, Independent Balkan News Agency RSS, 4 November 2015, www.balkaneu.com/fyrom-fears-wave-refugees-stability-country-risk/, accessed 28 June 2016.

13 “Kumanovë, Xhamia Simbol I Strehës Për Emigrantët”, Tetova Sot, 20 June 2015.14 Graan, Andrew, “Counterfeiting the Nation? Skopje 2014 and the Politics of Nation

Branding in Macedonia”, Cultural Anthropology, vol. 28, no. 1 (2013), p. 161.15 Graan, “Counterfeiting the Nation?”, p. 170.16 Muhic, Ferid, “Muslims of Macedonia: identity challenges and an uncertain future”, Al

Jazeera, 8 October 2013, http://studies.aljazeera.net/en/reports/2013/10/20131088412517496.html, accessed 23 June 2016.

17 Islamic Religious Community of Macedonia, Department of Public Information.

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the central mosque for the Muslim community of Bitola and the beginning of reconstruction of the Kadi Hajdari mosque also in Bitola. Both mosques, including the Hasan Baba mosque (still awaiting reconstruction) and the Islamic community seat in Bitola, were attacked and set on fĳire during the conflict in 2001.

Public Debates

15 years after the civil conflict in 2001, the main challenge of Muslim communi-ties in Macedonia remains the reconstruction of mosques and waqf properties destroyed during the conflict. Requests by the Islamic Religious Community of Macedonia (IRCM) in the city of Prilep to rebuild the central Čarši mosque burned in 2001 have been rejected by the local authorities on grounds that the reconstruction of the mosque is possible to the extent that the mosque can only serve as a monument of culture and cannot be used for religious cer-emonies. Built in 1475, the Čarši mosque is listed in the national registry of historical monuments of the Republic of Macedonia and served as the cen-tral mosque for the Muslim community of Prilep until its destruction in 2001.18 IRCM offfĳicials claimed that requests for new places of worship were frequently ignored or rejected by municipal authorities.19 In November 2015, the mayor of Kriva Palanka rejected the request of the Roma Muslim community to build a mosque, declaring that under his administration the only religious sites to be built would be churches.20 The decision of the mayor was accompanied by protest by around 3,000 citizens who gathered to confront the “Islamisation of Kriva Palanka,” attacking and destroying the provisional mosque used by the community.21 Similar requests for the reconstruction of mosques in the village

18 Trix, Frances, “Ethnic Minorities of Macedonia: Turks, Roma, and Serbs”, in Sabrina P. Ramet, Ola Listhaug and Albert Simkus (eds.), Civic and Uncivic Values in Macedonia: Value Transformation, Education and Media (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), pp. 194–213.

19 Interview with the General Secretary of the Islamic Community of Macedonia, 23 June 2016.

20 Georgiev, “Macedonia”, p. 355.21 “Makedonija: Demoliran objekat u kojem se mole muslimani”, Al Jazeera Balkans,

7 November 2016, http://balkans.aljazeera.net/vijesti/makedonija-demoliran-objekat-u-kojem-se-mole-muslimani, accessed 24 June 2016.

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of Lazhec in the vicinity of Bitola22 and the Katib Durak Orta and Hunkar mosques in Strumica have been stalled by local authorities.23

Requests by the ICRM and an alliance of local civil society organisations for the rebuilding of the Burmali mosque in Skopje have been rejected, and the site where the mosque once stood is now designated for a new building that will host the city’s administration.24 In the meantime, the Islamic Religious Community of Macedonia (IRCM) has launched several complaints regarding the preferential treatment of the State vis-à-vis diffferent religious communi-ties, pointing out that while the Islamic Community is denied the construction or reconstruction of religious buildings, the State has sponsored several proj-ects for the construction of churches. After several protests by citizens that the state sponsoring of churches was in violation of the separation of church and state, the Macedonian government has increasingly designated property to the Orthodox Church, defĳining the Church as the investor, as was the case with the controversial St. Constantin and Helena Church in Skopje.25

Anti-Muslim rhetoric in public debates is widespread and converges with debates on terrorism, radicalism, and Islam. One explanation for the increase of the attacks has been the manipulation “by Macedonian politicians to create a shift from Albano-phobia to Islamophobia for electoral purposes”26 by com-bining the refugee and migrant crisis with the general anti-Muslim climate

22 Ali, Muhamed, “Civil Education and Religion in Macedonia”, in Ednan Aslan and Marcia Hermansen (eds.), Islam and Citizenship Education (Wiesbaden: Springer, 2015), pp. 177–185.

23 “Strumicë, qytetarët kërkojnë restaurimin e monumenteve osmane në qytet”, http://lajmpress.com/strumice-qytetaret-kerkojne-restaurimin-e-monumenteve-osmane-ne-qytet-foto/, accessed 23 June 2016.

24 For more on this, see Jahja, Muharem, “Macedonia”, in Jørgen S. Nielsen, Samim Akgönül, Ahmet Alibašić and Egdūnas Račius (eds.), Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, vol. 6 (Leiden: Brill, 2014), pp. 398–408.

25 The details of the transfer or sale of rights for the land and funds for the construc-tion of St. Constantin and Helena Church in Skopje are still unclear, see, Apostolov, Vlado “Само еден господ знае кој сѐ ја финансира изградбата на црквата „Св. Константин и Елена”, Фокус, 6 December 2013. For more on this, see Herold, Stephanie, Benjamin Langer and Julia Lechler (eds.), Reading the City: Urban Space and Memory in Skopje (Berlin: Universitätsverlag TU Berlin, 2010); Milevska, Suzana, “The Reciprocal Relationship between Art and Visual Culture in the Balkans”, in Peter Mörtenböck and Helge Mooshammer (eds.), Space (Re) Solutions: Intervention and Research in Visual Culture (Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag, 2011), pp. 32–45; and “Construction of controversial Skopje church begins”, Balkan Insight, 14 May 2012, www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/construction-of-controversial-skopje-church-begins, accessed 23 June 2016.

26 Georgiev, “Macedonia”, p. 366.

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throughout Europe. In the town of Struga, known for its inter-faith coexistence, the Mustafa Çelebi mosque was attacked several times during 2015,27 and a local Muslim offfĳicial was stabbed while performing his duties.28 Hate speech in mainstream and social media has increasingly appropriated European forms of Islamophobia. A Facebook page “PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident) Macedonia” set up in early 2015 with about 1.1 million users engaged in various calls to purge Macedonia of Muslims by appropriating the language of the European right.

The August 2015 police action against several Muslim organisations, unre-lated to the Kumanovo conflict, resulted in the arrest of nine citizens sus-pected of having ties to, or recruiting fĳighters for, ISIS. While the head of the IRCM welcomed the police action, he condemned the blanket surveillance of the institutional structures, mosques and community centres of the Islamic Community by the Ministry of the Interior.29 It is important to note however that state surveillance in Macedonia is allegedly widespread and not specifĳic to the Muslim communities with an ongoing investigation into the allegations of state surveillance of political opposition parties and social movements.30 In the meantime, the IRCM faced internal clashes after a group of about 50 mem-bers entered the headquarters of the IRCM in Skopje on 4 May 2015 seeking to oust its current head, ra’is al-‘ulama’ Sulejman Rexhepi.31 While the issue was resolved after the authorities reinstated the current head, tensions inside the IRCM remain.

Again, most of the above issues converge in the larger intersection of eth-nic tension in Macedonia which are not always specifĳically related to Muslims but frequently involve Muslim communities. Moreover, government offfĳicials have frequently tried to address the intersection of political, economic, and

27 “Akt i shemtuar mbi xhamine e ‘Mustafa Celebi’ ne Struge,sulmohet me katran—Struga Ekspres”, http://strugaekspres.com/akt-i-shemtuar-mbi-xhamine-e-mustafa-celebi-ne-strugesulmohet-me-katran/, accessed 23 June 2016.

28 “Strugë: Sulmohet me thikë daullexhiu i Ramazanit, gjatë paralajmërimit të iftarit—Shqipmedia”, www.shqipmedia.com/struge-sulmohet-me-thike-daullexhiu-i-ramazanit-gjate-paralajmerimit-te-iftarit/, accessed 23 June 2016.

29 “Rexhepi: Eshtë ofendim i madh nëse jemi përgjuar”, http://islampress.ch/2015/02/19/rexhepi-eshte-ofendim-i-madh-nese-jemi-pergjuar/, accessed 23 June 2016.

30 “Macedonia MPs launch illegal surveillance probe”, Balkan Insight, 3 December 2015, www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/macedonia-mps-launch-probe-on-illegal-surveillance-12-03-2015, accessed 23 June 2016.

31 “Puč u Islamskoj zajednici Makedonije”, Al Jazeera Balkans, 4 May 2016, http://balkans.aljazeera.net/vijesti/puc-u-islamskoj-zajednici-makedonije, accessed 23 June 2016.

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refugee crises, as well as long-standing inter-ethnic conflict, under an over-arching threat of “radical Islam.” Note for instance Macedonian President Ivanov’s statement in December 2015: “We have a threat inside the country from radical Islam, and we are spending our resources on the migrants instead of dealing with the security threats and acting preventatively.”32 Similarly, the threat of radical Islam is utilised to promote the stalled EU and NATO inte-gration of Macedonia. In September 2014, addressing the UN, Ivanov warned that the blocking of European and Euro-Atlantic integration could result in a “Balkan Caliphate.”33 Tensions have increased as the ruling Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation—Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (Внатрешна македонска револуционерна организација—Демократска партија за македонско национално единство, VMRO-DPMNE) has frequently justifĳied police actions against Muslim Albanians under the rubric of fĳighting radical Islamism.34 Capitalising on the climate of Islamophobia within the EU, Macedonian politicians have used the argu-ment of protecting the borders of the EU from the convergence of refugees and radical Islamists. Politically charged convergences of refugees with radical Islam aside, the departure of Macedonian citizens to Syria and Iraq is an issue that the ICRM is attempting to address with a project launched in January 2015 called STOP radTerr meant to prevent Muslims from Macedonia traveling to fĳight in Syria and Iraq.35

Transnational Links

Muslim communities of Macedonia have historically maintained close ties to Muslim communities around the world due to their large diaspora

32 Marusic, S. J., “Macedonia on alert for returning jihadists”, Balkan Insight, 12 December 2015, www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/macedonia-keeping-an-eye-on-islamic-radicals-12-02-2015, accessed 24 June 2016.

33 Marusic, S.J., “Macedonia President voices ‘Balkan Caliphate’ fears”, Balkan Insight, 26 September 2014, www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/macedonia-president-warns-on-balkan-caliphate, accessed 24 June 2016.

34 Szpala, Marta, “Macedonia: A Superfĳicial Democracy in the Shadow of Crisis”, Center for Eastern Studies, no. 206 (2016), www.osw.waw.pl/sites/default/fĳiles/commentary_206.pdf, accessed 10 July 2016.

35 “BFI prezanton detaje rreth projektit për parandalimin e radikalizimit dhe përfshirjes në terrorizëm”, http://aa.com.tr/sq/politikë/bfĳi-prezanton-detaje-rreth-projektit-për-parandalimin-e-radikalizimit-dhe-përfshirjes-në-terrorizëm/79619, accessed 24 June 2016.

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populations in the EU, US, Middle East, and Australia, as well as traditional ties to Islamic centres of learning and pilgrimage. Since 9/11 and the subsequent war on terror, these relations have come under increased scrutiny and sur-veillance by both Macedonian and EU36 security infrastructures. In addition, Macedonia became one of the CIA rendition sites where local security services aided in the secret detention and transport of detainees suspected of terror-ist acts to the US. In a landmark judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in 2012, Macedonia was found in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights in operating and aiding US secret detention and rendition centres.37 These events have had a negative impact on the freedom of move-ment of Muslim communities for fear of coming under suspicion by security services. Diaspora Islamic organisations operating in Macedonia have also come under scrutiny. An educational facility of the Swiss based Cultural Club Elita, for instance, was shut down by authorities in February 2015 and reopened in November 2015 after a court ruled that its closure by municipal authorities was illegal.38 Interactions with transnational Islamic organisations have dwin-dled and the establishment of the Faculty of Islamic Sciences and the majlis in 2015 by the IRCM are in part effforts to train imams locally and prevent the solicitation of Islamic theological opinions by Macedonian Muslims outside of Macedonia. In addition to multiple transnational organisations, the IRCM provides imams for diaspora communities in several mosques around Europe and the United States.

Law and Domestic Politics

There were no state legislative measures directly afffecting the Muslim com-munities of Macedonia in 2015. In terms of internal legislative measures within the IRCM, the most signifĳicant legal instrument for 2015 was the establishment

36 See, for instance, European Parliament, Europe’s Crime-Terror Nexus: Links between Terrorist and Organised Crime Groups in the European Union (Strasbourg: Directorate General for Internal Policies of European Parliament, October 2012), www.europarl.europa.eu/document/activities/cont/201211, accessed 24 June 2016; and Krasniqi, Gezim, “The ‘forbidden fruit’: Islam and Politics of Identity in Kosovo and Macedonia”, Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, vol. 11, no. 2 (2011), pp. 191–207.

37 European Court of Human Rights, Grand Chamber, Case of EL-MASRI v. The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2012).

38 Основeн суд Скопје II, Pешeниe 5TC-55/15, 10/07/2015 Република Македонија.

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of a majlis by the Islamic Community on 9 June.39 The majlis is authorised to debate and issue fatwas on questions and concerns relating to the Islamic Community. The formation of the majlis is an attempt by the IRCM to institu-tionalise and centralise the dispensation of legal opinion limited to the Hanafĳi legal tradition. This approach, the declaration of the IRCM notes, will confront the dilemma of legal opinions being carried out by “misinformed and incom-petent fractions of the community.”40 On 3 December 2015, the majlis issued its fĳirst fatwa denouncing the publications of the publishing house NUN, warn-ing Muslims of its Wahhabi approach and interpretation of Islamic juridical norms, which contravene the Maturidi School of Islamic theology to which most Macedonian Muslims would adhere.41

In a further efffort to strengthen its authority, the ICRM also issued a deci-sion on the organisation of the hajj from 2016 onwards to be conducted only through the administration of the ICRM. The organisation of the hajj has been a debated topic in Macedonia for several years now with several dissenting opinions describing the monopoly of organising the hajj by ICRM as an attempt to profĳit from a “lucrative industry.”42 Critics of the centralisation of the hajj pointed out that, in addition to the monopolisation of hajj being somewhat arbitrary, the standard charge of €3,200 per person for a hajj travel package in Macedonia surpasses average prices of most EU member states.43

As mentioned in the introduction, one of the most contentious political issue afffecting Muslim communities has been the appropriation of land and buildings belonging to the IRCM. Under a rubric of “restoration of history,” architectural projects of urban renewal around Macedonia have undermined or erased Islamic sites by either transforming them into multicultural histori-cal sites which prevent access and administration of those sites by Muslim communities. The case of the Jeni mosque in Bitola is perhaps the most per-tinent example of this phenomenon, where the Ministry of Culture changed the name of the mosque to St. George’s Church in 2011 despite protests by the IRCM.44 To avoid further conflict, the Ministry of Culture designated

39 Islamic Religious Community of Macedonia, “Themelohet Mexhlisi”, http://bfĳi.mk/faqja/?p=3891, accessed 24 June 2016.

40 Islamic Religious Community of Macedonia, “Themelohet Mexhlisi.”41 Fetva Nr. 01. (4 December 2015), Mexhlisi për Fetva pranë Riasetit të BFI në RM.42 Dodevska, Aneta, “A u shndërrua haxhi nga ideologjia në biznes?”, 15 September 2014,

http://portalb.mk/108446-analize-a-u-shnderrua-haxhi-nga-ideologjia-ne-biznes/, accessed 24 June 2016.

43 Dodevska, “A u shndërrua haxhi nga ideologjia në biznes?”.44 “Jeni Xhamia në Manastir shndërrohet në Galeri të Arteve”, https://prizrenpost.com/

al/?p=18202, accessed 23 June 2016.

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the mosque a cultural centre in 2015.45 This is the case with the Husamedin Pasha mosque in Shtip, nationalised by the Macedonian government and with limited access by the ICRM.46 In other instances, crosses have been placed in the clock towers of Bitola and Prilep, both buildings being nationalised prop-erties formerly of the ICRM.47 In instances where the court has approved the return of the property to the ICRM, as is the case with the Ibni Pajko mosque in Skopje, the Government has acted against the court decision and proceeded with the construction of the new state philharmonic building, part of the larger project “Skopje 2014.”48 The erasure and appropriation of Islamic building or sites of Islamic history in the urban development projects of “Skopje 2014” have frequently endangered the already vulnerable position of old mosques and waqf properties, while also projecting new Islamic buildings as sites of crime and illegality, as was the case with the Kriva Palanka mosque.49

Activities and Initiatives of Main Muslim Organisations

A group of about 50 people entered the headquarters of ICRM on 4 May 2015 taking over the building and expelling the personnel. The takeover was allegedly organised by the former Mufti of Skopje Ibraim Shabani and the former secretary of the ICRM Afrim Tahiri. The ICRM fĳiled a lawsuit against the illegal occupation of its headquarters and after a court decision the pre-occupation administration was allowed to return to the premises. While the conflict seems to be motivated by the dismissal of Sahbani and Tahiri by the current head of the IRCM Sulejman Rexhepi usurpers have accused Rexhepi of abuse of power and infringement of the constitution of the IRCM.50 The takeover of official institutions by members of the Community has now become somewhat of a standard practice in the Balkans. Similar incidents

45 Hamzai, E., “Jeni Xhamia shndërrohet në Galeri të Arteve”, www.telegrafĳi.com/jeni-xhamia-shnderrohet-ne-galeri-te-arteve/, accessed 23 June 2016.

46 Husamedin Pasha Mosque, Shtip, http://tfcs.rcc.int/en/serbia/113-countries/fyr-macedonia/213-husamedin-pasha-mosque-shtip, accessed 23 June 2016.

47 Idriz, Mesut, and Muhamed Ali, “The Offfĳice of Islamic Religious Community of Macedonia: A Study from the Socio-Legal Framework”, Inquiry, vol. 1, no. 2 (2016), pp. 113–132.

48 “Qeveria uzurpon truallin e xhamis Ibni Pajko Shoqri: Humanitet”, Yll Press—BIM, 26 March 2010, www.yllpress.com/9164/bim-qeveria-uzurpon-truallin-e-xhamise-ibni-pajko.html, accessed 23 June 2016.

49 “Протест во Крива Паланка против изградба на џамија”, 7 November 2015, www.slobodnaevropa.mk/a/27350577.html, accessed 23 June 2016.

50 “One injured as Islamic Community factions clash”, 4 May 2015, www.b92.net/eng/news/region.php?yyyy=2015, accessed 24 June 2016.

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have occurred in Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, and recently in Serbia too.51 These incidents are partly reactions to the increased consolidation and centralisation of authority in official Islamic Communities in the former Yugoslavia.

The frequent representation of refugees as a threat in media and govern-ment discourses has made Macedonia one of the most dangerous parts of what has become known as the Balkan Route. Muslim communities and humanitar-ian organisations played a central role in providing food, shelter, and transpor-tation to refugees and migrants traveling through Macedonia throughout 2015. In addition, local humanitarian organisations provided assistance in informa-tion gathering and dissemination on the treatment of refugees and migrants. The humanitarian organisation Legis played a key role in providing humani-tarian assistance as well as raising awareness on the refugee and migrant crisis. Despite the overwhelming response and solidarity of Muslim communi-ties across Macedonia with the refugees, the ICRM has been criticised for its reserved approach to the refugee and migrant crisis. This may be in part due to the internal conflict in ICRM and the takeover of its headquarters in May 2015. Islamic humanitarian organisations have delivered food to the refugee camps and have registered the conditions of refugees, frequently reporting to the media on the mistreatment of migrants. The role of the Muslim com-munities was also central in the closing of the infamous Reception Centre for Foreigners “Gazi Baba” where refugees were detained.52 While Muslim com-munities have called for a better treatment of refugees and migrants in the face of ongoing violent attacks by both police forces and citizens, the position of Muslim communities remains too marginal to have a larger impact. Moreover, Muslim communities are facing their own migration crisis.

Muslim Population: History and Demographics

According to the last census conducted in Macedonia in 2002, Muslims constitute a 33.33 % of the population.53 The majority of the Muslim population

51 Halilovic, Medin, “Deblokada rada Islamske zajednice Srbije ili njeno dalje rastakanje”, 1 June 2016, http://aa.com.tr/ba/balkan/nakon-smjena-na-sjednici-u-novom-pazaru-deblokada-rada-islamske-zajednice-srbije-ili-njeno-dalje-rastakanje/582173, accessed 24 June 2016.

52 “Reception Center for Foreigners ‘Gazi Baba’ has been closed”, 28 July 2015, www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/fĳiles/uaa04615_5.pdf, accessed 24 June 2016.

53 State Statistical Offfĳice of the Republic of Macedonia, Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Macedonia 2003 (Skopje: State Statistical Offfĳice, 2004).

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in Macedonia are ethnic Albanians, followed by Roma, Turkish, Bosniak, and Macedonian Muslims. While the census does not record religion with ethnic-ity, the overwhelming majority of citizens of Albanian, Roma, Bosniak, and Turkish origins are Muslims. The lack of more recent data makes it difffĳicult to trace the change in demographics among the Muslim population, particu-larly with the increased migration since the 2001 conflict. While migration of Muslims from Macedonia dates back to the 1950s,54 the last decade has wit-nessed an upsurge in Muslims leaving Macedonia. Overall statistics that trace migration do so on ethnic grounds, which makes it difffĳicult to obtain an exact number based on religious belonging. Recent statics show that while ethnic Albanians constitute only 26.76% of the households in Macedonia, 41% of the citizens leaving Macedonia are ethnic Albanians. This number does not include fĳigures of Roma, Turkish, Macedonian, and Bosniak Muslims. The choice to leave is predominantly motivated by poverty and systematic discrimination. Unemployment rates from the last census in 2002 show drastic inequalities with the highest rate of unemployment seen among the Roma communities at 79%, followed by Albanians at 61%, and the Turkish community at 58%, mean-while unemployment among Macedonians is at 32%.55 A quality of life survey shows Muslim communities to be the poorest in the country.56 Government policies of investment in education, health care, and social services are fre-quently lower in Muslim populated areas, and almost half the national average in Roma Muslim communities. A survey on expenditure in schools in Albanian and Albanian majority schools shows 75% of expenditure of the national aver-age.57 Muslims, particularly Roma and Albanians, face challenges in obtaining citizenship even when born in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, or mar-ried to Macedonian citizens.58 Citizenship politics in Macedonia have been criticised for attempting to manipulate the ethnic and religious demography of the country, but more recently for also giving citizenship on grounds of

54 For more on the history of Muslim migration from Macedonia, see Ellis, Burcu Akan, “The Turkish Saatli Maarif Calendar: Tradition-Making between Urban Muslims in Macedonia and Their Diaspora in Turkey”, in Armando Salvatore (ed.), Muslim Traditions and Modern Techniques of Power (Münster: LIT Verlag, 2001), p. 59.

55 State Statistical Offfĳice of the Republic of Macedonia, Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Macedonia 2001 (Skopje: State Statistical Offfĳice, 2001).

56 Mughal, “Muslim Population of the Republic of Macedonia”, p. 111.57 Mughal, “Muslim Population of the Republic of Macedonia”, p. 113.58 Llalla, Teuta, and Emin Egriu, “Maqedonia me ligje raciste u mohon shqiptarëve shtetësinë

(Dokumenti)”, Shekulli Online, 29 April 2013, www.shekulli.com.al/p.php?id=22025, accessed 24 June 2016.

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political afffĳiliation. The current government is under investigation for import-ing and giving citizenship to ethnic Macedonians from neighbouring Albania and instructing them to vote for the ruling party.59 Discrimination and prefer-ential treatment are also reported in the registration of immovable property, access to health care, social services, education, and the judiciary.

Muslim Population 674,015 (33.33% of total population in 2002).60

Ethnic/National Ethnic/national backgrounds of Muslims in Backgrounds Macedonia, according to the 1994 census:61

Albanian: 98.24% Bosniak: 98.11% Turkish: 97.91% Roma: 91.61% Macedonian: 1.17%

Inner-Islamic Groups Most Muslims in Macedonia belong to the Sunni-Hanafĳi School with around 1% belonging to Bektashi, Malami, Rufai, Mevlevi, and Salafĳi communities.

Geographical Spread The majority of the Muslim population lives in Western Macedonia and the capital Skopje, with small communities in Northeast and central Macedonia.

Number of Mosques There are 580 mosques registered with the offfĳicial Islamic Religious Community of Macedonia.62

59 Selm, Joanne van, “Stateless Roma in Macedonia”, Forced Migration Review, www.fmreview.org/sites/fmr/fĳiles/FMRdownloads/en/FMRpdfs/FMR32/46-47.pdf, accessed 24 June 2016.

60 State Statistical Offfĳice of the Republic of Macedonia, Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Macedonia 2003.

61 Mughal, “Muslim Population of the Republic of Macedonia”, p. 90.62 Karta na verski objekti vo Republika Makedonija, Komisija za odnosi so verskite zaednici

i religiozni grupi, 2011. Katalogizacija vo publikacija Nacionalna i univerzitetska biblioteka (Map of the places of worship in the Republic of Macedonia, the Commission for

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In addition, there are several hundred prayer rooms and make-shift mosques not counted in the regis-ter of offfĳicial mosques.

Muslim Burial Sites Every town in Macedonia has a Muslim burial site.

“Chaplaincy” in There is no chaplaincy tradition in public institutions State Institutions in the Republic of Macedonia.

Halal Products The Islamic Religious Community of Macedonia maintains a halal standard certifĳication agency responsible for the certifĳication of all halal products.63

Places of Islamic – Faculty of Islamic Sciences (Kondovo, Saraj, Skopje Learning and 1000, Macedonia, tel.: ++389 22057270, www.fshiEducation .edu.mk/) – Isa Beg Madrasa (Secondary school) (Skopje,

80–1060 Gj.Petrov, Macedonia, tel.: ++389 22058540, www.medreseja-isabeu.com/).

Muslim Media and Hëna e Re (The New Moon) is the offfĳicial magazine Publications of the IRCM.

Main Muslim Organisations

– The Islamic Religious Community of Macedonia (Bashkësia Fetare Islame në Maqedoni/Исламската верска заедница во Македонија, ICRM, Cairska, Skopje 1000, Macedonia, tel.: ++389 23117412, http://bfĳi.mk/). The ICRM is the offfĳicial body of all Muslim communities in Macedonia. Its responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the training and appointment of imams and the management of all mosques and waqf in the Republic of Macedonia.

– Bektashi Islamic Community of Macedonia (Komuniteti Bektashian i Maqedonisë, Harabati Baba Tekie, Tetovo, Macedonia, tel.: ++389 73250181).

Relations with Religious Communities and Religious Groups, 2011. Cataloguing in publi-cation National and University Library) “Sv. Kliment Ohridski”, Skopje.

63 “Çka është hallalli”, BFI, http://bfĳi.mk/cka-eshte-hallalli/, accessed 24 June 2016.

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The Harabati Baba Tekie in Tetovo is the only tekke under the spiri-tual jurisdiction of the World Headquarters of the Bektashi Community (Kryegjyshata Bektashiane) based in Tirana, Albania. The rest of Bektashi communities of Macedonia are independent tekkes not formally associated with one another.

– Women’s Afffĳirmation Association (Asociacioni për Afĳirmimin e Gruas, Bul. Krste Misirkov 9/8, Skopje 1000, Macedonia, www.aag-m.org/). This is the largest Muslim women’s association in Macedonia engaged in promoting women’s rights and providing multiple community services. The associa-tion operates the educational centre for women and girls, Nahla, based in Skopje.

– Rufai Islamic Community of Macedonia (Rufai Tekkesi, Cairska 78, Skopje 1000, Macedonia, tel.: ++389 70222182, www.rufai.info/). The headquarters of the Rufai communities of Macedonia.

– Klubi Elita (Xhon Kenedi 9A/5, Skopje 1000, Macedonia, tel.: ++389 78234871, www.klubielita.org/). Elita is one of the largest and most active Muslim community-based organisation operating in Macedonia and Switzerland. The club provides religious education and organises various cultural and religious events for Muslims in Macedonia and the diaspora around Europe.

– Grains of Kindness (Kalliri i Mirësisë, Joakim Kercovski, BB. Skopje 1000, Macedonia, tel.: ++389 23112629, www.kalliri.org/). One of the largest Islamic humanitarian agencies in Macedonia.

– Institute of Cultural and Spiritual Heritage of Albanians in Macedonia (Instituti i Trashëgimisë Shpirtërore e Kulturore të Shqiptarëve të Maqedonisë, ITHS, P.O. Box 171, Skopje 1000, Macedonia, tel.: ++389 23215381, www.itsh.edu.mk/). The ITSH is a research institute engaged in researching the cul-tural and spiritual heritage of Albanians in Macedonia.

Documents

Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, Volume 8...Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, Volume 8 Editor-in-chief Oliver Scharbrodt Editors Samim Akgönül Ahmet Alibašić Jørgen S. Nielsen Egdūnas