Islam in Albania

According to 2011 census, 58.79% of Albania's population adheres to Islam, making it the largest religion in the country. The majority of Albanian Muslims are Sunni with a significant Bektashi Shia minority. Christianity is practiced by 16.99% of the population, making it the 2nd largest religion in the country. The remaining population is either irreligious or belongs to other religious groups.^[1] During the Ottoman rule of Albania, the majority of Albanians converted to the Muslim affiliation (Sunni and Bektashi). However, decades of state atheism which ended in 1991 brought a decline in religious practice in all traditions.

A recent Pew Research Center demographic study put the percentage of Muslims in Albania at 79.9%.^[2] However, a recent Gallup poll gives percentages of religious affiliations with only 43% Muslim, 19% Eastern Orthodox, 15% Catholic and 23% atheist or nonreligious.^[3] In the 2011 census the declared religious affiliation of the population was: 56.70% Sunni Muslims, 2.09% Bektashis, 10.03% Catholics, 6.75% Orthodox, 0.14% Evangelists, 0.07% other Christians, 5.49% believers without denomination, 2.05% Atheists, 13.79% undeclared.^[4] 65% of Albanian Muslims are non-denominational Muslims.^[5]

History

Islam first came to Albania in the 15th century.^[6]

Ottoman period

Albanians converted to Islam under the Ottoman Empire beginning in the 14th century. In the North, the spread of Islam was slower due to resistance from the Roman Catholic Church and the mountainous terrain which contributed to curb Muslim influence. In the center and south, however, by the end of the seventeenth century the urban centers had largely adopted the religion of the growing Albanian Muslim elite. The existence of an Albanian Muslim class of pashas and beys who played an increasingly important role in Ottoman political and economic life became an attractive career option for most Albanians.

Besides those associated with Sunni Islam, the Muslims of Albania were divided into several Sufi Orders like the Rufai, the Qadiri, the Melami or those associated with the Bektashis, a mystic Dervish order that came to Albania during the Ottoman period, primarily during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Bektashi sect is considered heretical by many mainstream Muslims. Historically Sunni Islam found its strongest base in northern and central Albania, while Bektashis were found primarily in the Tosk lands of the south.

During Ottoman rule the Albanian population gradually began to convert to Islam through the teachings of Bektashism, in order to gain considerable advantages in the Ottoman trade networks, bureaucracy and army. Many Albanians were recruited into the Ottoman Janissary and Devşirme and 42 Grand Viziers of the Ottoman Empire were of Albanian origin. The most prominent Albanians during Ottoman rule were Koca Davud Pasha, Hamza Kastrioti, Iljaz Hoxha, Nezim Frakulla, Köprülü Mehmed Pasha, Ali Pasha, Edhem Pasha, Haxhi Shehreti, Yahya bey Dukagjini, Ibrahim Pasha of Berat, Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed, Muhammad Ali of Egypt, Kara Mahmud Bushati and Ahmet Kurt Pasha.

Independence

The country won its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912. Following the National Renaissance tenets and the general lack of religious convictions , during the 20th century, the democratic, monarchic and later the communist regimes followed a systematic dereligionization of the nation and the national culture. Due to this policy, as all other faiths in the country, Islam underwent radical changes.

In 1923, following the government program, the Albanian Muslim congress convened at Tirana decided to break with the Caliphate, established a new form of prayer (standing, instead of the traditional salat ritual), banished polygamy and the mandatory use of veil (hijab) by women in public, practices forced on the urban population by the Ottomans.^[7][8]

The Muslim clergy, following suit with the Catholic and Orthodox clergy, was totally eradicated during the communist regime of Enver Hoxha who declared Albania the only non-religious country in the world, banning all forms of religious practice in public in 1967.

Today Albania is the only entirely European member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.^[9]

In April 2011, Bedër University, Albania's first Islamic university, was opened in Tirana.^[10]

Gallery

• 

  Ethem Bey Mosque Tirana.

• 

  The Lead mosque in Berat.

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  Mirahori mosque in Korça.

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  Muradie Mosque in Vlora

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  Kubelie Mosque in Kavajë.

See also

• Religion in Albania
• Christianity in Albania
• History of Ottoman Albania

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies.

1. Nurja, Ines (2011). "Fjala e Drejtorit të Përgjithshëm të INSTAT, Ines Nurja gjatë prezantimit të rezultateve kryesore të Censusit të Popullsisë dhe Banesave 2011." [Speech of the Director General of the Institute of Statistics, Ines Nurja, during the presentation of the results of the Main Census of Population and Housing 2011.] (PDF) (Press release) (in Albanian). The Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
2. Miller, Tracy, ed. (October 2009), Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Muslim Population (PDF), Pew Research Center, retrieved 2009-10-08
3. https://worldview.gallup.com/default.aspx
4. Albanian census 2011
5. "Chapter 1: Religious Affiliation". The World’s Muslims: Unity and Diversity. Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. August 9, 2012
6. Jørgen Nielsen, Samim Akgönül, Ahmet Alibašić, Egdunas Racius (2013). "Albania". Yearbook of Muslims in Europe 5. Leiden, Boston: Brill. p. 23. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
7. Vickers, Miranda, The Albanians: A Modern History (London: I.B. Tauris, 1995), pp. 108-09.
8. Albania dispatch, Time magazine, April 14, 1923
9. "Official website of the OIC". Retrieved 24 September 2008.
10. "Islamic university opens in Tirana". Southeast European Times (Tirana, Albania). Retrieved 8 April 2011.

External links

• The Muslim Forum of Albania
• Albanian Institute of Islamic Thought & Civilization
• Muslim Albania