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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.

History

Islam is believed to have first arrived in the 9th century to the region called Albania today.^[2]

Ottoman period

Conversion and consolidation (14th-18th centuries)

Albanians began converting to Islam when they became part of the Ottoman Empire in the 14th century.^[3] The uptake of Islam at first occurred mainly amongst the Christian elite who retained some previous political and economic privileges and the emerging class of timar or estate holders of the sipahis in the new Ottoman system.^[4]^[5] These included aristocratic figures such as George Kastrioti (Skanderbeg) who while in the service of the Ottomans was a convert to Islam and later reverted to Christianity during the late 15th century northern Albanian uprising he initiated.^[3] In doing so, he also ordered others who had embraced Islam or were Muslim colonists to convert to Christianity or face death.^[3] With the onset of Ottoman rule, only prominent churches with significant symbolic meaning or cultural value of a urban settlement where converted into mosques.^[6]

The Ottoman conquest of certain northern cities from the Venetians happened separately to the initial conquest of Albania from local feudal lords. Cities such as Lezhë fell in 1478, Shkodër during 1478-1479 and Durrës in 1501 with the bulk of their Christian population fleeing.^[7] Over the course of the sixteenth century the urban populations of these cites became primarily Muslim.^[7] 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 16th century.^[8] The Ottoman conquest and territorial reorganisation of Albania though affected the Catholic church as ecclesiastical structures were decimated.^[9] The Ottoman wars with Catholic powers of Venice and Austria in the seventeenth century resulted in severe reprisals against Catholic Albanians who had rebelled which accentuated conversion to Islam.^[10]^[11] Steep decreases therefore occurred during the 1630s-1670s where for example the number of Catholics in the diocese of Lezhë declined by 50%, whereas in the diocese of Pult Catholics went from being 20,000 to 4,045.^[10] In 1703 pope Clement XI, himself of Albanian heritage, ordered a synod of local Catholic bishops that discussed stemming conversions to Islam which also agreed to deny communion to crypto-Catholics in Albania who outwardly professed Islam.^[12]

Ruined Red Mosque within citadel, Berat.
Ruined mosque within citadel, Krujë.
Ruined Fatih Sultan Mehmet Mosque within Rozafa fortress, Shkodër.

The official Ottoman recognition of the Orthodox church resulted in the Orthodox population being tolerated until the late 18th century and the traditionalism of the church's institutions slowed the process of conversion to Islam amongst Albanians.^[13]^[14] The Orthodox population of central and south-eastern Albania was under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Orthodox Archbishopric of Ohrid, while south-western Albania was under the Patriarchate of Constantinople through the Metropolis of Ioannina.^[15]^[16] In the early 16th century the Albanian cites of Gjirokastër, Kaninë, Delvinë, Vlorë, Korçë, Këlcyrë, Përmet and Berat were still Christian and by the late 16th century Vlorë, Përmet and Himarë were still Christian, while Gjirokastër increasingly became Muslim.^[15] Conversion to Islam in cities overall within Albania was slow during the 16th century as around only 38% of the urban population had become Muslim.^[17]^[18] The city of Berat from 1670 onward became mainly Muslim and its conversion is attributed in part to a lack of Christian priests being able to provide religious services.^[19] Differences between Christian Albanians of central Albania and archbishops of Ohrid led to conversions to Bektashi Islam that made an appeal to all while insisting little on ritual observance.^[20] Central Albania, such as the Durrës area had by end of the 16th century become mainly Muslim.^[21]

It was mainly during the late eighteenth century however that Orthodox Albanians converted in large numbers to Islam due overwhelmingly to the Russo-Turkish wars of the period, as the Orthodox population were viewed as allies of Russia.^[13]^[19] As some Orthodox Albanians rebelled against the Ottoman Empire, the Porte responded with and at times applied force to convert Orthodox Albanians to Islam while also providing economic measures to stimulate religious conversion.^[13]^[19]^[22] During this time conflict between newly converted Muslim Albanians and Orthodox Albanians occurred in certain areas. Examples include the coastal villages of Borsh attacking Piqeras in 1744, making some flee abroad to places such as southern Italy.^[23]^[24] While in other areas like in 36 villages north of the Pogoni area converted in 1760 which whereby the newly converted population followed it up with an attack on Orthodox villages of the Kolonjë, Leskovik and Përmet areas leaving many settlements sacked and ruined.^[24] By the late eighteenth century socio-political and economic crises alongside nominal Ottoman government control resulted in local banditry and Muslim Albanian bands raided Greek, Vlach and Orthodox Albanian settlements located today within and outside contemporary Albania.^[25]^[26]^[27]^[28] Within Albania those raids culminated in Vithkuq, mainly an Orthodox Albanian centre, Voskopojë (gr.Moscopole) mainly a Vlach centre both with Greek educational and religious culture and other smaller settlements being destroyed that pushed some Vlachs and Orthodox Albanians to migrate afar to places such as Macedonia, Thrace and so on.^[26]^[27]^[28]^[22]^[13]^[29] Some Orthodox individuals, known as neo-martyrs attempted to stem the tide of conversion to Islam amongst the Orthodox Albanian population and were executed in the process.^[18] Notable among these individuals was Cosmas of Aetolia, (died 1779) a Greek monk and missionary who traveled and preached afar as Krujë, opened many Greek schools before being accused as a Russian agent and executed by Ottoman Muslim Albanian authorities.^[30] Cosmas advocated for Greek education and spread of Greek language among illiterate Christian non-Greek speaking peoples so that they could understand the scriptures, liturgy and thereby remain Orthodox while his spiritual message is revered among contemporary Orthodox Albanians.^[31]^[30] By 1798 a massacre perpetrated against coastal Orthodox Albanian villagers by Ali Pasha, semi-independent ruler of the Pashalik of Yanina led to another sizable wave of conversions of Orthodox Albanians to Islam.^[13]

*Prayer In The House Of An Arnaut Chief* by Jean-Léon Gérôme (1857)

Other conversions such as those in the region of Labëria occurred due to ecclesiastical matters when for example during a famine the local bishop refused to grant a break in the fast to consume milk with threats of hell.^[18] Conversion to Islam also was undertaken for economic reasons which offered a way out of heavy taxation such as the jizya or poll tax and other difficult Ottoman measures imposed on Christians while opening up opportunities such as wealth accumulation and so on.^[18]^[32] Other multiple factors that led to conversions to Islam were the poverty of the Church, illiterate clergy and worship in a language other than Albanian.^[18]^[19] Additionally the reliance of the bishoprics of Durrës and southern Albania upon the declining Archbishopric of Ohrid, due in part to simony weakened the ability of Orthodox Albanians in resisting conversion to Islam.^[19] Crypto-Christianity also occurred in certain instances throughout Albania amongst populations that had recently converted from Christian Catholicism and Orthodoxy to Islam.^[10]^[11]^[18]

In the center and south 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 or in military employment as soldiers and mercenaries played an increasingly important role in Ottoman political and economic life that became an attractive career option for many Albanians.^[24] As such, Albanians were also represented in sizable numbers at the imperial Ottoman court.^[33] During Ottoman rule the Albanian population partially and 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, Köprülü Mehmed Pasha, Ali Pasha, Edhem Pasha, Ibrahim Pasha of Berat, Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed, Muhammad Ali of Egypt, Kara Mahmud Bushati and Ahmet Kurt Pasha.

Besides those associated with Sunni Islam, the Muslims of Albania during the Ottoman period belonged to several Sufi Orders.^[34] The Qadiri order spread within urban areas of the seventeenth century and was linked with guilds of urban workers while in the 18th century the Qadiri had spread into central Albania and in particular the mountainous Dibër region.^[34] The Qadiri contributed to the economic, and in the Dibër area, the socio-politcal milieu where they were based.^[34] The Halveti order who competed with the Bektashis for adherents and based in the south and northeast of Albania.^[34] Other Sufi orders were the Rufai and the Melami and so on. The most prominent of these in Albania were and still are the Bektashis, a mystic Dervish order belonging to Shia Islam that came to Albania during the Ottoman period, brought first by the Janissaries in the 15th century.^[19] The spread of Bektashism amongst the Albanian population though occurred during the 18th and mainly early 19th centuries, especially in the domains of Ali Pasha who is thought to have been a Bektashi himself.^[19]^[35] For Albanian converts to Islam, Bektashism with its greater religious freedoms and syncretism was viewed at times as a more appealing option to adhere to.^[19] The Bektashi sect is considered heretical by conservative Muslims.^[18] Traditionally Bektashis are found in sizable numbers within southern Albania and to a lesser extent in central Albania, while the rest of the Muslim population belong to Sunni Islam.^[19]

"Despite the current lack of open religious fervor among the Albanians, Islam has contributed substantially to making the Albanians what they are today. It is now an inherent feature of Albania’s national culture and to be treated and respected as such."

Robert Elsie (albanologist), 2001.^[36]

The Ottoman conquest also brought social, cultural and linguistic changes into the Albanian-speaking world. From the fifteenth century onward words from Ottoman Turkish entered the Albanian language.^[32] While a corpus of poets and other Muslim Albanian authors wrote in Ottoman Turkish, Arabic, Persian or in the Albanian language in Arabic script (aljamiado) encompassing narrative prose, poetry, reflective treatises on religion and socio-political situations and so on.^[32] Prominent amongst these authors were Yahya bey Dukagjini, Haxhi Shehreti or bejtexhinj poets like Nezim Frakulla, Muhamet Kyçyku, Sulejman Naibi, Hasan Zyko Kamberi, Haxhi Ymer Kashari and others.^[32] Unlike Kosovo or Macedonia, architecturally Albania's Ottoman Muslim heritage was more modest in number, though prominent structures are the Mirahori Mosque in Korçë (built. 1495-1496), Murad Bey Mosque in Krujë (1533-1534), Lead Mosque in Shkodër (1773-1774), Et'hem Bey Mosque in Tiranë (begun. 1791-1794; finished. 1820-1821) and others.^[32] Conversion from Christianity to Islam for Albanians also marked a transition from Rum (Christian) to Muslim confessional communities within the Ottoman millet system that collectively divided and governed peoples according to their religion.^[25] The Ottomans were nonetheless aware of the existence of Muslim Albanians and used terms like Arnavud extensively as a ethnic marker to address the shortcomings of the usual millet religious terminology to identify people in Ottoman state records.^[25]^[37] While the country was referred to Arnavudluk.^[37] Also a new and generalised response by Albanians based on ethnic and linguistic consciousness to this new and different Ottoman world emerging around them was a change in ethnonym.^[38] The ethnic demonym Shqiptarë, derived from Latin connoting clear speech and verbal understanding gradually replaced Arbëresh/Arbënesh amongst Albanian speakers between the late 17th and early 18th centuries.^[38]

Within scholarship in contemporary times, the conversion of Albanians and the legacy of Islam within Albania is a contested topic. According to scholar Hasan Kaleshi, the Ottoman conquest and conversion to Islam by Albanians averted assimilation into Slavs the same way that the Slavic invasions of the 6th century halted the romanization process of the progenitors of the Albanians.^[39] Kaleshi maintained that though recognised within the millet system as Muslims only, Albanians were able to survive and even to geographically expand their Balkan area of settlement under the Ottomans.^[39] Contemporary Albanian scholars, some with nationalist leanings interpret the Ottoman period as negative and downplay the conversion to Islam as having had barely any benefits to Albanians in a socio-cultural and religious sense.^[39]^[40]

National Awakening (19th and early 20th centuries)

By the 19th century Albanians were divided into three religious groups. Catholic Albanians who had some Albanian ethno-linguistic expression in schooling and church due to Austro-Hungarian protection and Italian clerical patronage.^[35] Orthodox Albanians under the Patriarchate of Constantinople had liturgy and schooling in Greek and toward the late Ottoman period mainly identified with Greek national aspirations.^[35]^[41]^[42] While Muslim Albanians during this period formed around 70% of the overall Balkan Albanian population in the Ottoman Empire with an estimated population of more than a million.^[35] With the rise of the Eastern Crisis, Muslim Albanians became torn between loyalties to the Ottoman state and the emerging Albanian nationalist movement.^[35] Islam, the Sultan and the Ottoman Empire were traditionally seen as synonymous in belonging to the wider Muslim community.^[35] While the Albanian nationalist movement advocated self determination and strived to achieve socio-political recognition of Albanians as a separate people and language within the state.^[35]

The Russo-Ottoman war of 1878 and the threat of partition of Ottoman Albanian inhabited areas amongst neighbouring Balkan states at the Congress of Berlin led to the emergence of the League of Prizren (1878-1881) to prevent those aims.^[35] The league began as an organisation advocating Islamic solidarity and restoration of the status quo (pre-1878).^[35] In time it also included Albanian national demands such as the creation of a large Albanian vilayet or province which led to its demise by the Ottoman Empire.^[35] The Ottoman Empire viewed Muslim Albanians as a bulwark to further encroachment by Christian Balkan states to its territory.^[35] It therefore opposed emerging Albanian national sentiments and Albanian language education amongst its Muslim component that would sever Muslim Albanians from the Ottoman Empire.^[35] During this time the Ottoman Empire appealed to pan-Islamic identity and attempted to console Muslim Albanians for example by employing only them in the Imperial Palace Guard and offering their elite socio-political and other privileges.^[35]^[43] Wars and socio-political instability resulting in increasing identification with the Ottoman Empire amongst some Muslims within the Balkans during the late Ottoman period made the terms Muslim and Turk synonymous.^[43] In this context, Muslim Albanians of the era were conferred and received the term Turk while having preferences to distance themselves from ethnic Turks.^[43] This practice has somewhat continued amongst Balkan Christian peoples in contemporary times who still refer to Muslim Albanians as Turks and Turco-Albanians, with often pejorative connotations and historic negative socio-political repercussions.^[44]^[45]^[46]^[47]^[48] During this time small numbers of Slavic Muslims, Bosniaks from the Herzegovina Mostar area migrated due to the Herzegovina Uprising (1875) and Slavic Muslims expelled (1878) by Montenegrin forces from Podgorica both settled in a few settlements in north-western Albania.^[49]^[50]^[51]^[52]

These geo-political events nonetheless pushed Albanian nationalists, many Muslim, to distance themselves from the Ottomans, Islam and the then emerging pan-Islamic Ottomanism of Sultan Abdulhamid II.^[35]^[53] Another factor overlaying these concerns during the Albanian National Awakening (Rilindja) period were thoughts that Western powers would only favour Christian Balkan states and peoples in the anti Ottoman struggle.^[53] During this time Albanian nationalists conceived of Albanians as a European people who under Skanderbeg resisted the Ottoman Turks that later subjugated and cut the Albanians off from Western European civilisation.^[53] Muslim Albanians were heavily involved with the Albanian National Awakening producing many figures like Faik Konica, Ismail Qemali, Midhat Frashëri, Shahin Kolonja and others advocating for Albanian interests and self determination.^[35]^[42]^[19] Representing the complexities and interdependencies of both Ottoman and Albanians worlds, these individuals and others during this time also contributed to the Ottoman state amongst other things as statesmen, military personal, religious figures, intellectuals, journalists and being members of Union and Progress (CUP) movement.^[19]^[35]^[43] Such figures were Sami Frashëri who reflecting on Islam and Albanians viewed Bektashism as a milder syncretic form of Islam with Shiite and Christian influences that could overcome Albanian religious divisions through mass conversion to it.^[53] The Bektashi sufi order during the late Ottoman period, with around 20 monasteries in Southern Albania also played a role during the Albanian National Awakening by cultivating and stimulating Albanian language and culture.^[35]^[19]

Bachelors' Mosque (left) and Hysen Pasha Mosque in Berat. (right).

During the late Ottoman period the sancaks or districts of Korçë and Gjirokastër contained a Muslim population that numbered 95,000 in 1908 in contrast to 128,000 Orthodox inhabitants.^[54] Muslims in these areas that eventually came to constitute contemporary southern Albania were all Albanian speaking Muslims.^[55]^[56] In 1908 the Young Turk revolution, in part instigated by Muslim Albanian Ottoman officials and troops with CUP leanings deposed Sultan Abdul Hamit II and installed a new government which promised reforms.^[35] In 1908, an alphabet congress with some Muslim delegates agreed to adopt a Latin character based Albanian alphabet that was opposed by many Muslim Albanians.^[35]^[19]^[57] They instead alongside some Muslim Albanian clerics preferred an Arabic based Albanian alphabet, due in part to concerns that a Latin based Albanian alphabet undermined ties with the Muslim world.^[35]^[19]^[57] Toward the end of Ottoman rule, two Albanian revolts broke out. The first revolt was during 1910 in northern Albania and Kosovo reacting toward the new Ottoman government policy of centralization.^[35] The other revolt in the same areas was in 1912 that sought Albanian political and linguistic self determination under the bounds of the Ottoman Empire and with both revolts many of the leaders and fighters were Muslim Albanians.^[35] These Albanian revolts were also a turning point that impacted the Young Turk government which increasingly moved from a policy direction of pan-Ottomanism and Islam toward a singular national Turkish outlook.^[43]

Independence

Balkan Wars (1912-1913) and World War One (1914-1918)

Lead Mosque with minaret in Shkodër, circa late 1800s (left) and without minaret in dilapidated state and prone to flooding, 2013 (right).

With the onset of the Balkan Wars and the collapse of Ottoman rule in the Balkans, Albanians represented by Ismail Qemali declared Independence from the Otttoman Empire on the 28th Novmember 1912 in Vlorë. The main motivation for independence was to prevent Balkan Albanian inhabited lands from being annexed by Greece and Serbia, while the Ottoman CUP Young Turk government felt betrayed by these actions as it considered Albanians a kindred Muslim people.^[43] Within the scope of the Balkan Wars (1912-1913) the Northern Epirote movement arose in southern Albania amongst the Orthodox population calling for unification with Greece who also opposed living in an Albania under leaders composed of Muslim Albanians.^[20] Fighting broke out in southern Albania between Greek irregulars and Muslim Albanians who opposed the Northern Epirot movement.^[58] After recognising Albanian independence and its provisional borders in 1913, the Great powers imposed on Albania a Christian German prince Wilhelm of Wied to be its ruler in 1914.^[59] In the ensuring power struggles and disquiet over having a Christian monarch, a failed Muslim uprising (1914) broke out in central Albania that sought to restore Ottoman rule while northern and southern Albania distanced themselves from those events.^[59]

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 with all other faiths in the country, Islam underwent radical changes.

Interwar period (1919-1939): State interference and reforms

From the early days of interwar Albania and due to Albania's heterogeneous religious makeup, Albania's political leadership defined Albania as without a official religion.^[60] Muslim Albanians at time time formed around 70% of the total population of 800,000 and Albania was the only Muslim country in Europe.^[60] In the former Ottoman districts of Korçë and Gjirokastër forming southern Albania, the share of the Muslim population increased in 1923 to 109,000 in contrast to 114,000 Orthodox and by 1927 Muslims were 116,000 to 112,000 Orthodox.^[54] Yugoslavia and Greece in their state polices of the 1920s claimed that Albania was a little Turkey hostile to Orthodox populations like Greeks and others and that the Muslim majority was persecuting them.^[61] Albania refuted those claims of sectarian Muslim and Christian conflict and attributed tensions in its south to the movement for an independent Albanian Orthodox church and those wanting to remain under the Patriarchate.^[61]

Albanian secularist elites pushed for a reform of Islam as the process of Islamic religious institutions were nationalised and the state increasingly imposed its will upon them.^[60] For example in 1923 at the first Islamic National Congress the criteria for delegates attending was that being clerics was not important and that instead patriots with a liberal outlook were favoured with some delegates being selected by the state.^[60] Government representatives were present at the congress too.^[60] Following the government program of reforms, the Albanian Islamic congress in Tirana therefore decided to deliberate and reform some Islamic traditional practices adopted from the Ottoman period with the reasoning of allowing Albanian society the opportunity to thrive.^[59] The measures adopted by the congress was a break with the Ottoman Caliphate, banning polygamy (most of the Muslim Albanian population was monogamous) and the mandatory wearing of veil (hijab) by women in public.^[59] A new form of prayer was also implemented (standing, instead of the traditional salat ritual).^[62] As with the congress, the attitudes of Muslim clerics were during the interwar period monitored by the state who at times appointed and dismissed them at will.^[60]

In 1925, Ahmet Zog, a emerging politician from a prominent Muslim Albanian family became president of Albania and by 1929 installed himself as king.^[63] The regime lasted until Zog's ousting during the Italian invasion of 1939 and within that time implemented a series of modernising measures meant to further curb Islam's influence in Albania and reverse the legacy of the Ottoman period.^[63]^[64] Amongst those were the abolition of Sharia law and replacement with Western law and translation of the Quran into Albanian that was criticized for its inaccuracies.^[63]^[60] Increasing interference by the state of Islamic institutions led to Muslim clerics in 1926 to accuse the government of a propaganda campaign against the new madrasa in Shkodër, the new organisation of Jemaat (Islamic Community) and its finances.^[60] Clerics that went outside state oversight and delivered sermons in mosques without permission were threatened with action by authorities of offenders.^[60] As relations with the Muslim hierarchy and government officials became close, Islamic institutions were used by the state to implement social control like strengthening national unity, encouraging parents to send children to school and preventing diffusion of communist ideas.^[60] By 1929 with the centralisation and reform of Islamic institutions the state funded a sizable portion of the Islamic community's budget and madrasas were closed with one remaining in Tiranë to train clerics in new modern ways.^[60] Muslim Albanians resisted many of these changes on the restructuring of their Islamic committees, promoted da'wah or preaching of Islam to non-Muslim Albanians with risks of persecution, while their organisation underwent improvements.^[63] New mosques were also built such as the Great Mosque in Durrës while an Islamic Institute in Tiranë was in 1936 accommodating up to 240 students.^[63] After prolonged debate amongst Albanian elites during the interwar era and increasing restrictions, the wearing of the veil in 1937 was banned in legislation by Zog.^[60]^[65]

Throughout the interwar period, the Albanian intellectual elite often undermined and depreciated Sunni Islam, whereas Sufi Islam and its various orders experienced an important period of promising growth.^[34] After independence, ties amongst the wider Sufi Bektashi community in former Ottoman lands waned.^[66] In 1925 the Bektashi Order whose headquarters were in Turkey moved to Tiranë to escape Atatürk's secularising reforms and Albania would become the center of Bektashism where there were 260 tekes present.^[63]^[66]^[67] In 1929, the Bektashi order severed its ties with Sunnism and by 1937 Bektashi adherents formed around 27% of the Muslim population in Albania.^[63]^[68] Apart from Bektashis, there were other main Sufi orders present in Albania during the interwar period.^[34] The Halvetis in the interwar period were involved in proselytizing and also opened new tekes in Leskovik and Korçë.^[34] The Qadiris mainly located in urban areas and the Rufais, who spread their Tariqa order throughout Albania founding new tekes.^[34] While the Tijaniyyah order, a newcomer in the early 20th century to Tiranë, Durrës and Shkodër rejected hereditary succession of the sheikhs, emphasised links with the Prophet Muhammad and played a part in the reform movement of mainstream Islam in Albania.^[34] The sheikhs and dervishes of the various Sufi orders during the interwar period played an important role in Albanian society by often being healers to the public and Bektashi babas were at times involved in mediation of disputes and vendettas.^[34] By 1936 with the existence of individual Sufi organisations and leagues of the various orders, Albanian Muslim authorities formed an association named Drita Hyjnore (Divine Light) so as to reorganise and better coordinate the activities of four of the orders.^[34]

Communist period and persecution (1945-1991)

Mirahori mosque of Korçë in 2002 with destroyed minaret from communist times (left) and with rebuilt minaret in 2013 (right).

In the aftermath of World War Two, the communist regime came to power after overcoming conflicts with occupying Axis forces and the opposition force Balli Kombëtar. Muslims, most from southern Albania were represented from early on within the communist leadership group such as leader Enver Hoxha (1908-1985), his deputy Mehmet Shehu (1913-1981) and others.^[69] Albanian society was still traditionally divided between four religious communities.^[57] In the Albanian census of 1945, Muslims were 72% of the population, 17.2% were Orthodox and 10% Catholic.^[70] The communist regime through Albanian Nationalism attempted to forge a national identity that transcended and eroded these religious and other differences with the aim of forming a unitary Albanian identity.^[57] Albanian communists viewed religion as a societal threat that undermined the cohesiveness of the nation.^[57] Within this context, religions like Islam were denounced as foreign and clergy such as Muslim muftis were criticised as being socially backward with the propensity to become agents of other states and undermine Albanian interests.^[57] In 1949, a law was passed that required religious institutions to inculcate feelings of loyalty among their adherents to the Albanian communist party and that all religions had to have their headquarters in Albania.^[71] Akin to the Orthodox, the Bektashi's entered into agreements with the communist state without difficulties which defined what was considered acceptable activities of their religious clergy and the declaration of participation in communist propaganda campaigns.^[70] The communists during this time treated the Bektashi's somewhat differently as part of their clergy and adherents were casualties during fighting in World War Two.^[70] Whereas some of the Sunni Muslim clergy such as Mustafa efendi Varoshi (mufti of Durrës), Hafez Ibrahim Dibra (former great mufti of Albania) and Xhemal Pazari (a prominent sheikh from Tiranë) were accused by the communists of collaborating with Axis occupying powers and imprisoned.^[70]

Religious leaders were selected by and acted as proxies for the communist party and the process was violent with Sunni Muslim leaders imprisoned and killed while the Bektashi head suffered a similar fate and by 1947 the communist regime had imprisoned 44 Muslim clergy.^[71]^[70] The Sunni Albanian community by 1949 under grand mufti Hafis Musa Ali attempted to attain some measures and conditions from Enver Hoxha.^[72] Some of those included financial assistance, the exemption of future Muslim clergy doing army service which was supported while a translation of the Quran into Albanian was rejected.^[72] In 1950, the communist government implemented Act 743 that outlined measures for negotiating the status of the four religions in Albania.^[72] The Sunni Community at this time was run by the Main Council and its finances came from budget subsidiaries and property donations.^[72] As the Bektashi order of Albania was the worldwide headquarters of Bektashism, contact with outside communities linked to them were allowed by the communists though denied for other religions in Albania.^[72] After 1945, material wealth, institutional properties and land of the religious communities in Albania were confiscated by the state to limit the ability of the religious communities to be economically self reliant.^[73]^[74]^[71] While mosques had until 1965 undergone a state of dilapidation due to meagre finances for repair.^[73] Muslim architectural heritage was perceived by Albanian communists to be a unwanted vestige of the Ottoman period used for converting Albanians into Muslims.^[73] In 1965 the communist regime initiated a cultural revolution based on the Chinese model that saw the wide scale destruction of most mosque minarets due to them being a prominent feature of Islamic architecture.^[73] By 1967 only 60 Bektashi tekes were left functioning.^[72]

Inspired by Pashko Vasa's late 19th century poem for the need to overcome religious differences through Albanian unity, Hoxha took the stanza "the faith of the Albanians is Albanianism" and implemented it literally as state policy.^[57] In 1967 therefore the communist regime declared Albania the only non-religious country in the world, banning all forms of religious practice in public.^[75]^[57] The Muslim Sunni and Bektashi clergy alongside their Catholic and Orthodox counterparts suffered severe persecution and to prevent a decentralisation of authority in Albania, many of their leaders were killed.^[75] Jumu'ah or communal Friday prayers in a mosque that involves a sermon afterwards were banned in Albania due to their revolutionary associations that posed a threat to the communist regime.^[76] People who still preformed religious practices did so in secret, while others found out were persecuted and personal possession of religious literature such as the Quran forbidden.^[75]^[57]^[74] Amongst Bektashi adherents transmission of knowledge became limited to within few family circles that mainly resided in the countryside.^[34] Mosques became a target for Albanian communists who saw their continued existence as exerting a ideological presence in the minds of people.^[73] Through the demise of mosques and religion in general within Albania, the regime sought to alter and sever the social basis of religion that lay with traditional religious structures amongst the people and replace it with communism.^[73]^[74]^[77] Islamic buildings were hence appropriated by the communist state who often turned into them into gathering places, sports halls, warehouses, barns, restaurants, cultural centres and cinemas in an attempt to erase those links between religious buildings and people.^[75]^[57]^[73]^[72]

Kubelie Mosque in Kavajë, circa 1939 (left) and rebuilt mosque after communist destruction in 1967 with original colonnade, 2007 (right).

In 1967 within the space of seven months the communist regime destroyed 2,169 religious buildings and other monuments.^[73] Of those were some 530 tekes, turbes and dergah saint shrines that belonged mainly to the Bektashi order.^[73] Pilgrimage thereafter amongst Bektashi adherents to those shrines became limited occurring only in certain locations and indirectly through gatherings like picnics near those sites such as the Sari Salltëk tyrbe in Krujë.^[34] While 740 mosques were destroyed, some of which were prominent and architecturally important like the Kubelie Mosque in Kavajë, the Clock Mosque in Peqin and the two domed mosques in Elbasan dating from the 17th century.^[73] Of the roughly 1,127 Islamic buildings existing in Albania prior to the communists coming to power, only 50 mosques remained thereafter with most being in a state of disrepair.^[78] Some number of mosques that were deemed structures of cultural importance and historic value by the communists did survive such as the Muradiye mosque in Vlorë, the Lead mosque in Shkodër, Naziresha Mosque in Elbasan, the Lead, Beqar, Hynkar and Hysen Pasha mosques of Berat, Fatih mosque in Durrës, Bazar mosque of Krujë, Allajbegi mosque of the Dibër area, Mirahor mosque in Korçë, Teke mosque in Gjirokastër and the Gjin Aleksi mosque of the Sarandë area.^[73] Declared also a monument of culture, the Ethem Bey mosque of Tiranë was allowed to function as a place of prayer and Islamic ritual, though only for foreign Muslim diplomats.^[72] In Tiranë during 1991, only two mosques were in a position to be used for worship.^[78] Due to the deemphasizing of religion, some Muslim and Orthodox mixed marriages occurred in the late communist period.^[79]

Republic of Albania (1992 onward)

Following the wider trends for socio-poltical pluralism and freedom in Eastern Europe from communism, a series of fierce protests by Albanian society culminated with the communist regime collapsing after allowing two elections in 1991 and then 1992. Toward the end of the regime's collapse, it had reluctantly allowed for limited religious expression to reemerge.^[75] In 1990, the first mosque, alongside a Catholic church were opened in Shkodër once again.^[34] Muslims, this time mainly from northern Albania such as Azem Hajdari (1963-1998) and Sali Berisha, who later served multiple terms as president and prime minster were prominent leaders in the movement for democratic change. Areas that had been traditionally Muslim in Albania prior to 1967 reemerged in a post-communist context once again mainly as Muslim with its various internal complexities.^[34]

In the 1990s, Muslim Albanians placed their focus on restoring institutions, religious buildings and Islam as a faith in Albania that had overall been decimated by the communists.^[75]^[81] During this time the restoration of Islam in Albania appealed to older generations of Muslim Albanian adherents and limited numbers of young school age people who wished to qualify and study abroad in Muslim countries.^[81] Most mosques and some madrassas destroyed and damaged during the communist era had by 1996 been either reconstructed or restored in former locations where they once stood before 1967.^[81] Muslim religious teachers and prayer leaders were also retrained abroad in Muslim states or in Albania.^[81] The Muslim Community of Albania is the main organisation overseeing Sunni Islam in Albania and during the 1990s it received funding and technical support from abroad to reconstitute its influence within the country.^[81]

The Albanian Sunni Community has over time established links with oversees Muslims.^[75] Due to funding shortages in Albania these ties have been locally beneficial as they have mobilised resources of several well funded international Muslim organsations like the OIC which has allowed for the reestablishment of Muslim ritual and spiritual practices in Albania.^[75] Particular efforts have been directed toward spreading information about Islam in Albania through media, education and local community centres.^[75] In April 2011, Bedër University, Albania's first Islamic university was opened in Tiranë.^[82] The main state run Turkish Muslim organisation Diyanet has funded and started construction of the Great Mosque of Tiranë in 2015.^[83]^[84] The mosque will be the Balkans largest with minarets 50 meters high and a dome of 30 meters built on a 10,000-square-meter parcel of land near Albania's parliament building able to accommodate up to 4,500 worshipers.^[85]^[86]^[83]

While a traditional reliance on hierarchy and internal structures the restoration of Sufi Islam, akin to Sunni Islam, has faced organisational problems in restablishing and stabilising former systems of authority.^[75] That stood in contrast with the activities of local people who were quick to rebuild the destroyed tyrbes and other mausoleums of Sufi saints by the end of 1991.^[34] As Albanian migrants went abroad financial resources were sent back to fund other reconstruction projects of various Sufi shrines and teke monasteries.^[34] While the Bektashi order in the 1990s was only able to reopen 6 of its tekkes.^[72] The main Sufi order, the Bektashi within Albania have attempted to appeal to a younger, urban and also intellectual demographic and placing itself within the wider socio-political space.^[34] Bektashis have also reconnected with the wider Muslim would, in particular groups and organisations based in Turkey and Shiite Iran.^[34] Members from the Albanian government in the 1990s onward have favoured Bektashism as a milder from of Islam for Albanian Islam and it playing a role as a conduit between Islam and Christianity.^[34] The Gülen movement based on the Muslim values of the Turkish preacher Fethullah Gülen has also entered Albania from 1992 onward and set up schools known for their high quality and mainly secular education based on Islamic ethics and principles.^[87]

Rebuilt Ebu Beker Mosque in Shkodër.
Rebuilt Parrucë Mosque in Shkodër.
New mosque in Përmet.
New mosque in Kukës.
New mosque in Kaninë.

Demographics

A recent Pew Research Center demographic study put the percentage of Muslims in Albania at 79.9%.^[88] However, a recent Gallup poll gives percentages of religious affiliations with only 43% Muslim, 19% Eastern Orthodox, 15% Catholic and 23% atheist or nonreligious.^[89] 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.^[90] 65% of Albanian Muslims are non-denominational Muslims.^[91]

Ethno-linguistic composition

Most Muslims in Albania are ethnic Albanians. There are however small though significant clusters of non-Albanian (speaking) Muslims in the country. The Romani minority in Albania are mostly Muslims and estimated to number some 50,000 to 95,000 located throughout Albania and often residing in major urban centres forming a significant minority population.^[75]^[92] The Romani community is often economically disadvantaged with at times facing socio-political discrimination and distance from wider Albanian society like for example little intermarriage or neighbourhood segregation.^[75]^[92] Other Muslim communities are of a Slavic linguistic background. In the north-eastern borderland region of Gorë, the Gorani community inhabits the villages of Zapod, Pakisht, Orçikël, Kosharisht, Cernalevë, Orgjost, Orshekë, Borje, Novosej and Shishtavec.^[93] In the central-eastern borderland region of Gollobordë, a Muslim Macedonian speaking community known as Gollobordas inhabits the villages of Ostren i Madh, Kojavec, Lejçan, Lladomericë, Ostren i Vogël, Orzhanovë, Radovesh, Tuçep, Pasinkë, Trebisht, Gjinovec, Klenjë, Vërnicë, Steblevë and three families in Sebisht.^[94]^[95] In Albania people from the Gollobordas community are considered Albanians instead of Macedonians, even by the Albanian state, and they are known to intermarry with Muslim Albanians and not with Orthodox Macedonians.^[94] The Bosniak community of the Shijak area whose presence dates back to 1875 inhabits almost entirely the village of Borakaj and in the neighbouring village Koxhas they live alongside Albanians and form a minority.^[51] Bosniaks from these settlements have also settled in Durrës, Shijak and in 1924 some went and settled in the village of Libofshë where they have mostly become linguistically assimilated.^[51] There is a small Muslim Montenegrin speaking community near Shkodër whose presence dates back to 1878 and are known as Podgoriçani, due to their origins from Podgorica in Montenegro.^[49]^[50] Podgoriçani inhabit the villages of Boriç i Madh were they form a majority alongside few Orthodox Montengrins and some Albanians, while they live compactly in both Shtoj i Vjetër with 30 families and in Shtoj i Ri with 17 families with some families in Shkodër city.^[49]^[52]^[49]^[50]

Identity and interreligious relations

Throughout the duration of the Communist regime, national Albanian identity was constructed as being irreligious and based upon a common unitary Albanian nationality.^[96] This widely spread ideal is still present, though challenged by religious differentiation between Muslim Albanians and Christians which exists at a local level.^[96] Contemporary Muslim Albanians in Albania see themselves as being the purest Albanians.^[97] This view is based on the large contribution Muslim Albanians made to the National Awakening (Rilindja) and resistance to the geo-political aims of the Serbs.^[97] While Muslim Albanians view Islam as a force that maintained Albanian independence, united Albanians and prevented them from being absorbed by the Serbs, Greeks or even Italians.^[98] Albanian Muslims also hold the view that unlike them, Christian Albanian communities of the Orthodox historically identified with the Greeks and Catholics with the Italians.^[97] Muslim Albanians often refer to Orthodox Albanians as Greeks and attribute to them pro-Greek sentiments, while Orthodox Albanians view Muslim Albanians as having historically collaborated and identified with the Ottomans thereby earning the epithet Turks.^[97] In northern Albania and southern Albania relations between Muslim Albanians and Catholic Albanians or Muslims with Orthodox Albanians vary and are often distant with both Muslim and Christian communities traditionally living in separate villages and or neighbourhoods, even within cities.^[98]^[99]^[100] Various pejoratives are in use today for different religious groups in Albanian, some of them are based on the Ottoman system of classification (Turk, Turco-Albanians for Muslim Albanians, Kaur/infidel, Kaur i derit/infidel pigs, for Orthodox Albanians, Catholic Albanians, Greeks, Vlachs and Orthodox Macedonians).^[97]^[98]^[101]^[94] There have been also instances where Muslim Albanian migrants in Greece converted to Orthodoxy and changed their names into Christian forms in order to be accepted into Greek society.^[102]^[103] Over the years minor incidents between Muslim Albanians with Catholic and Orthodox Albanians have occurred such as pig heads thrown into mosque courtyards, Catholic tombstones being knocked down, an Orthodox church in Shkodër being bombed and damage done to frescoes in a church in Voskopojë.^[36]

Contemporary Issues

Debates about Islam and contemporary Albanian identity

Within the Balkans apart from the ethno-linguistic component of Albanian identity, Albania's Orthodox neighbours also view it through religious terms.^[57] They refer to Albanians therefore as a Muslim nation and as Muslim fundamentalists which has placed the secular part of Albanian identity under strain.^[57] Among Albanian intellectuals and other notable Albanians, many Muslim, this has generated much discussions and at times debates about Islam and its role within Albania and amongst Albanians as a whole in the Balkans.^[104] Prominent in those discussions were written exchanges in newspaper articles and books between novelist Ismail Kadare of Gjirokastër and literary critic Rexhep Qosja, an Albanian from the former Yugoslavia in the mid-2000s.^[104] Kadare asserted that Albania's future lay with Europe due to its ancient European roots, Christian traditions and being a white people, while Qosja contended that Albanian identity was both a blend of Western (Christian) and Eastern (Islam) cultures and often adaptable to historical contexts.^[104] In a 2005 speech given in Britain by president Alfred Moisiu of Orthodox heritage, he referred to Islam in Albania as having a "European face", it being "shallow" and that "if you dig a bit in every Albanian, he can discover his Christian core".^[104] The Muslim Forum of Albania responded to those and Kadare's comments and referred to them as "racist" containing "Islamophobia" and being "deeply offensive".^[104]

Conservative Islam and Muslim fundamentalism

The Muslim Albanian community has also contended with increasing numbers of Christian missionaries which has made some of the Sunni Albanian leadership become more assertive and calling for Islam to be declared the official religion of Albania.^[75] These calls within the scope of political Islam have greatly waned after non-Muslim Albanians objected to those suggestions.^[75] Islamic fundamentalism has though become a concern for Albania and its backers amongst the international community.^[105] In the 1990s, small groups of militant Muslims took advantage of dysfunctional government, porous borders, corruption, weak laws and illegal activities occurring during Albania's transition to democracy.^[105] These Muslim militants used Albania as a base for money laundering and as a transit route into the West with at times the assistance of corrupt government employees.^[105] There were claims by critics of the Albanian government that high profile militants like Osama Bin Laden passed through Albania while president Sali Berisha and head of Albanian intelligence Bashkim Gazidede had knowledge and assisted militants, though no credible evidence has emerged.^[105]

Islam and Albanian geo-political orientation

With the collapse of the isolationist communist regime, Albania's geopolitical orientation between West and East became debated among Albanian intellectuals and its politicians.^[57] In 1992 Albania became the only entirely European member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and generated intense controversy within Albania due to concerns that Albania might drift from a secular European future.^[57] Berisha refuted those claims and viewed membership for Albania in acting as a bridge between the Muslim-Christian worlds.^[104] By 1998-1999 Albania's OIC membership was suspended and temporary withdrawn by prime-minister Fatos Nano who viewed it as inhibiting Albania's European aspirations.^[57]^[106]^[107] In the post communist period different socio-poltical reactions have occurred by regional neighbours and international powers toward Albania and Muslim Albanians. For example in the 1990s, Greece preferred and assisted Orthodox Albanian leaders like Fatos Nano in Albania over Muslim Albanian ones like Sali Berisha as they were seen as being friendlier to Greek interests.^[108] Though generally supportive of the USA, in 1999 due to the Kosovo war and ethnic cleansing of mostly Muslim Albanians by Orthodox Serbs and subsequent refugee influx into the country, Albania's status as an ally of the USA was confirmed.^[74] Support for the USA has remained high at 95% in Muslim majority Albania in contrast to the rest of the Muslim world.^[74] Within the wider Balkans Albania is considered to be the most pro-EU and pro-Western country in the region and unlike its neighbours except Kosovo are both countries that have little to negligible support for Russia.^[84] While state relations of Albania with Turkey are friendly and close, due to the Albanian diaspora of Turkey maintaining close links with Albanians of the Balkans and vice versa while also Turkey maintaining close socio-political, cultural, economic and military ties with Albania.^[109]^[110]^[111]^[112]^[84]^[113] Turkey has been supportive of Albanian geopolitical interests within the Balkans.^[111]^[113] In Gallup polls conducted in recent times Turkey is viewed as a friendly country by 73% of people in Albania.^[111]

Gallery

Muradie Mosque in Vlorë.
Mosque of Neshat Pasha in Vlorë.
Naziresha Mosque in Elbasan.
Bazaar Mosque in Gjirokastër.
Bazaar Mosque in Krujë.
Clock Mosque in Peqin.
Fatih Mosque in Durrës.
Former Sulejman Pasha Mosque of Tiranë destroyed during World War Two and its minaret in 1967.
Kokonozi Mosque in Tiranë.
King Mosque in Berat.
Tanners' Mosque in Tiranë.
Et'hem Bey Mosque, one of the oldest mosques in Tiranë.
Teqe Mosque in Gjirokastër.
Old mosque in Lurë.

External links

Official Homepage of the Muslim Community of Albania – Komuniteti Mysliman i Shqipërisë (Albanian, Arabic, English)
Official Homepage of the Bektashi Order in Albania - Tarikati Bektashi (Albanian, Turkish, Bosnian, English)
Official Homepage of Bedër University - Universiteti Bedër (Hëna e Plotë) (Albanian, English)
The Muslim Forum of Albania - Forumi Musliman i Shqipërisë (Albanian, Turkish, Arabic, English)
Albanian Institute of Islamic Thought & Civilization

References

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^ Nurja, Ines (2011). "Fjala e Drejtorit të Përgjithshëm të INSTAT, Ines Nurja gjatë prezantimit të rezultateve kryesore të Censusit të Popullsisë dhe Banesave 2011" (PDF) (Press release) (in Albanian). The Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 26 June 2013. {{cite press release}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
^ Jørgen Nielsen; Samim Akgönül; Ahmet Alibašić; Egdunas Racius (2013). "Albania". Yearbook of Muslims in Europe. Vol. 5. Leiden, Boston: Brill. p. 23. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
^ ^a ^b ^c Ramet, Sabrina (1998). Nihil obstat: religion, politics, and social change in East-Central Europe and Russia. Duke University Press. ISBN 9780822320708. p. 209. "The Ottomans first invaded Albania in 1385. A second Ottoman force was sent to Albania 1394-96, occupying the country. Given both the Ottoman disposition to tolerate religious diversity among loyal subjects and the generally bellicose traditions of the Albanians, Ottoman authorities adopted a conciliatory policy toward Albanian Christians in the early decades of occupation. Still, although conversion to Islam was not required, a Christian Albanian lord could count on winning favor if he converted. If the Ottomans did not believe that religious reasons could compel a Christian to convert to Islam, they nonetheless looked askance when a Muslim converted (or reconverted) to Christianity. This happened in 1443 when Gjergj Kastrioti (called Skenderbeg), who had been reared as a Muslim in the sultan’s palace, abandoned the Islamic faith and publicly reverted to the creed of his forefathers. But this conversion was not merely a public gesture of defiance. It was the first act in a revolutionary drama. For, after changing his religious allegiance, Skenderbeg demanded that Muslim colonists and converts alike embrace Christianity on pain of death, declaring a kind of holy war against the sultan/caliph."
^ Ergo, Dritan (2010). "Islam in the Albanian lands (XVth-XVIIth Century)". In Jens Schmitt, Oliver & Andreas Rathberger (eds). [Religion und Kultur im albanischsprachigen Südosteuropa [Religion and culture in Albanian-speaking southeastern Europe]]. Peter Lang. ISBN 978-3-631-60295-9. p. 22.
^ Giakoumis, Konstantinos (2010). "The Orthodox Church in Albania Under the Ottoman Rule 15th-19th Century". In Schmitt, Oliver Jens & Andreas Rathberger (eds). Religion und Kultur im albanischsprachigen Südosteuropa [Religion and culture in Albanian-speaking southeastern Europe]]. Peter Lang. p. 6, 8.
^ Ergo. Islam in the Albanian lands. 2010. p. 18.
^ ^a ^b Malcolm, Noel (2015). Agents of Empire: Knights, Corsairs, Jesuits and Spies in the Sixteenth-century Mediterranean World. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190262785. pp. 12-13.
^ Ramet. Nihil obstat. 1998. pp. 209-210.
^ Ergo. Islam in the Albanian lands. 2010. p. 8.
^ ^a ^b ^c Ramet. Nihil obstat. 1998. p. 210. "Then, in 1644, war broke out between Venice and the Ottoman empire. At the urging of the clergy, many Albanian Catholics sided with Venice. The Ottomans responded with severe repressions, which in turn drove many Catholics to embrace Islam (although a few elected to join the Orthodox Church instead)… Within the span of twenty-two years (1649-71) the number of Catholics in the diocese of Alessio fell by more than 50 percent, while in the diocese of Pulati (1634-71) the number of Catholics declined from more than 20,000 to just 4,045. In general, Albanian insurrections during the Ottoman-Venetian wars of 1644-69 resulted in stiff Ottoman reprisals against Catholics in northern Albania and significantly accelerated Islamization… In general, a pattern emerged. When the Ottoman empire was attacked by Catholic powers, local Catholics were pressured to convert, and when the attack on the Ottoman empire came from Orthodox Russia, the pressure was on local Orthodox to change faith. In some cases Islamization was only superficial, however, and in the nineteenth century many villages and some entire districts remained “crypto-Catholic” in spite of the adopting the externals of Islamic culture."
^ ^a ^b Skendi, Stavro (1967). "Crypto-Christianity in the Balkan Area under the Ottomans". Slavic Review. 26. (2): 235-242.
^ Frazee, Charles (2006). Catholics and Sultans: The Church and the Ottoman Empire 1453-1923. Cambridge University Press. pp. 167-168.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Ramet. Nihil obstat. 1998. p.203. "The Ottoman conquest between the end of the fourteenth century and the mid-fifteenth century introduced a third religion – Islam - but the Turks did not at first use force in its expansion, and it was only in the 1600s that large-scale conversion to Islam began – chiefly, at first, among Albanian Catholics."; p.204. "The Orthodox community enjoyed broad toleration at the hands of the Sublime Porte until the late eighteenth century."; p. 204. "In the late eighteenth century Russian agents began stirring up the Orthodox subjects of the Ottoman empire against the Sublime Porte. In the Russo-Turkish wars of 1768-74 and 1787-91 Orthodox Albanians rose against the Turks. In the course of the second revolt the “New Academy” in Voskopojë was destroyed (1789), and at the end of the second Russo-Turkish war more than a thousand Orthodox fled to Russia on Russian warships. As a result of these revolts, the Porte now applied force to Islamicize the Albanian Orthodox population, adding economic incentives to provide positive stimulus. In 1798 Ali Pasha of Janina led Ottoman forces against Christian believers assembled in their churches to celebrate Easter in the villages of Shen Vasil and Nivica e Bubarit. The bloodbath unleashed against these believers frightened Albanian Christians in other districts and inspired a new wave of mass conversions to Islam."
^ Ergo. Islam in the Albanian lands. 2010. p. 26.
^ ^a ^b Ergo. Islam in the Albanian lands. 2010. p. 37.
^ Giakoumis. The Orthodox Church in Albania. 2010. p. 5.
^ Ergo. Islam in the Albanian lands. 2010. p. 38.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Giakoumis. The Orthodox Church in Albania. 2010. p. 8.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Skendi, Stavro (1967). The Albanian national awakening. Princeton University Press. pp. 10-13, 143, 181-189, 370-378.
^ ^a ^b Winnifrith, Tom (2002). Badlands-borderlands: a history of Northern Epirus/Southern Albania. London: Duckworth. ISBN 0-7156-3201-9. p. 107. "But the difficult archbishops of Ohrid must have produced some difference in their flocks. Less contentious faiths were available. It so happens that converting to Islam in central Albania was eased by the strength there of the Bektashi cult, a mystical faith, designed to appeal to all, demanding little in the way of strict rules of observance."; 130 "It is true that most of its inhabitants, though not all, spoke Albanian rather than Greek as their first language at home, and it is clear that it was the factor which principally influenced the Boundary Commission. On the other hand Greeks naturally made much of this fact, and it is true that in Northern Epirus loyalty to an Albania with a variety of Muslim leaders competing in anarchy cannot have been strong."
^ Giakoumis. The Orthodox Church in Albania. 2010. p. 6.
^ ^a ^b Koti, Dhori (2010). Monografi për Vithkuqin dhe Naum Veqilharxhin [A monograph of Vithkuq and Naum Veqilharxhi]. ISBN 978-99956-826-8-2. pp. 16-17.
^ Kallivretakis, Leonidas (2003). "Νέα Πικέρνη Δήμου Βουπρασίων: το χρονικό ενός οικισμού της Πελοποννήσου τον 19ο αιώνα (και η περιπέτεια ενός πληθυσμού) [Nea Pikerni of Demos Vouprassion: The chronicle of a 19th century Peloponnesian settlement (and the adventures of a population)]". In Panagiotopoulos, Vasilis, et al (eds). Πληθυσμοί και οικισμοί του ελληνικού χώρου: ιστορικά μελετήματα [Populations and settlements of the Greek villages: historical essays]. Institute for Neohellenic Research. p.233.
^ ^a ^b ^c Hammond, Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière (1967). Epirus: the Geography, the Ancient Remains, the History and Topography of Epirus and Adjacent Areas. Clarendon Press. pp. 30, 217.
^ ^a ^b ^c Anscombe, Frederick (2006). "Albanians and "mountain bandits"". In Frederick Anscombe (ed.), The Ottoman Balkans, 1750-1830 Markus Wiener Publishers. p.88: "This Albanian participation in brigandage is easier to track than for many other social groups in Ottoman lands, because Albanian (Arnavud) was one of the relatively few ethnic markers regularly added to the usual religious (Muslim-Zimmi) tags used to identify people in state records. These records show that the magnitude of banditry involving Albanians grew through the 1770s and 1780s to reach crisis proportions in the 1790s and 1800s."; p.107. "In light of the recent violent troubles in Kosovo and Macedonia and the strong emotions tied to them, readers are urged most emphatically not to draw either of two unwarranted conclusions from this article: that Albanians are somehow inherently inclined to banditry, or that the extent of Ottoman "Albania" or Arnavudluk (which included parts of present-day northern Greece, western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, Kosovo, and southern Serbia) gives any historical “justification" for the creation of a "Greater Albania" today."
^ ^a ^b Hammond, Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière (1976). Migrations and invasions in Greece and adjacent areas. Noyes Press. p. 62.
^ ^a ^b Koukoudis, Asterios (2003). The Vlachs: Metropolis and Diaspora. Zitros. pp. 321-322. "Particularly interesting is the case of Vithkuq, south of Moschopolis, which seems to have shared closely in the town’s evolution, though it is far from clear whether it was inhabited by Vlachs in the glory days before 1769. It may well have had Vlach inhabitants before 1769, though the Arvanites were certainly far more numerous, if not the largest population group. This is further supported by the linguistic identity of the refugees who fled Vithkuq and accompanied the waves of departing Vlachs. Today it is inhabited by Arvanites and Vlachs, though the forebears of the modern Vlach residents arrived after the village had been abandoned by its previous inhabitants and are mainly of Arvanitovlach descent. They are former pastoral nomads who settled permanently in Vithkuq."; p. 339. "As the same time as, or possibly shortly before or after, these events in Moschopolis, unruly Arnauts also attacked the smaller Vlach and Arvanitic communities round about. The Vlach inhabitants of Llengë, Niçë, Grabovë, Shipckë, and the Vlach villages on Grammos, such as Nikolicë, Linotopi, and Grammousta, and the inhabitants of Vithkuq and even the last Albanian speaking Christian villages on Opar found themselves at the mercy of the predatory Arnauts, whom no-one could withstand. For them too, the only solution was to flee... During this period, Vlach and Arvanite families from the surrounding ruined market towns and villages settled alongside the few Moscopolitans who had returned. Refugee families came from Dushar and other villages in Opar, from Vithkuq, Grabovë, Nikolicë, Niçë, and Llengë and from Kolonjë."
^ ^a ^b Jorgaqi, Nasho (2005). Jeta e Fan S. Nolit: Vëllimi 1. 1882-1924 [The life of Fan S. Noli: Volume 1. 1882-1924]. Ombra GVG. pp. 38-39.
^ Winnifrith, T.J. (2002). Badlands - borderlands : a history of Northern Epirus /Southern Albania. London: Duckworth. p. 109. ISBN 9780715632017. Of these Vithkuq... All these villages have a Vlach element in their population, and it is Vlach tradition that they were large and important... This culture was of course Greek culture...
^ ^a ^b Elsie, Robert (2001). A dictionary of Albanian religion, mythology, and folk culture. NYU Press. pp. 59-60.
^ Mackridge, Peter (2009). Language and national identity in Greece, 1766-1976. Oxford University Press. pp. 58-59.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Norris, Harry Thirlwall (1993). Islam in the Balkans: religion and society between Europe and the Arab world. University of South Carolina Press. pp. 47-48, 56, 61-81.
^ Ergo. Islam in the Albanian lands. 2010. p. 23.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t Clayer, Nathalie (2007). "Saints and Sufi's in post-Communist Albania". In Kisaichi, Masatoshi (ed.). Popular Movements and Democratization in the Islamic World. Routledge. pp. 33-40.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v Gawrych, George (2006). The crescent and the eagle: Ottoman rule, Islam and the Albanians, 1874-1913. IB Tauris. pp. 21-22, 43-53, 60-70, 72-105, 140-169, 177-179, 182, 190-196.
^ ^a ^b Elsie, Robert (2001). A dictionary of Albanian religion, mythology, and folk culture. NYU Press. p.126.
^ ^a ^b Anscombe, Frederic (2006). "The Ottoman Empire in Recent International Politics - II: The Case of Kosovo". The International History Review. 28.(4): 772. "In this case, however, Ottoman records contain useful information about the ethnicities of the leading actors in the story. In comparison with ‘Serbs’, who were not a meaningful category to the Ottoman state, its records refer to ‘Albanians’ more frequently than to many other cultural or linguistic groups. The term ‘Arnavud’ was used to denote persons who spoke one of the dialects of Albanian, came from mountainous country in the western Balkans (referred to as ‘Arnavudluk’, and including not only the area now forming the state of Albania but also neighbouring parts of Greece, Macedonia, Kosovo, and Montenegro), organized society on the strength of blood ties (family, clan, tribe), engaged predominantly in a mix of settled agriculture and livestock herding, and were notable fighters — a group, in short, difficult to control. Other peoples, such as Georgians, Ahkhaz, Circassians, Tatars, Kurds, and Bedouin Arabs who were frequently identified by their ethnicity, shared similar cultural traits."; pp. 95-101.
^ ^a ^b Lloshi, Xhevat (1999). "Albanian". In Hinrichs, Uwe, & Uwe Büttner (eds). Handbuch der Südosteuropa-Linguistik. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 277. "They called themselves arbënesh, arbëresh, the country Arbëni, Arbëri, and the language arbëneshe, arbëreshe. In the foreign languages, the Middle Ages denominations of these names survived, but for the Albanians they were substituted by shqiptarë, Shqipëri and shqipe. The primary root is the adverb shqip, meaning "clearly, intelligibly". There is a very close semantic parallel to this in the German noun Deutsche, "the Germans" and "the German language" (Lloshi 1984) Shqip spread out from the north to the south, and Shqipni/Shqipëri is probably a collective noun, following the common pattern of Arbëni, Arbëri. The change happened after the Ottoman conquest because of the conflict in the whole line of the political, social, economic, religious, and cultural spheres with a totally alien world of the Oriental type. A new and more generalised ethnic and linguistic consciousness of all these people responded to this."
^ ^a ^b ^c Elsie, Robert (2005). Albanian literature: A short history. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9781845110314. p.34. "Modern Albanian scholars tend to view the consequences of these centuries of Turkish rule as completely negative, in terms of wild Asiatic hordes ravaging and plundering a country which might otherwise have flourished in the cradle of European civilization… Scholar Hasan Kaleshi (1922-1976) has convincingly suggested that the Turkish occupation of the Balkans had at least the one positive consequence. It saved the Albanians from ethnic assimilation by the Slavs, just as the Slavic invasion of the Balkans in the sixth century had put an end to the process of Romanization which had threatened to assimilate the non-Latin-speaking ancestors of the Albanians a thousand years earlier. Although not recognized by the Turks as an ethnic minority (the population of the Ottoman Empire was divided according to religion, not according to nationality), the Albanians managed to survive as a people and indeed substantially expand their areas of settlement under Turkish rule."
^ Kopanski, Atuallah Bogdan (1997). "Islamization of Albanians in the Middle Ages: The primary sources and the predicament of the modern historiography". Islamic studies. 36. (2/3): 192. "The sophisticated culture, literature and art of Islam were ignored by the generality of historians who hardly even tried to conceal their anti-Muslim bias. Their ferociously anti-Islamic and anti-Turkish attitude not only obscured and distorted the amazing process of mass conversion of entire Christian communities to Islam, but also provided an intellectual prop for the ultra nationalist policy of ethnic and religious cleansing in Bosnia, Hum (Herzegovina), Albania, Bulgaria and Greece. For against the backdrop of the history of the Balkans, as generally portrayed, what appeared as a kind of historical exoneration and an act of retaliation for the 'betrayal' of Christianity in the Middle Ages. The policy of destroying Islamic culture and way of life in Albania after the World War II is the primary reason why the history of medieval Islam in this land has not been properly studied. And when it was studied, it was studied within the parameters of the Stalinist ideology which emphasized only the mythical image of medieval Albanians as the 'heroic Illyrian proletariat'. The handful of Muslim scholars in the Communist Eastern Europe who resisted the anti-Islamic and anti-Turkish propaganda were ostracized and often penalized. Albanian nationalist historians like Ramadan Marmallaku, Kristo Frashëri Skender Anamali, Stefanaq Pollo, Skender Rizaj and Arben Puto in their books deliberately emphasized ad nauseam only 'the Turkish savagery' and the 'heroic' Christian resistance against the Osmanli state in Albania."
^ Nitsiakos, Vassilis (2010). On the border: Transborder mobility, ethnic groups and boundaries along the Albanian-Greek frontier. LIT Verlag. p. 56. "The Orthodox Christian Albanians, who belonged to the rum millet, identified themselves to a large degree with the rest of the Orthodox, while under the roof of the patriarchate and later the influence of Greek education they started to form Greek national consciousness, a process that was interrupted by the Albanian national movement in the of the 19th century and subsequently by the Albanian state."; p. 153. "The influence of Hellenism on the Albanian Orthodox was such that, when the Albanian national idea developed, in the three last decades of the 19th century, they were greatly confused regarding their national identity."
^ ^a ^b Skoulidas, Elias G. (2014). The Albanian Greek-Orthodox Intellectuals: Aspects of their Discourse between Albanian and Greek National Narratives (late 19th - early 20th centuries). Hronos. 07. para. 2, 19, 26-27.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Karpat, Kemal H. (2001). The politicization of Islam: reconstructing identity, state, faith, and community in the late Ottoman state. Oxford University Press. p. 342. “After 1856, and especially after 1878, the terms Turk and Muslim became practically synonymous in the Balkans. An Albanian who did not know one word of Turkish thus was given the ethnic name of Turk and accepted it, no matter how much he might have preferred to distance himself from the ethnic Turks.”; 369-370.
^ Megalommatis, M. Cosmas (1994). Turkish-Greek Relations and the Balkans: A Historian's Evaluation of Today's Problems. Cyprus Foundation. p. 28. “Muslim Albanians have been called “Turkalvanoi” in Greek, and this is pejorative.
^ Nikolopoulou, Kalliopi (2013). Tragically Speaking: On the Use and Abuse of Theory for Life. University of Nebraska Press. p. 299. “Instead of the term “Muslim Albanians”, nationalist Greek histories use the more known, but pejorative, term “Turkalbanians”.
^ League of Nations (October 1921). "Albania". League of Nations –Official Journal. 8: 893. "The memorandum of the Albanian government… The memorandum complains that the Pan-Epirotic Union misnames the Moslem Albanians as “Turco-Albanians”"
^ Mentzel, Peter (2000). "Introduction: Identity, confessionalism, and nationalism." Nationalities Papers. 28. (1): 8. "The attitude of non Muslim Balkan peoples was similar. In most of the Balkans, Muslims were “Turks” regardless of their ethno-linguistic background. This attitude changed significantly, but not completely, over time."
^ Blumi, Isa (2011). Reinstating the Ottomans, Alternative Balkan Modernities: 1800-1912. Palgrave MacMillan. New York. p. 32. "As state policy, post- Ottoman “nations” continue to sever most of their cultural, socioeconomic, and institutional links to the Ottoman period. At times, this requires denying a multicultural history, inevitably leading to orgies of cultural destruction (Kiel 1990; Riedlmayer 2002). As a result of this strategic removal of the Ottoman past—the expulsion of the “Turks” (i.e., Muslims); the destruction of buildings; the changing of names of towns, families, and monuments; and the “purification” of languages—many in the region have accepted the conclusion that the Ottoman cultural, political, and economic infrastructure was indeed an “occupying,” and thus foreign, entity (Jazexhi 2009). Such logic has powerful intuitive consequences on the way we write about the region’s history: If Ottoman Muslims were “Turks” and thus “foreigners” by default, it becomes necessary to differentiate the indigenous from the alien, a deadly calculation made in the twentieth century with terrifying consequences for millions."
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Tošić, Jelena (2015). "City of the ‘calm’: vernacular mobility and genealogies of urbanity in a southeast European borderland." Southeast European and Black Sea Studies. 15. (3): 394–395. "As noted above, the vernacular mobility term ‘Podgoriçani’ (literally meaning ‘people that came from Podgoriça’, the present-day capital of Montenegro) refers to the progeny of Balkan Muslims, who migrated to Shkodra in four historical periods and in highest numbers after the Congress of Berlin 1878. Like the Ulqinak, the Podgoriçani thus personify the mass forced displacement of the Muslim population from the Balkans and the ‘unmixing of peoples’ (see e.g. Brubaker 1996, 153) at the time of the retreat of the Ottoman Empire, which has only recently sparked renewed scholarly interest (e.g. Blumi 2013; Chatty 2013)." ; p. 406.
^ ^a ^b ^c Gruber, Siegfried (2008). "Household structures in urban Albania in 1918." The History of the Family. 13.(2): 142. "Migration to Shkodra was mostly from the villages to the south-east of the city and from the cities of Podgorica and Ulcinj in Montenegro. This was connected to the independence of Montenegro from the Ottoman Empire in the year 1878 and the acquisition of additional territories, e.g. Ulcinj in 1881 (Ippen, 1907, p. 3)."
^ ^a ^b ^c Steinke, Klaus, & Xhelal Ylli (2013). Die slavischen Minderheiten in Albanien (SMA). 4. Teil: Vraka - Borakaj. Verlag Otto Sagner. p. 137. "Das Dorf Borakaj (Borak/Borake), zwischen Durrës und Tirana in der Nähe der Kleinstadt Shijak gelegen, wird fast vollständig von Bosniaken bewohnt. Zu dieser Gruppe gehören auch die Bosniaken im Nachbarort Koxhas."; p. 137. "Die Bosniaken sind wahrschlich nach 1875 aus der Umgebung von Mostar, und zwar aus Dörfern zwischen Mostar und Čapljina, nach Albanien gekommen... Einzelne bosnische Familien wohnen in verschiedenen Städten, vie in Shijak, Durrës. Die 1924 nach Libofsha in der Nähe von Fier eingewanderte Gruppe ist inzwischen sprachlich fast vollständig assimiliert, SHEHU-DIZDARI-DUKA (2001: 33) bezeichnet sie ehenfalls als bosniakisch."; p. 139. "Die von den österreichisch-ungarischen Truppen 1916 durchgeführte Volkszählung in Albanien verzeichnet für Borakaj 73 Häuser mit 305 muslimischen Einwohnern. Von ihnen werden 184 als Albaner und 121 als Serbokroaten bezeichnet. In Koxhas werden 109 Häuser mit 462 muslimischen Einwohnern erfasst, von denen 232 Albaner und 230 Serbokroaten waren, Ferner werden in Shijak 17 Serbokroaten und einer in Sukth registriert (SENER 1922: 35, 36), Für Borakaj sind die Angaben zur ethnischen Zusammensetzung problematisch. Es ist unwahrscheinlich, dass innerhalb von vierzig Jahren die Hälfte der Einwohner in Borakaj albanisiert wurde. Dem widerspricht vor allem auch die ethnische Homo-genität des Ortes bis zu Beginn der 1990er Jahre. Andererseits gibt es keine Hinweise, dass die fraglichen Albaner zwischenzeitlich wieder weggezogen sind oder von den Bosniaken assimiliert wurden. Wahrscheinlich hat sich ein Teil aus irgendwelchen Gründen nur falsch deklariert."; p. 139. "Anders stellt sich die Situation in Koxhas dar. Die Albaner dort bilden bis heute die Mehrheit, d.h. der Anteil der Bosniaken war immer kleiner und hat weiter abgenommen, sodass dieses Dorf in der unmittelbaren Nachbarschaft nicht bosniakisch geprägt ist. Weiterhin dubios bleibt jedoch für beide Ortschaften die Beizeichnung der Einwohner als ,,Serbokroaten”, weil die muslimischen Slavophonen von Seiner sonst immer in die Rubrik ,,Sonstige” eingeordnet werden."
^ ^a ^b Steinke, Klaus, & Xhelal Ylli (2013). Die slavischen Minderheiten in Albanien (SMA). 4. Teil: Vraka - Borakaj. Verlag Otto Sagner. p.9. "Am östlichen Ufer des Shkodrasees gibt es heute auf dem Gebiet von Vraka vier Dörfer, in denen ein Teil der Bewohner eine montenegrinische Mundart spricht. Es handelt sich dabei um die Ortschaften Boriçi i Madh (Borić Veli), Boriçi i Vogël (Borić Mali/Borić Stari/Borić Vezirov), Gril (Grilj) und Omaraj (Omara), die verwaltungstechnisch Teil der Gemeinde Gruemira in der Region Malësia e Madhe sind. Ferner zählen zu dieser Gruppe noch die Dörfer Shtoji i Ri und Shtoji i Vjetër in der Gemeinde Rrethinat und weiter nordwestlich von Koplik das Dorf Kamica (Kamenica), das zur Gemeinde Qendër in der Region Malësia e Madhe gehört. Desgleichen wohnen vereinzelt in der Stadt sowie im Kreis Shkodra weitere Sprecher der montenegrinischen Mundart. Nach ihrer Konfession unterscheidet man zwei Gruppen, d.h. orthodoxe mid muslimische Slavophone. Die erste, kleinere Gruppe wohnt in Boriçi i Vogël, Gril, Omaraj und Kamica, die zweite, größere Gruppe in Boriçi i Madh und in Shtoj. Unter den in Shkodra wohnenden Slavophonen sind beide Konfessionen vertreten... Die Muslime bezeichnen sich gemeinhin als Podgoričani ‘Zuwanderer aus Podgorica’ und kommen aus Zeta, Podgorica, Tuzi usw."; p. 19. "Ohne genaue Quellenangabe bringt ŠĆEPANOVIĆ (1991: 716-717) folgende ,,aktuelle” Zahlen:... Veliki (Mladi) Borić 112 Familien, davon 86 podgoričanski, 6 crnogorski und 20 albanische Familien. STOPPEL (2012: 28) sagt Folgendes über die Montenegriner in Albanien: ,,hierbei handelt es sich um (nach Erhebungen des Helsinki-Komitees von 1999 geschätzt,, etwa 1800-2000 serbisch-sprachige Personen in Raum des Shkodra-Sees und im nördlichen Berggrenzland zu Montenegro, die 1989 eher symbolisch mit ca. 100 Personen angegeben und nach 1991 zunächst überwiegend nach Jugoslawien übergewechselt waren”. p. 20. "Außer in Boriçi i Madh uund auch in Shtoj, wo die Slavophonen eine kompakte Gruppe innerhalb des jeweiligen Ortes bilden, sind sie in anderen Dorfern zahlenmäßig bedeutunglos geworden."; p. 131. "In Shtoj i Vjetër leben heute ungefähr 30 und in Shtoj i Ri 17 muslimische Familien, d.h Podgoričaner."
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Endersen, Cecile (2011). "Diverging images of the Ottoman legacy in Albania". In Hartmuth, Maximilian, (ed.) Images of imperial legacy: Modern discourses on the social and cultural impact of Ottoman and Habsburg rule in Southeast Europe. Lit Verlag Münster. 40-43.
^ ^a ^b Nußberger, Angelika & Wolfgang Stoppel (2001). Minderheitenschutz im östlichen Europa (Albanien). (PDF) (in German). Cologne: Universität Köln. pp.9-10. "In den südlichen Landesteilen hielten sich Muslime und Orthodoxe stets in etwa die Waage: So standen sich zB 1908 in den Bezirken (damals türkischen Sandschaks) Korca und Gjirokastro 95.000 Muslime und 128.000 Orthodoxe gegenüber, während 1923 das Verhältnis 109.000 zu 114.000 und 1927 116.000 zu 112.000 betrug. [In the southern parts of the country, Muslims and Orthodox were broadly always balanced: Thus, for example in 1908 were in the districts (then Turkish Sanjaks) Korca and Gjirokastro 95,000 Muslims and in contrast to 128,000 Orthodox, while in 1923 the ratio of 109,000 to 114,000 and 1927 116,000 to 112,000 it had amounted too.]"
^ Baltsiotis, Lambros (2011). The Muslim Chams of Northwestern Greece: The grounds for the expulsion of a "non-existent" minority community. European Journal of Turkish Studies. para 14 "The fact that the Christian communities within the territory which was claimed by Greece from the mid 19th century until the year 1946, known after 1913 as Northern Epirus, spoke Albanian, Greek and Aromanian (Vlach), was dealt with by the adoption of two different policies by Greek state institutions. The first policy was to take measures to hide the language(s) the population spoke, as we have seen in the case of “Southern Epirus”. The second was to put forth the argument that the language used by the population had no relation to their national affiliation... As we will discuss below, under the prevalent ideology in Greece at the time every Orthodox Christian was considered Greek, and conversely after 1913, when the territory which from then onwards was called “Northern Epirus” in Greece was ceded to Albania, every Muslim of that area was considered Albanian."
^ Kokolakis, Mihalis (2003). Το ύστερο Γιαννιώτικο Πασαλίκι: χώρος, διοίκηση και πληθυσμός στην τουρκοκρατούμενη Ηπειρο (1820-1913) [The late Pashalik of Ioannina: Space, administration and population in Ottoman ruled Epirus (1820-1913). EIE-ΚΝΕ. p.53. "Με εξαίρεση τις ολιγομελείς κοινότητες των παλιών Ρωμανιωτών Εβραίων της Αρτας και των Ιωαννίνων, και την ακόμη ολιγομελέστερη ομάδα των Καθολικών της Αυλώνας, οι κάτοικοι της Ηπείρου χωρίζονται με το κριτήριο της θρησκείας σε δύο μεγάλες ομάδες, σε Ορθόδοξους και σε Μουσουλμάνους. [With the exception of a few members of the old communities such as Romaniote Jews of Arta and Ioannina, and even small groups of Catholics in Vlora, the residents of Epirus were separated by the criterion of religion into two major groups, the Orthodox and Muslims.]"; p. 54. "Η μουσουλμανική κοινότητα της Ηπείρου, με εξαίρεση τους μικρούς αστικούς πληθυσμούς των νότιων ελληνόφωνων περιοχών, τους οποίους προαναφέραμε, και τις δύο με τρεις χιλιάδες διεσπαρμένους «Τουρκόγυφτους», απαρτιζόταν ολοκληρωτικά από αλβανόφωνους, και στα τέλη της Τουρκοκρατίας κάλυπτε τα 3/4 περίπου του πληθυσμού των αλβανόφωνων περιοχών και περισσότερο από το 40% του συνόλου. [The Muslim community in Epirus, with the exception of small urban populations of the southern Greek-speaking areas, which we mentioned, and 2-3000 dispersed "Muslim Romani", consisted entirely of Albanian speakers, and in the late Ottoman period covered approximately 3/4 of population ethnic Albanian speaking areas and more than 40% of the total area."; pp.55-56. p.374.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Duijzings, Gerlachlus. (2000). Religion and the politics of identity in Kosovo. C. Hurst. pp.163-164.
^ Smith, Michael Llewwellyn (2006). "Venizelos’ diplomacy, 1910-23: From Balkan alliance to Greek-Turkish Settlement". In Kitromilides, Paschalis M. (ed). Eleftherios Venizelos: the trials of statesmanship. Edinburgh University Press. p.150. "When the Greek army withdrew from Northern Epirot territories in accordance with the ruling of the Powers, a fierce struggle broke out between Muslim Albanians and Greek irregulars."
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Vickers, Miranda (2011). The Albanians: a modern history. IB Tauris. pp. 82-86, 108-109.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Clayer, Nathalie (2014). "Behind the veil The reform of Islam in Inter-war Albania or the serach for a “modern” and “European” Islam". Cronin, Stephanie (ed.). In Anti-Veiling Campaigns in the Muslim World Gender, Modernism and the Politics of Dress. Routledge. pp. 231-232, 234-247.
^ ^a ^b Austin, Robert Clegg (2012). Founding a Balkan State: Albania's Experiment with Democracy, 1920-1925. University of Toronto Press. p. 95. “A cornerstone of Greek policy, an approach also employed by the Yugoslavs, was to encourage religious differences in Albania and stress that Albania was a little ‘Turkey’ hostile to Orthodox Greeks. To popularize the idea of two Albanian states, one Moslem, the other Christian, throughout the early 1920s Greece continually complained that Albania’s majority Moslem population was actively persecuting the Orthodox minority. Albania denied this, stressed its well— documented legacy of religious tolerance, and added that while there was tension in the southern perimeter of the country, it was not between Muslims and Christians, but rather a rift had emerged because of the movement to create an autocephalous Albanian Orthodox Church and some citizens wished to remain under the Patriarchate”.
^ Albania dispatch, Time magazine, April 14, 1923
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Ezzati, Abul-Fazl (2002). The Spread of Islam: The Contributing Factors. ICAS Press. p. 450.
^ Welton, George & Adrian Brisku (2007). "Contradictory Inclinations? The role of ‘Europe’ in Albanian Nationalist Discourse". In Sanghera, Balihar, & Sarah Amsler (eds). Theorising social change in post-Soviet countries: critical approaches. Peter Lang. p. 99.
^ Pavlowitch, Stevan K (2014). A History of the Balkans 1804-1945. Routledge. p. 304.
^ ^a ^b Doja, Albert (2006). "A Political History of Bektashism in Albania". Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions. 7. (1): 98.
^ Young, Antonia (1999). "Religion and society in present‐day Albania". Journal of Contemporary Religion. 14. (1): 9.
^ Ramet, Sabrina (1989). Religion and nationalism in Soviet and East European politics. Duke University Press. p. 490.
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^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Czekalski, Tadeusz (2013). The shining beacon of socialism in Europe: The Albanian state and society in the period of communist dictatorship 1944-1992. Jagiellonian University Press. ISBN 9788323335153. p. 120. "The census of 1945 showed that the vast majority of society (72%) were Muslims, 17.2% of the population declared themselves to be Orthodox, and 10% Catholics."; p. 121. "The communist relations with particular religious communities differed and depended on the degree of loyalty towards the new government. The Orthodox and Bektashi’s succeeded without difficulties in entering into agreements with the communist authorities, defining the acceptable range of clerical activity and declaring participation in propaganda campaigns organized by the communists... The Bektashi’s were helped by the fact that, during wartime, 28 of the community’s clergymen, as well as a few hundred of the faithful, were killed in fighting."; p. 122. "To a lesser degree, the repression also touched the Muslim community, as some of the clergy were accused of collaboration with the occupants. Among those imprisoned were the mufti of Durrës – Mustafa efendi Varoshi, Hafez Ibrahim Dibra – the former great mufti of Albania and sheh Xhemal Pazari from Tirana. In 1947, there were 44 Muslim clergymen, 36 Catholic priests, 16 Orthodox priests and one nun in Albanian prisons."
^ ^a ^b ^c Crampton, Richard (2013). The Balkans since the second world war. Routledge. p. 46.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Czekalski. The shining beacon. 2013. p.124. "In June 1949 there was a meeting between Enver Hoxha and the leader of the Albanian Sunni Muslims – Hafis Musa Ali, who presented his requests to the Albanian government. The mufti’s main postulates were to financial aid for the Muslim community, and to make those who wished in the future to become hodjas or mullahs exempt from military service. Hoxha reacted positively to the exemption of clergymen from military service, but did not support the idea of translating the Koran into Albanian, which the mufti requested."; p. 124. "Act 743 became the basis for negotiations concerning the legal status of religious communities. On May 4, 1950... On the same day, statutes concerning the Muslim communities were also approved. The highest power in the Sunni Muslim community was the Main Council, and the budget was to consist of income from property donations and budget subsidiaries. The statute also regulated the activity of the Community of Albanian Bektashi’s (Komuniteti Bektashian I Shqipërisë). Owing to the fact that the leader of the community in Albania controlled the world community of Bektashi’s, he obtained the right to maintain contact with communities active outside the country (other community leaders did not obtain such rights)."; p. 129. "The capital’s Et’hem Bey Mosque was recognized as a monument. This place later served as a place of prayer for diplomats working in Tirana, but Albanians were forbidden from praying in this place. A few Bektashi temples, including the sacral buildings were changed into cultural centres, warehouses and restaurants."; p.133. "Out of the 60 Bektashi temples (tekke) open before 1967, at the beginning of the 1990s only six were successfully reopened."
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^ "Chapter 1: Religious Affiliation". The World’s Muslims: Unity and Diversity. Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. August 9, 2012
^ ^a ^b De Soto, Hermine, Beddies, Sabine & Ilir Gedeshi (2005). Roma and Egyptians in Albania: From social exclusion to social inclusion. World Bank Publications. p. 9, 21.
^ Steinke, Klaus, & Xhelal Ylli (2010). Die slavischen Minderheiten in Albanien:(SMA). 3. Gora. Verlag Otto Sagner. p. 11. "In den 17 Dörfern des Kosovo wird Našinski/Goranče gesprochen, und sie gehören zu einer Gemeinde mit dem Verwaltungszentrum in Dragaš. Die 19 Dörfer in Albanien sind hingegen auf drei Gemeinden des Bezirks Kukës aufgeteilt, und zwar auf Shishtavec, Zapod und Topojan. Slavophone findet man freilich nur in den ersten beiden Gemeinden. Zur Gemeinde Shishtavec gehören sieben Dörfer und in den folgenden vier wird Našinski/Goranče gesprochen: Shishtavec (Šištaec/Šišteec), Borja (Borje), Cërnaleva (Cărnolevo/Cărneleve) und Oreshka (Orešek). Zur Gemeinde Zapod gehören ebenfalls sieben Dörfer, und in den folgenden fünf wird Našinski/Goranče gesprochen: Orgjost (Orgosta), Kosharisht (Košarišta), Pakisht (Pakiša/Pakišča) Zapod (Zapod) und Orçikla (Orčikl’e/Očikl’e)’. In der Gemeinde Topojan gibt es inzwischen keine slavophone Bevölkerung mehr. Die Einwohner selbst bezeichnen sich gewöhnlich als Goranen ‘Einwohner von Gora oder Našinci Unsrige, und ihre Sprache wird von ihnen als Našinski und von den Albanern als Gorançe bezeichnet."
^ ^a ^b ^c De Rapper, Gilles (2001). The son of three fathers has no hat on his head. Life and social representations in a Macedonian village of Albania. Academic paper. Macedonia, Macedonias. p. 3-4.; p. 6.
^ Steinke, Klaus, & Xhelal Ylli (2008). Die Slavischen Minderheiten in Albanien (SMA). 2. Teil: Golloborda-Herbel-Kërçishti I Epërm. Verlag Otto Sagner. p. 10. "Heute umfaßt das Gebiet von Golloborda in Albanien 22 Dörfer, die verwaltungstechnisch auf drei verschiedene Gemeinden aufgeteilt sind: 1. Die Gemeinde Ostren besteht aus dreizehn Dörfern, und Südslavisch wird in den folgenden neun Dörfern gesprochen: Ostreni i Madh (Golemo Ostreni/Ostreni Golemo), Kojavec (Kojovci), Lejçan Lešničani), Lladomerica (Ladomerica/Ladimerica/Vlademerica), Ostreni i Vogël (Malo Ostreni/Malastreni/Ostreni Malo), Orzhanova (Oržanova), Radovesh (Radoveš/Radoeš/Radoešt), Tuçep (Tučepi) und Pasinka (Pasinki). 2. Die Gemeinde von Trebisht umfaßt die vier Dörfer Trebisht (Trebišta), Gjinovec (G'inovec/G'inec), Kienja (Klen'e) und Vërnica (Vărnica), und in allen wird Südslavisch gesprochen. 3. Die übrigen Dörfer von Golloborda gehören zur Gemeinde Stebleva, und zwar Stebleva, Zabzun, Borova, Sebisht, Llanga. Südslavisch wird in Stebleva (Steblo) sowie von drei Familien in Sebisht (Sebišta) gesprochen. Wie aus den bisherigen Ausführungen und den Erhebungen vor Ort hervorgeht, gibt es nur noch in fünfzehn der insgesamt Dörfer, die heute zu Golloborda gehören, slavophone Einwohner. Die Zahl der Dörfer in Golloborda wird manchmal auch mit 24 angegeben. Dann zählt man die Viertel des Dorfes Trebisht, und zwar Trebisht-Bala, Trebisht-Çelebia und Trebisht-Muçina separat. Zu Golloborda rechnete man traditionell ferner die Dörfer Hotišan, Žepišt, Manastirec, Drenok, Modrič und Lakaica, die heute in Makedonien liegen."
^ ^a ^b De Rapper, Gilles (2002). "Culture and the Reinvention of Myths in a Border Area." In Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie, & Bernd Jürgen Fischer (eds). Albanian Identities. Myth and History. Indiana University Press. p. 191. “It is common in Albania to say that all Albanians, whether Christian or Muslim, are brothers, and that their only religion is their common Albanian nationality. The dogma of national unity as against religious differentiation is at the core of the most widely-spread Albanian national rhetoric. However, this rhetoric is challenged when local society is underpinned by, and conceptualised in terms of, religious differentiation."
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Nitsiakos, Vassilis (2010). On the border: Transborder mobility, ethnic groups and boundaries along the Albanian-Greek frontier. LIT Verlag. p. 209. "On their part, the Muslims believe that they are the purest Albanians, because they constituted the nucleus of the national renaissance and as great patriots resisted the Serbs, who tried to penetrate and conquer Albanian territories. In reference to Christians, they claim that the Orthodox identified with the Greeks and the Catholic with the Italians."; pp. 200-201. "Traces of this historical differentiation are still evident in South Albania today between Christian and Muslim Albanians. Very often on hears Christians call Muslim Albanians “Turks”; they, in their turn, often attribute pro-Greek sentiments to Orthodox Christian Albanians."
^ ^a ^b ^c Saltmarshe, Douglas (2001). Identity in a post-communist Balkan state: An Albanian village study. Ashgate. p. 115. "It is frequently said that how there is no difference between the religions in Albania. While it is true that there is a considerable degree of toleration, indications deriving from this study suggest that religious affiliations plays a significant part in identity formation and therefore in social relations… However the story from the Catholics was very different… there was varying mistrust of the Muslims. Many Catholics expressed resentment of the dominant position of the Muslims during communism and subsequently. Some expressed and underlying dislike of Islam and they perceived to be its philosophy."; p. 116. "However the Muslim position was that Islam had proved to be a vital force in uniting and maintaining the independence of Albania. Without it they would have been subsumed by the Greeks, Serbs or Italians. From this perspective, they believed, Islam formed the basis of Albanian national identity and should provide the foundation upon which its state was constructed… Yet not far below the surface there was a degree of disdain for the Catholics. In Gura, Catholic migrants reported that Muslims called them kaur, a most unpleasant derogatory term used by the Turks to describe Christians."; pp. 166-117. "So whatever might be said to the contrary, tensions were observable between Catholics and Muslims. At most basic of levels Gura was segregated into Muslim and Catholics areas. The same situation existed in Shkodër where the city was broadly split into neighbourhoods defined by faith with the Roma living on the southern outskirts of town. Yet there were many in the younger generation who did not see religion as being important."
^ De Rapper, Gilles (2002). "Culture and the Reinvention of Myths in a Border Area. In Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie & Bernd J. Fischer (eds). Albanian Identities. Myth and History. Indiana University Press. p. 191. "This is the case in mixed areas, where Muslims and Christians live in separate villages (or in separate neighbourhoods), and both have strong identities as religious communities – as in Devoll. In this specific context, religion cannot consist of just being Albanian. On the contrary, people are very well aware of their belonging to a specific religious community, and national identity is rarely thought of outside the basic opposition between Muslims and Christians.”
^ De Rapper, Gilles (2005). "Better than Muslims, Not as Good as Greeks: Emigration as Experienced and Imagined by the Albanian Christians of Lunxhëri". In King, Russell; Mai, Nicola; Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie (eds). The New Albanian Migration. Brighton-Portland: Sussex Academic. p. 181. "The Muslims from Erind – the only village in Lunxhëri to be Muslim in majority – are not perceived as the descendants of migrants from other Muslim areas, but they are nonetheless definitely different, and the relations between Erind and the neighbouring villages are marked by the same stereotypes as the relations between Muslims and Christians usually are: people from Erind are said to be violent and dirty, to have no culture, and to be responsible for anything bad happening in the area."
^ Bon, Nataša Gregorič (2008). Contested spaces and negotiated identities in Dhërmi/Drimades of Himarë/Himara area, southern Albania (Thesis). University of Nova Gorica. p. 33. " According to the mainstream public opinion in Greece the Greek speaking people of Orthodox religion living in Southern Albania are called Northern Epirots (Vorioepirotes) (see Triandafyllidou and Veikou 2002: 191). According to the public opinion in Albania they are often referred to by Greeks or Greku or pejoratively Kaure (non-believers) or Kaur i derit (non-believer-pigs, i.e. Greek pigs)."
^ Kretsi, Georgina (2005). 'Shkëlzen ou Giannis? Changement de prénom et stratégies identitaires, entre culture d'origine et migration [Shkëlzen or Giannis? Change of Name and Identity strategies, between Culture of Origin and Migration]'. Balkanologie. 1. (2): para 2, 23, 31-33.
^ De Rapper, Gilles (2010). "Religion on the Border: sanctuaries and festivals in post-communist Albania". In Galia Valtchinova (ed.). Religion and Boundaries: Studies from the Balkans, Eastern Europe and Turkey. Istanbul ISIS Press. p. 6: "We have seen for instance the case of a Muslim villager building a shrine of a Christian type in his own courtyard, in clear relation to the expectations of some of the people who visit the place before crossing the border to work in Greece. One might draw a parallel between such cases and the conversion of Muslim Albanian migrants to Orthodoxy, in order to facilitate their acceptation in Greek society.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Brisku, Adrian (2013). Bittersweet Europe: Albanian and Georgian Discourses on Europe, 1878-2008. Berghahn Books. pp. 181-187.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Abrahams, Fred (2015). Modern Albania: from dictatorship to democracy in Europe. NYU Press. p. 233.
^ Mueller, Karl, et al (2006). Striking first: preemptive and preventive attack in US national security policy. Rand Corporation. p. 233.
^ "Official website of the OIC". Retrieved 11 July 2016.
^ Konidaris, Gerasimos (2005). “Examining policy responses to immigration in the light of interstate relations and foreign policy objectives: Greece and Albania”. In King, Russell, & Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers (eds). The new Albanian migration. Sussex Academic. pp. 80-81. "Greece’s favorite candidate in these elections was clearly MR. Nano. As emerges from the interview material, he –unlike Berisha- was held in high esteem by the Greek side. It should not escape notice that Nano was by origin Orthodox Christian from Southern Albania, whereas Berisha was a northern Muslim... Greece’s favour towards Nano was clearly demonstrated in June, when he was allowed to speak to a crowd of Albanian citizens at a pre-election rally in one of Athen’s central squares. The police did not interfere and no arrests of illegal immigrants were made."
^ "Albanians in Turkey celebrate their cultural heritage". Today's Zaman. 21 August 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
^ Tabak, Hüsrev (03 March 2013). "Albanian awakening: The worm has turned!". Today's Zaman. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c Petrović, Žarko and Dušan Reljić (2011). "Turkish interests and involvement in the Western Balkans: A score-card." Insight Turkey. 13. (3): 162, 166, 169-170.
^ "Genci Muçaj: Albania enjoys magnificent relations with Turkey". Koha Jonë. 14 Mars 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
^ ^a ^b Rubin, Barry & Kemal Kirişci (2001). Turkey in world politics: an emerging multiregional power. Lynne Rienner Publishers. pp. 54-56.

[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" (PDF) (Press release) (in Albanian). The Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 26 June 2013. {{cite press release}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)

[2] Jørgen Nielsen; Samim Akgönül; Ahmet Alibašić; Egdunas Racius (2013). "Albania". Yearbook of Muslims in Europe. Vol. 5. Leiden, Boston: Brill. p. 23. Retrieved 2016-03-12.

[Rametooo-3] Ramet, Sabrina (1998). Nihil obstat: religion, politics, and social change in East-Central Europe and Russia. Duke University Press. ISBN 9780822320708. p. 209. "The Ottomans first invaded Albania in 1385. A second Ottoman force was sent to Albania 1394-96, occupying the country. Given both the Ottoman disposition to tolerate religious diversity among loyal subjects and the generally bellicose traditions of the Albanians, Ottoman authorities adopted a conciliatory policy toward Albanian Christians in the early decades of occupation. Still, although conversion to Islam was not required, a Christian Albanian lord could count on winning favor if he converted. If the Ottomans did not believe that religious reasons could compel a Christian to convert to Islam, they nonetheless looked askance when a Muslim converted (or reconverted) to Christianity. This happened in 1443 when Gjergj Kastrioti (called Skenderbeg), who had been reared as a Muslim in the sultan’s palace, abandoned the Islamic faith and publicly reverted to the creed of his forefathers. But this conversion was not merely a public gesture of defiance. It was the first act in a revolutionary drama. For, after changing his religious allegiance, Skenderbeg demanded that Muslim colonists and converts alike embrace Christianity on pain of death, declaring a kind of holy war against the sultan/caliph."

[4] Ergo, Dritan (2010). "Islam in the Albanian lands (XVth-XVIIth Century)". In Jens Schmitt, Oliver & Andreas Rathberger (eds). [Religion und Kultur im albanischsprachigen Südosteuropa [Religion and culture in Albanian-speaking southeastern Europe]]. Peter Lang. ISBN 978-3-631-60295-9. p. 22.

[5] Giakoumis, Konstantinos (2010). "The Orthodox Church in Albania Under the Ottoman Rule 15th-19th Century". In Schmitt, Oliver Jens & Andreas Rathberger (eds). Religion und Kultur im albanischsprachigen Südosteuropa [Religion and culture in Albanian-speaking southeastern Europe]]. Peter Lang. p. 6, 8.

[6] Ergo. Islam in the Albanian lands. 2010. p. 18.

[Malcolm2015-7] Malcolm, Noel (2015). Agents of Empire: Knights, Corsairs, Jesuits and Spies in the Sixteenth-century Mediterranean World. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190262785. pp. 12-13.

[8] Ramet. Nihil obstat. 1998. pp. 209-210.

[9] Ergo. Islam in the Albanian lands. 2010. p. 8.

[Ramettt-10] Ramet. Nihil obstat. 1998. p. 210. "Then, in 1644, war broke out between Venice and the Ottoman empire. At the urging of the clergy, many Albanian Catholics sided with Venice. The Ottomans responded with severe repressions, which in turn drove many Catholics to embrace Islam (although a few elected to join the Orthodox Church instead)… Within the span of twenty-two years (1649-71) the number of Catholics in the diocese of Alessio fell by more than 50 percent, while in the diocese of Pulati (1634-71) the number of Catholics declined from more than 20,000 to just 4,045. In general, Albanian insurrections during the Ottoman-Venetian wars of 1644-69 resulted in stiff Ottoman reprisals against Catholics in northern Albania and significantly accelerated Islamization… In general, a pattern emerged. When the Ottoman empire was attacked by Catholic powers, local Catholics were pressured to convert, and when the attack on the Ottoman empire came from Orthodox Russia, the pressure was on local Orthodox to change faith. In some cases Islamization was only superficial, however, and in the nineteenth century many villages and some entire districts remained “crypto-Catholic” in spite of the adopting the externals of Islamic culture."

[Skendi1-11] Skendi, Stavro (1967). "Crypto-Christianity in the Balkan Area under the Ottomans". Slavic Review. 26. (2): 235-242.

[12] Frazee, Charles (2006). Catholics and Sultans: The Church and the Ottoman Empire 1453-1923. Cambridge University Press. pp. 167-168.

[Ramet2-13] Ramet. Nihil obstat. 1998. p.203. "The Ottoman conquest between the end of the fourteenth century and the mid-fifteenth century introduced a third religion – Islam - but the Turks did not at first use force in its expansion, and it was only in the 1600s that large-scale conversion to Islam began – chiefly, at first, among Albanian Catholics."; p.204. "The Orthodox community enjoyed broad toleration at the hands of the Sublime Porte until the late eighteenth century."; p. 204. "In the late eighteenth century Russian agents began stirring up the Orthodox subjects of the Ottoman empire against the Sublime Porte. In the Russo-Turkish wars of 1768-74 and 1787-91 Orthodox Albanians rose against the Turks. In the course of the second revolt the “New Academy” in Voskopojë was destroyed (1789), and at the end of the second Russo-Turkish war more than a thousand Orthodox fled to Russia on Russian warships. As a result of these revolts, the Porte now applied force to Islamicize the Albanian Orthodox population, adding economic incentives to provide positive stimulus. In 1798 Ali Pasha of Janina led Ottoman forces against Christian believers assembled in their churches to celebrate Easter in the villages of Shen Vasil and Nivica e Bubarit. The bloodbath unleashed against these believers frightened Albanian Christians in other districts and inspired a new wave of mass conversions to Islam."

[14] Ergo. Islam in the Albanian lands. 2010. p. 26.

[Ergooo-15] Ergo. Islam in the Albanian lands. 2010. p. 37.

[16] Giakoumis. The Orthodox Church in Albania. 2010. p. 5.

[17] Ergo. Islam in the Albanian lands. 2010. p. 38.

[Giakoumis._2010._p._8-18] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Giakoumis. The Orthodox Church in Albania. 2010. p. 8.

[Skendi2-19] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Skendi, Stavro (1967). The Albanian national awakening. Princeton University Press. pp. 10-13, 143, 181-189, 370-378.

[Winnifrith-20] Winnifrith, Tom (2002). Badlands-borderlands: a history of Northern Epirus/Southern Albania. London: Duckworth. ISBN 0-7156-3201-9. p. 107. "But the difficult archbishops of Ohrid must have produced some difference in their flocks. Less contentious faiths were available. It so happens that converting to Islam in central Albania was eased by the strength there of the Bektashi cult, a mystical faith, designed to appeal to all, demanding little in the way of strict rules of observance."; 130 "It is true that most of its inhabitants, though not all, spoke Albanian rather than Greek as their first language at home, and it is clear that it was the factor which principally influenced the Boundary Commission. On the other hand Greeks naturally made much of this fact, and it is true that in Northern Epirus loyalty to an Albania with a variety of Muslim leaders competing in anarchy cannot have been strong."

[21] Giakoumis. The Orthodox Church in Albania. 2010. p. 6.

[Koti-22] Koti, Dhori (2010). Monografi për Vithkuqin dhe Naum Veqilharxhin [A monograph of Vithkuq and Naum Veqilharxhi]. ISBN 978-99956-826-8-2. pp. 16-17.

[23] Kallivretakis, Leonidas (2003). "Νέα Πικέρνη Δήμου Βουπρασίων: το χρονικό ενός οικισμού της Πελοποννήσου τον 19ο αιώνα (και η περιπέτεια ενός πληθυσμού) [Nea Pikerni of Demos Vouprassion: The chronicle of a 19th century Peloponnesian settlement (and the adventures of a population)]". In Panagiotopoulos, Vasilis, et al (eds). Πληθυσμοί και οικισμοί του ελληνικού χώρου: ιστορικά μελετήματα [Populations and settlements of the Greek villages: historical essays]. Institute for Neohellenic Research. p.233.

[Hammonddd-24] Hammond, Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière (1967). Epirus: the Geography, the Ancient Remains, the History and Topography of Epirus and Adjacent Areas. Clarendon Press. pp. 30, 217.

[Anscombe-25] Anscombe, Frederick (2006). "Albanians and "mountain bandits"". In Frederick Anscombe (ed.), The Ottoman Balkans, 1750-1830 Markus Wiener Publishers. p.88: "This Albanian participation in brigandage is easier to track than for many other social groups in Ottoman lands, because Albanian (Arnavud) was one of the relatively few ethnic markers regularly added to the usual religious (Muslim-Zimmi) tags used to identify people in state records. These records show that the magnitude of banditry involving Albanians grew through the 1770s and 1780s to reach crisis proportions in the 1790s and 1800s."; p.107. "In light of the recent violent troubles in Kosovo and Macedonia and the strong emotions tied to them, readers are urged most emphatically not to draw either of two unwarranted conclusions from this article: that Albanians are somehow inherently inclined to banditry, or that the extent of Ottoman "Albania" or Arnavudluk (which included parts of present-day northern Greece, western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, Kosovo, and southern Serbia) gives any historical “justification" for the creation of a "Greater Albania" today."

[Hammond2-26] Hammond, Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière (1976). Migrations and invasions in Greece and adjacent areas. Noyes Press. p. 62.

[Koukoudis-27] Koukoudis, Asterios (2003). The Vlachs: Metropolis and Diaspora. Zitros. pp. 321-322. "Particularly interesting is the case of Vithkuq, south of Moschopolis, which seems to have shared closely in the town’s evolution, though it is far from clear whether it was inhabited by Vlachs in the glory days before 1769. It may well have had Vlach inhabitants before 1769, though the Arvanites were certainly far more numerous, if not the largest population group. This is further supported by the linguistic identity of the refugees who fled Vithkuq and accompanied the waves of departing Vlachs. Today it is inhabited by Arvanites and Vlachs, though the forebears of the modern Vlach residents arrived after the village had been abandoned by its previous inhabitants and are mainly of Arvanitovlach descent. They are former pastoral nomads who settled permanently in Vithkuq."; p. 339. "As the same time as, or possibly shortly before or after, these events in Moschopolis, unruly Arnauts also attacked the smaller Vlach and Arvanitic communities round about. The Vlach inhabitants of Llengë, Niçë, Grabovë, Shipckë, and the Vlach villages on Grammos, such as Nikolicë, Linotopi, and Grammousta, and the inhabitants of Vithkuq and even the last Albanian speaking Christian villages on Opar found themselves at the mercy of the predatory Arnauts, whom no-one could withstand. For them too, the only solution was to flee... During this period, Vlach and Arvanite families from the surrounding ruined market towns and villages settled alongside the few Moscopolitans who had returned. Refugee families came from Dushar and other villages in Opar, from Vithkuq, Grabovë, Nikolicë, Niçë, and Llengë and from Kolonjë."

[Jorgaqi-28] Jorgaqi, Nasho (2005). Jeta e Fan S. Nolit: Vëllimi 1. 1882-1924 [The life of Fan S. Noli: Volume 1. 1882-1924]. Ombra GVG. pp. 38-39.

[29] Winnifrith, T.J. (2002). Badlands - borderlands : a history of Northern Epirus /Southern Albania. London: Duckworth. p. 109. ISBN 9780715632017. Of these Vithkuq... All these villages have a Vlach element in their population, and it is Vlach tradition that they were large and important... This culture was of course Greek culture...

[Elsie222-30] Elsie, Robert (2001). A dictionary of Albanian religion, mythology, and folk culture. NYU Press. pp. 59-60.

[31] Mackridge, Peter (2009). Language and national identity in Greece, 1766-1976. Oxford University Press. pp. 58-59.

[Norris-32] Norris, Harry Thirlwall (1993). Islam in the Balkans: religion and society between Europe and the Arab world. University of South Carolina Press. pp. 47-48, 56, 61-81.

[33] Ergo. Islam in the Albanian lands. 2010. p. 23.

[Clayer2-34] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t Clayer, Nathalie (2007). "Saints and Sufi's in post-Communist Albania". In Kisaichi, Masatoshi (ed.). Popular Movements and Democratization in the Islamic World. Routledge. pp. 33-40.

[Gawrych-35] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v Gawrych, George (2006). The crescent and the eagle: Ottoman rule, Islam and the Albanians, 1874-1913. IB Tauris. pp. 21-22, 43-53, 60-70, 72-105, 140-169, 177-179, 182, 190-196.

[Elsie2001-36] Elsie, Robert (2001). A dictionary of Albanian religion, mythology, and folk culture. NYU Press. p.126.

[Anscombe2006-37] Anscombe, Frederic (2006). "The Ottoman Empire in Recent International Politics - II: The Case of Kosovo". The International History Review. 28.(4): 772. "In this case, however, Ottoman records contain useful information about the ethnicities of the leading actors in the story. In comparison with ‘Serbs’, who were not a meaningful category to the Ottoman state, its records refer to ‘Albanians’ more frequently than to many other cultural or linguistic groups. The term ‘Arnavud’ was used to denote persons who spoke one of the dialects of Albanian, came from mountainous country in the western Balkans (referred to as ‘Arnavudluk’, and including not only the area now forming the state of Albania but also neighbouring parts of Greece, Macedonia, Kosovo, and Montenegro), organized society on the strength of blood ties (family, clan, tribe), engaged predominantly in a mix of settled agriculture and livestock herding, and were notable fighters — a group, in short, difficult to control. Other peoples, such as Georgians, Ahkhaz, Circassians, Tatars, Kurds, and Bedouin Arabs who were frequently identified by their ethnicity, shared similar cultural traits."; pp. 95-101.

[Lloshi-38] Lloshi, Xhevat (1999). "Albanian". In Hinrichs, Uwe, & Uwe Büttner (eds). Handbuch der Südosteuropa-Linguistik. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 277. "They called themselves arbënesh, arbëresh, the country Arbëni, Arbëri, and the language arbëneshe, arbëreshe. In the foreign languages, the Middle Ages denominations of these names survived, but for the Albanians they were substituted by shqiptarë, Shqipëri and shqipe. The primary root is the adverb shqip, meaning "clearly, intelligibly". There is a very close semantic parallel to this in the German noun Deutsche, "the Germans" and "the German language" (Lloshi 1984) Shqip spread out from the north to the south, and Shqipni/Shqipëri is probably a collective noun, following the common pattern of Arbëni, Arbëri. The change happened after the Ottoman conquest because of the conflict in the whole line of the political, social, economic, religious, and cultural spheres with a totally alien world of the Oriental type. A new and more generalised ethnic and linguistic consciousness of all these people responded to this."

[Elsie2005-39] Elsie, Robert (2005). Albanian literature: A short history. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9781845110314. p.34. "Modern Albanian scholars tend to view the consequences of these centuries of Turkish rule as completely negative, in terms of wild Asiatic hordes ravaging and plundering a country which might otherwise have flourished in the cradle of European civilization… Scholar Hasan Kaleshi (1922-1976) has convincingly suggested that the Turkish occupation of the Balkans had at least the one positive consequence. It saved the Albanians from ethnic assimilation by the Slavs, just as the Slavic invasion of the Balkans in the sixth century had put an end to the process of Romanization which had threatened to assimilate the non-Latin-speaking ancestors of the Albanians a thousand years earlier. Although not recognized by the Turks as an ethnic minority (the population of the Ottoman Empire was divided according to religion, not according to nationality), the Albanians managed to survive as a people and indeed substantially expand their areas of settlement under Turkish rule."

[40] Kopanski, Atuallah Bogdan (1997). "Islamization of Albanians in the Middle Ages: The primary sources and the predicament of the modern historiography". Islamic studies. 36. (2/3): 192. "The sophisticated culture, literature and art of Islam were ignored by the generality of historians who hardly even tried to conceal their anti-Muslim bias. Their ferociously anti-Islamic and anti-Turkish attitude not only obscured and distorted the amazing process of mass conversion of entire Christian communities to Islam, but also provided an intellectual prop for the ultra nationalist policy of ethnic and religious cleansing in Bosnia, Hum (Herzegovina), Albania, Bulgaria and Greece. For against the backdrop of the history of the Balkans, as generally portrayed, what appeared as a kind of historical exoneration and an act of retaliation for the 'betrayal' of Christianity in the Middle Ages. The policy of destroying Islamic culture and way of life in Albania after the World War II is the primary reason why the history of medieval Islam in this land has not been properly studied. And when it was studied, it was studied within the parameters of the Stalinist ideology which emphasized only the mythical image of medieval Albanians as the 'heroic Illyrian proletariat'. The handful of Muslim scholars in the Communist Eastern Europe who resisted the anti-Islamic and anti-Turkish propaganda were ostracized and often penalized. Albanian nationalist historians like Ramadan Marmallaku, Kristo Frashëri Skender Anamali, Stefanaq Pollo, Skender Rizaj and Arben Puto in their books deliberately emphasized ad nauseam only 'the Turkish savagery' and the 'heroic' Christian resistance against the Osmanli state in Albania."

[41] Nitsiakos, Vassilis (2010). On the border: Transborder mobility, ethnic groups and boundaries along the Albanian-Greek frontier. LIT Verlag. p. 56. "The Orthodox Christian Albanians, who belonged to the rum millet, identified themselves to a large degree with the rest of the Orthodox, while under the roof of the patriarchate and later the influence of Greek education they started to form Greek national consciousness, a process that was interrupted by the Albanian national movement in the of the 19th century and subsequently by the Albanian state."; p. 153. "The influence of Hellenism on the Albanian Orthodox was such that, when the Albanian national idea developed, in the three last decades of the 19th century, they were greatly confused regarding their national identity."

[Skoulidas-42] Skoulidas, Elias G. (2014). The Albanian Greek-Orthodox Intellectuals: Aspects of their Discourse between Albanian and Greek National Narratives (late 19th - early 20th centuries). Hronos. 07. para. 2, 19, 26-27.

[Karpat-43] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Karpat, Kemal H. (2001). The politicization of Islam: reconstructing identity, state, faith, and community in the late Ottoman state. Oxford University Press. p. 342. “After 1856, and especially after 1878, the terms Turk and Muslim became practically synonymous in the Balkans. An Albanian who did not know one word of Turkish thus was given the ethnic name of Turk and accepted it, no matter how much he might have preferred to distance himself from the ethnic Turks.”; 369-370.

[44] Megalommatis, M. Cosmas (1994). Turkish-Greek Relations and the Balkans: A Historian's Evaluation of Today's Problems. Cyprus Foundation. p. 28. “Muslim Albanians have been called “Turkalvanoi” in Greek, and this is pejorative.

[45] Nikolopoulou, Kalliopi (2013). Tragically Speaking: On the Use and Abuse of Theory for Life. University of Nebraska Press. p. 299. “Instead of the term “Muslim Albanians”, nationalist Greek histories use the more known, but pejorative, term “Turkalbanians”.

[46] League of Nations (October 1921). "Albania". League of Nations –Official Journal. 8: 893. "The memorandum of the Albanian government… The memorandum complains that the Pan-Epirotic Union misnames the Moslem Albanians as “Turco-Albanians”"

[47] Mentzel, Peter (2000). "Introduction: Identity, confessionalism, and nationalism." Nationalities Papers. 28. (1): 8. "The attitude of non Muslim Balkan peoples was similar. In most of the Balkans, Muslims were “Turks” regardless of their ethno-linguistic background. This attitude changed significantly, but not completely, over time."

[48] Blumi, Isa (2011). Reinstating the Ottomans, Alternative Balkan Modernities: 1800-1912. Palgrave MacMillan. New York. p. 32. "As state policy, post- Ottoman “nations” continue to sever most of their cultural, socioeconomic, and institutional links to the Ottoman period. At times, this requires denying a multicultural history, inevitably leading to orgies of cultural destruction (Kiel 1990; Riedlmayer 2002). As a result of this strategic removal of the Ottoman past—the expulsion of the “Turks” (i.e., Muslims); the destruction of buildings; the changing of names of towns, families, and monuments; and the “purification” of languages—many in the region have accepted the conclusion that the Ottoman cultural, political, and economic infrastructure was indeed an “occupying,” and thus foreign, entity (Jazexhi 2009). Such logic has powerful intuitive consequences on the way we write about the region’s history: If Ottoman Muslims were “Turks” and thus “foreigners” by default, it becomes necessary to differentiate the indigenous from the alien, a deadly calculation made in the twentieth century with terrifying consequences for millions."

[Tosic2015-49] Tošić, Jelena (2015). "City of the ‘calm’: vernacular mobility and genealogies of urbanity in a southeast European borderland." Southeast European and Black Sea Studies. 15. (3): 394–395. "As noted above, the vernacular mobility term ‘Podgoriçani’ (literally meaning ‘people that came from Podgoriça’, the present-day capital of Montenegro) refers to the progeny of Balkan Muslims, who migrated to Shkodra in four historical periods and in highest numbers after the Congress of Berlin 1878. Like the Ulqinak, the Podgoriçani thus personify the mass forced displacement of the Muslim population from the Balkans and the ‘unmixing of peoples’ (see e.g. Brubaker 1996, 153) at the time of the retreat of the Ottoman Empire, which has only recently sparked renewed scholarly interest (e.g. Blumi 2013; Chatty 2013)." ; p. 406.

[Gruber2008-50] Gruber, Siegfried (2008). "Household structures in urban Albania in 1918." The History of the Family. 13.(2): 142. "Migration to Shkodra was mostly from the villages to the south-east of the city and from the cities of Podgorica and Ulcinj in Montenegro. This was connected to the independence of Montenegro from the Ottoman Empire in the year 1878 and the acquisition of additional territories, e.g. Ulcinj in 1881 (Ippen, 1907, p. 3)."

[Steinke-51] Steinke, Klaus, & Xhelal Ylli (2013). Die slavischen Minderheiten in Albanien (SMA). 4. Teil: Vraka - Borakaj. Verlag Otto Sagner. p. 137. "Das Dorf Borakaj (Borak/Borake), zwischen Durrës und Tirana in der Nähe der Kleinstadt Shijak gelegen, wird fast vollständig von Bosniaken bewohnt. Zu dieser Gruppe gehören auch die Bosniaken im Nachbarort Koxhas."; p. 137. "Die Bosniaken sind wahrschlich nach 1875 aus der Umgebung von Mostar, und zwar aus Dörfern zwischen Mostar und Čapljina, nach Albanien gekommen... Einzelne bosnische Familien wohnen in verschiedenen Städten, vie in Shijak, Durrës. Die 1924 nach Libofsha in der Nähe von Fier eingewanderte Gruppe ist inzwischen sprachlich fast vollständig assimiliert, SHEHU-DIZDARI-DUKA (2001: 33) bezeichnet sie ehenfalls als bosniakisch."; p. 139. "Die von den österreichisch-ungarischen Truppen 1916 durchgeführte Volkszählung in Albanien verzeichnet für Borakaj 73 Häuser mit 305 muslimischen Einwohnern. Von ihnen werden 184 als Albaner und 121 als Serbokroaten bezeichnet. In Koxhas werden 109 Häuser mit 462 muslimischen Einwohnern erfasst, von denen 232 Albaner und 230 Serbokroaten waren, Ferner werden in Shijak 17 Serbokroaten und einer in Sukth registriert (SENER 1922: 35, 36), Für Borakaj sind die Angaben zur ethnischen Zusammensetzung problematisch. Es ist unwahrscheinlich, dass innerhalb von vierzig Jahren die Hälfte der Einwohner in Borakaj albanisiert wurde. Dem widerspricht vor allem auch die ethnische Homo-genität des Ortes bis zu Beginn der 1990er Jahre. Andererseits gibt es keine Hinweise, dass die fraglichen Albaner zwischenzeitlich wieder weggezogen sind oder von den Bosniaken assimiliert wurden. Wahrscheinlich hat sich ein Teil aus irgendwelchen Gründen nur falsch deklariert."; p. 139. "Anders stellt sich die Situation in Koxhas dar. Die Albaner dort bilden bis heute die Mehrheit, d.h. der Anteil der Bosniaken war immer kleiner und hat weiter abgenommen, sodass dieses Dorf in der unmittelbaren Nachbarschaft nicht bosniakisch geprägt ist. Weiterhin dubios bleibt jedoch für beide Ortschaften die Beizeichnung der Einwohner als ,,Serbokroaten”, weil die muslimischen Slavophonen von Seiner sonst immer in die Rubrik ,,Sonstige” eingeordnet werden."

[Steinke1-52] Steinke, Klaus, & Xhelal Ylli (2013). Die slavischen Minderheiten in Albanien (SMA). 4. Teil: Vraka - Borakaj. Verlag Otto Sagner. p.9. "Am östlichen Ufer des Shkodrasees gibt es heute auf dem Gebiet von Vraka vier Dörfer, in denen ein Teil der Bewohner eine montenegrinische Mundart spricht. Es handelt sich dabei um die Ortschaften Boriçi i Madh (Borić Veli), Boriçi i Vogël (Borić Mali/Borić Stari/Borić Vezirov), Gril (Grilj) und Omaraj (Omara), die verwaltungstechnisch Teil der Gemeinde Gruemira in der Region Malësia e Madhe sind. Ferner zählen zu dieser Gruppe noch die Dörfer Shtoji i Ri und Shtoji i Vjetër in der Gemeinde Rrethinat und weiter nordwestlich von Koplik das Dorf Kamica (Kamenica), das zur Gemeinde Qendër in der Region Malësia e Madhe gehört. Desgleichen wohnen vereinzelt in der Stadt sowie im Kreis Shkodra weitere Sprecher der montenegrinischen Mundart. Nach ihrer Konfession unterscheidet man zwei Gruppen, d.h. orthodoxe mid muslimische Slavophone. Die erste, kleinere Gruppe wohnt in Boriçi i Vogël, Gril, Omaraj und Kamica, die zweite, größere Gruppe in Boriçi i Madh und in Shtoj. Unter den in Shkodra wohnenden Slavophonen sind beide Konfessionen vertreten... Die Muslime bezeichnen sich gemeinhin als Podgoričani ‘Zuwanderer aus Podgorica’ und kommen aus Zeta, Podgorica, Tuzi usw."; p. 19. "Ohne genaue Quellenangabe bringt ŠĆEPANOVIĆ (1991: 716-717) folgende ,,aktuelle” Zahlen:... Veliki (Mladi) Borić 112 Familien, davon 86 podgoričanski, 6 crnogorski und 20 albanische Familien. STOPPEL (2012: 28) sagt Folgendes über die Montenegriner in Albanien: ,,hierbei handelt es sich um (nach Erhebungen des Helsinki-Komitees von 1999 geschätzt,, etwa 1800-2000 serbisch-sprachige Personen in Raum des Shkodra-Sees und im nördlichen Berggrenzland zu Montenegro, die 1989 eher symbolisch mit ca. 100 Personen angegeben und nach 1991 zunächst überwiegend nach Jugoslawien übergewechselt waren”. p. 20. "Außer in Boriçi i Madh uund auch in Shtoj, wo die Slavophonen eine kompakte Gruppe innerhalb des jeweiligen Ortes bilden, sind sie in anderen Dorfern zahlenmäßig bedeutunglos geworden."; p. 131. "In Shtoj i Vjetër leben heute ungefähr 30 und in Shtoj i Ri 17 muslimische Familien, d.h Podgoričaner."

[Endersen-53] Endersen, Cecile (2011). "Diverging images of the Ottoman legacy in Albania". In Hartmuth, Maximilian, (ed.) Images of imperial legacy: Modern discourses on the social and cultural impact of Ottoman and Habsburg rule in Southeast Europe. Lit Verlag Münster. 40-43.

[Stoppel2001-54] Nußberger, Angelika & Wolfgang Stoppel (2001). Minderheitenschutz im östlichen Europa (Albanien). (PDF) (in German). Cologne: Universität Köln. pp.9-10. "In den südlichen Landesteilen hielten sich Muslime und Orthodoxe stets in etwa die Waage: So standen sich zB 1908 in den Bezirken (damals türkischen Sandschaks) Korca und Gjirokastro 95.000 Muslime und 128.000 Orthodoxe gegenüber, während 1923 das Verhältnis 109.000 zu 114.000 und 1927 116.000 zu 112.000 betrug. [In the southern parts of the country, Muslims and Orthodox were broadly always balanced: Thus, for example in 1908 were in the districts (then Turkish Sanjaks) Korca and Gjirokastro 95,000 Muslims and in contrast to 128,000 Orthodox, while in 1923 the ratio of 109,000 to 114,000 and 1927 116,000 to 112,000 it had amounted too.]"

[55] Baltsiotis, Lambros (2011). The Muslim Chams of Northwestern Greece: The grounds for the expulsion of a "non-existent" minority community. European Journal of Turkish Studies. para 14 "The fact that the Christian communities within the territory which was claimed by Greece from the mid 19th century until the year 1946, known after 1913 as Northern Epirus, spoke Albanian, Greek and Aromanian (Vlach), was dealt with by the adoption of two different policies by Greek state institutions. The first policy was to take measures to hide the language(s) the population spoke, as we have seen in the case of “Southern Epirus”. The second was to put forth the argument that the language used by the population had no relation to their national affiliation... As we will discuss below, under the prevalent ideology in Greece at the time every Orthodox Christian was considered Greek, and conversely after 1913, when the territory which from then onwards was called “Northern Epirus” in Greece was ceded to Albania, every Muslim of that area was considered Albanian."

[56] Kokolakis, Mihalis (2003). Το ύστερο Γιαννιώτικο Πασαλίκι: χώρος, διοίκηση και πληθυσμός στην τουρκοκρατούμενη Ηπειρο (1820-1913) [The late Pashalik of Ioannina: Space, administration and population in Ottoman ruled Epirus (1820-1913). EIE-ΚΝΕ. p.53. "Με εξαίρεση τις ολιγομελείς κοινότητες των παλιών Ρωμανιωτών Εβραίων της Αρτας και των Ιωαννίνων, και την ακόμη ολιγομελέστερη ομάδα των Καθολικών της Αυλώνας, οι κάτοικοι της Ηπείρου χωρίζονται με το κριτήριο της θρησκείας σε δύο μεγάλες ομάδες, σε Ορθόδοξους και σε Μουσουλμάνους. [With the exception of a few members of the old communities such as Romaniote Jews of Arta and Ioannina, and even small groups of Catholics in Vlora, the residents of Epirus were separated by the criterion of religion into two major groups, the Orthodox and Muslims.]"; p. 54. "Η μουσουλμανική κοινότητα της Ηπείρου, με εξαίρεση τους μικρούς αστικούς πληθυσμούς των νότιων ελληνόφωνων περιοχών, τους οποίους προαναφέραμε, και τις δύο με τρεις χιλιάδες διεσπαρμένους «Τουρκόγυφτους», απαρτιζόταν ολοκληρωτικά από αλβανόφωνους, και στα τέλη της Τουρκοκρατίας κάλυπτε τα 3/4 περίπου του πληθυσμού των αλβανόφωνων περιοχών και περισσότερο από το 40% του συνόλου. [The Muslim community in Epirus, with the exception of small urban populations of the southern Greek-speaking areas, which we mentioned, and 2-3000 dispersed "Muslim Romani", consisted entirely of Albanian speakers, and in the late Ottoman period covered approximately 3/4 of population ethnic Albanian speaking areas and more than 40% of the total area."; pp.55-56. p.374.

[Duijzings-57] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Duijzings, Gerlachlus. (2000). Religion and the politics of identity in Kosovo. C. Hurst. pp.163-164.

[58] Smith, Michael Llewwellyn (2006). "Venizelos’ diplomacy, 1910-23: From Balkan alliance to Greek-Turkish Settlement". In Kitromilides, Paschalis M. (ed). Eleftherios Venizelos: the trials of statesmanship. Edinburgh University Press. p.150. "When the Greek army withdrew from Northern Epirot territories in accordance with the ruling of the Powers, a fierce struggle broke out between Muslim Albanians and Greek irregulars."

[Vickers-59] Vickers, Miranda (2011). The Albanians: a modern history. IB Tauris. pp. 82-86, 108-109.

[Clayer-60] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Clayer, Nathalie (2014). "Behind the veil The reform of Islam in Inter-war Albania or the serach for a “modern” and “European” Islam". Cronin, Stephanie (ed.). In Anti-Veiling Campaigns in the Muslim World Gender, Modernism and the Politics of Dress. Routledge. pp. 231-232, 234-247.

[Austin-61] Austin, Robert Clegg (2012). Founding a Balkan State: Albania's Experiment with Democracy, 1920-1925. University of Toronto Press. p. 95. “A cornerstone of Greek policy, an approach also employed by the Yugoslavs, was to encourage religious differences in Albania and stress that Albania was a little ‘Turkey’ hostile to Orthodox Greeks. To popularize the idea of two Albanian states, one Moslem, the other Christian, throughout the early 1920s Greece continually complained that Albania’s majority Moslem population was actively persecuting the Orthodox minority. Albania denied this, stressed its well— documented legacy of religious tolerance, and added that while there was tension in the southern perimeter of the country, it was not between Muslims and Christians, but rather a rift had emerged because of the movement to create an autocephalous Albanian Orthodox Church and some citizens wished to remain under the Patriarchate”.

[62] Albania dispatch, Time magazine, April 14, 1923

[Ezzati-63] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Ezzati, Abul-Fazl (2002). The Spread of Islam: The Contributing Factors. ICAS Press. p. 450.

[64] Welton, George & Adrian Brisku (2007). "Contradictory Inclinations? The role of ‘Europe’ in Albanian Nationalist Discourse". In Sanghera, Balihar, & Sarah Amsler (eds). Theorising social change in post-Soviet countries: critical approaches. Peter Lang. p. 99.

[65] Pavlowitch, Stevan K (2014). A History of the Balkans 1804-1945. Routledge. p. 304.

[Doja-66] Doja, Albert (2006). "A Political History of Bektashism in Albania". Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions. 7. (1): 98.

[67] Young, Antonia (1999). "Religion and society in present‐day Albania". Journal of Contemporary Religion. 14. (1): 9.

[68] Ramet, Sabrina (1989). Religion and nationalism in Soviet and East European politics. Duke University Press. p. 490.

[69] Jelavich, Barbara (1983). History of the Balkans. Cambridge University Press.p. 379.

[Czekalski1-70] Czekalski, Tadeusz (2013). The shining beacon of socialism in Europe: The Albanian state and society in the period of communist dictatorship 1944-1992. Jagiellonian University Press. ISBN 9788323335153. p. 120. "The census of 1945 showed that the vast majority of society (72%) were Muslims, 17.2% of the population declared themselves to be Orthodox, and 10% Catholics."; p. 121. "The communist relations with particular religious communities differed and depended on the degree of loyalty towards the new government. The Orthodox and Bektashi’s succeeded without difficulties in entering into agreements with the communist authorities, defining the acceptable range of clerical activity and declaring participation in propaganda campaigns organized by the communists... The Bektashi’s were helped by the fact that, during wartime, 28 of the community’s clergymen, as well as a few hundred of the faithful, were killed in fighting."; p. 122. "To a lesser degree, the repression also touched the Muslim community, as some of the clergy were accused of collaboration with the occupants. Among those imprisoned were the mufti of Durrës – Mustafa efendi Varoshi, Hafez Ibrahim Dibra – the former great mufti of Albania and sheh Xhemal Pazari from Tirana. In 1947, there were 44 Muslim clergymen, 36 Catholic priests, 16 Orthodox priests and one nun in Albanian prisons."

[Crampton-71] Crampton, Richard (2013). The Balkans since the second world war. Routledge. p. 46.

[Czekalski2-72] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Czekalski. The shining beacon. 2013. p.124. "In June 1949 there was a meeting between Enver Hoxha and the leader of the Albanian Sunni Muslims – Hafis Musa Ali, who presented his requests to the Albanian government. The mufti’s main postulates were to financial aid for the Muslim community, and to make those who wished in the future to become hodjas or mullahs exempt from military service. Hoxha reacted positively to the exemption of clergymen from military service, but did not support the idea of translating the Koran into Albanian, which the mufti requested."; p. 124. "Act 743 became the basis for negotiations concerning the legal status of religious communities. On May 4, 1950... On the same day, statutes concerning the Muslim communities were also approved. The highest power in the Sunni Muslim community was the Main Council, and the budget was to consist of income from property donations and budget subsidiaries. The statute also regulated the activity of the Community of Albanian Bektashi’s (Komuniteti Bektashian I Shqipërisë). Owing to the fact that the leader of the community in Albania controlled the world community of Bektashi’s, he obtained the right to maintain contact with communities active outside the country (other community leaders did not obtain such rights)."; p. 129. "The capital’s Et’hem Bey Mosque was recognized as a monument. This place later served as a place of prayer for diplomats working in Tirana, but Albanians were forbidden from praying in this place. A few Bektashi temples, including the sacral buildings were changed into cultural centres, warehouses and restaurants."; p.133. "Out of the 60 Bektashi temples (tekke) open before 1967, at the beginning of the 1990s only six were successfully reopened."

[Nurja-73] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Nurja, Ermal (2012). "The rise and destruction of Ottoman Architecture in Albania: A brief history focused on the mosques". Furat, A., & Er, Hamit (eds.). In Balkans and Islam Encounter, Transformation, Discontinuity, Continuity. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 204-205.

[Bogdani-74] Bogdani, Mirela, & John Loughlin (2007). Albania and the European Union: the tumultuous journey towards integration and accession. IB Tauris. pp. 81, 191.

[Buturovic-75] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Buturovic, Amila (2006). "European Islam". Juergensmeyer, Mark, (ed.). In Global religions: An introduction. Oxford University Press. p. 439.

[76] Akhtar, Shabbir (2010). Islam as political religion: the future of an imperial faith]. Routledge. p. 240.

[77] Peter Clark (1988). "Islam in contemporary Europe". In Clarke, Peter, et al. (eds). The World's Religions. Routledge. p. 514.

[Ramet3-78] Ramet. Nihil obstat. 1998. p.220. "Of the 1,127 mosques in Albania before the communist takeover, only fifty survived that era, most of them dilapidated. As of 1991, only two mosques in Tiranë were fit for use by worshipers."

[DeWaal-79] De Waal, Clarissa (2005). Albania Today: A portrait of post-communist turbulence. IB. Tauris. pp. 82, 202.

[80] "Publikime". Retrieved 14 May 2015.

[Pano-81] Pano, Nicholas (1997). "The process of democratization in Albania". In Dawisha, Karen, & Bruce Parrott (eds). Politics, power and the struggle for democracy in South-East Europe. Cambridge University Press. p. 330.

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[87] Esposito, John, & Yavuz, M. Hakan. (2003). Turkish Islam and the secular state: The Gülen movement. Syracuse University Press. pp. 66-68.

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[DeSoto-92] De Soto, Hermine, Beddies, Sabine & Ilir Gedeshi (2005). Roma and Egyptians in Albania: From social exclusion to social inclusion. World Bank Publications. p. 9, 21.

[93] Steinke, Klaus, & Xhelal Ylli (2010). Die slavischen Minderheiten in Albanien:(SMA). 3. Gora. Verlag Otto Sagner. p. 11. "In den 17 Dörfern des Kosovo wird Našinski/Goranče gesprochen, und sie gehören zu einer Gemeinde mit dem Verwaltungszentrum in Dragaš. Die 19 Dörfer in Albanien sind hingegen auf drei Gemeinden des Bezirks Kukës aufgeteilt, und zwar auf Shishtavec, Zapod und Topojan. Slavophone findet man freilich nur in den ersten beiden Gemeinden. Zur Gemeinde Shishtavec gehören sieben Dörfer und in den folgenden vier wird Našinski/Goranče gesprochen: Shishtavec (Šištaec/Šišteec), Borja (Borje), Cërnaleva (Cărnolevo/Cărneleve) und Oreshka (Orešek). Zur Gemeinde Zapod gehören ebenfalls sieben Dörfer, und in den folgenden fünf wird Našinski/Goranče gesprochen: Orgjost (Orgosta), Kosharisht (Košarišta), Pakisht (Pakiša/Pakišča) Zapod (Zapod) und Orçikla (Orčikl’e/Očikl’e)’. In der Gemeinde Topojan gibt es inzwischen keine slavophone Bevölkerung mehr. Die Einwohner selbst bezeichnen sich gewöhnlich als Goranen ‘Einwohner von Gora oder Našinci Unsrige, und ihre Sprache wird von ihnen als Našinski und von den Albanern als Gorançe bezeichnet."

[De_Rapper200111-94] De Rapper, Gilles (2001). The son of three fathers has no hat on his head. Life and social representations in a Macedonian village of Albania. Academic paper. Macedonia, Macedonias. p. 3-4.; p. 6.

[95] Steinke, Klaus, & Xhelal Ylli (2008). Die Slavischen Minderheiten in Albanien (SMA). 2. Teil: Golloborda-Herbel-Kërçishti I Epërm. Verlag Otto Sagner. p. 10. "Heute umfaßt das Gebiet von Golloborda in Albanien 22 Dörfer, die verwaltungstechnisch auf drei verschiedene Gemeinden aufgeteilt sind: 1. Die Gemeinde Ostren besteht aus dreizehn Dörfern, und Südslavisch wird in den folgenden neun Dörfern gesprochen: Ostreni i Madh (Golemo Ostreni/Ostreni Golemo), Kojavec (Kojovci), Lejçan Lešničani), Lladomerica (Ladomerica/Ladimerica/Vlademerica), Ostreni i Vogël (Malo Ostreni/Malastreni/Ostreni Malo), Orzhanova (Oržanova), Radovesh (Radoveš/Radoeš/Radoešt), Tuçep (Tučepi) und Pasinka (Pasinki). 2. Die Gemeinde von Trebisht umfaßt die vier Dörfer Trebisht (Trebišta), Gjinovec (G'inovec/G'inec), Kienja (Klen'e) und Vërnica (Vărnica), und in allen wird Südslavisch gesprochen. 3. Die übrigen Dörfer von Golloborda gehören zur Gemeinde Stebleva, und zwar Stebleva, Zabzun, Borova, Sebisht, Llanga. Südslavisch wird in Stebleva (Steblo) sowie von drei Familien in Sebisht (Sebišta) gesprochen. Wie aus den bisherigen Ausführungen und den Erhebungen vor Ort hervorgeht, gibt es nur noch in fünfzehn der insgesamt Dörfer, die heute zu Golloborda gehören, slavophone Einwohner. Die Zahl der Dörfer in Golloborda wird manchmal auch mit 24 angegeben. Dann zählt man die Viertel des Dorfes Trebisht, und zwar Trebisht-Bala, Trebisht-Çelebia und Trebisht-Muçina separat. Zu Golloborda rechnete man traditionell ferner die Dörfer Hotišan, Žepišt, Manastirec, Drenok, Modrič und Lakaica, die heute in Makedonien liegen."

[DeRapper20022-96] De Rapper, Gilles (2002). "Culture and the Reinvention of Myths in a Border Area." In Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie, & Bernd Jürgen Fischer (eds). Albanian Identities. Myth and History. Indiana University Press. p. 191. “It is common in Albania to say that all Albanians, whether Christian or Muslim, are brothers, and that their only religion is their common Albanian nationality. The dogma of national unity as against religious differentiation is at the core of the most widely-spread Albanian national rhetoric. However, this rhetoric is challenged when local society is underpinned by, and conceptualised in terms of, religious differentiation."

[Nitsiakos-97] Nitsiakos, Vassilis (2010). On the border: Transborder mobility, ethnic groups and boundaries along the Albanian-Greek frontier. LIT Verlag. p. 209. "On their part, the Muslims believe that they are the purest Albanians, because they constituted the nucleus of the national renaissance and as great patriots resisted the Serbs, who tried to penetrate and conquer Albanian territories. In reference to Christians, they claim that the Orthodox identified with the Greeks and the Catholic with the Italians."; pp. 200-201. "Traces of this historical differentiation are still evident in South Albania today between Christian and Muslim Albanians. Very often on hears Christians call Muslim Albanians “Turks”; they, in their turn, often attribute pro-Greek sentiments to Orthodox Christian Albanians."

[Saltmarshe-98] Saltmarshe, Douglas (2001). Identity in a post-communist Balkan state: An Albanian village study. Ashgate. p. 115. "It is frequently said that how there is no difference between the religions in Albania. While it is true that there is a considerable degree of toleration, indications deriving from this study suggest that religious affiliations plays a significant part in identity formation and therefore in social relations… However the story from the Catholics was very different… there was varying mistrust of the Muslims. Many Catholics expressed resentment of the dominant position of the Muslims during communism and subsequently. Some expressed and underlying dislike of Islam and they perceived to be its philosophy."; p. 116. "However the Muslim position was that Islam had proved to be a vital force in uniting and maintaining the independence of Albania. Without it they would have been subsumed by the Greeks, Serbs or Italians. From this perspective, they believed, Islam formed the basis of Albanian national identity and should provide the foundation upon which its state was constructed… Yet not far below the surface there was a degree of disdain for the Catholics. In Gura, Catholic migrants reported that Muslims called them kaur, a most unpleasant derogatory term used by the Turks to describe Christians."; pp. 166-117. "So whatever might be said to the contrary, tensions were observable between Catholics and Muslims. At most basic of levels Gura was segregated into Muslim and Catholics areas. The same situation existed in Shkodër where the city was broadly split into neighbourhoods defined by faith with the Roma living on the southern outskirts of town. Yet there were many in the younger generation who did not see religion as being important."

[99] De Rapper, Gilles (2002). "Culture and the Reinvention of Myths in a Border Area. In Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie & Bernd J. Fischer (eds). Albanian Identities. Myth and History. Indiana University Press. p. 191. "This is the case in mixed areas, where Muslims and Christians live in separate villages (or in separate neighbourhoods), and both have strong identities as religious communities – as in Devoll. In this specific context, religion cannot consist of just being Albanian. On the contrary, people are very well aware of their belonging to a specific religious community, and national identity is rarely thought of outside the basic opposition between Muslims and Christians.”

[100] De Rapper, Gilles (2005). "Better than Muslims, Not as Good as Greeks: Emigration as Experienced and Imagined by the Albanian Christians of Lunxhëri". In King, Russell; Mai, Nicola; Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie (eds). The New Albanian Migration. Brighton-Portland: Sussex Academic. p. 181. "The Muslims from Erind – the only village in Lunxhëri to be Muslim in majority – are not perceived as the descendants of migrants from other Muslim areas, but they are nonetheless definitely different, and the relations between Erind and the neighbouring villages are marked by the same stereotypes as the relations between Muslims and Christians usually are: people from Erind are said to be violent and dirty, to have no culture, and to be responsible for anything bad happening in the area."

[101] Bon, Nataša Gregorič (2008). Contested spaces and negotiated identities in Dhërmi/Drimades of Himarë/Himara area, southern Albania (Thesis). University of Nova Gorica. p. 33. " According to the mainstream public opinion in Greece the Greek speaking people of Orthodox religion living in Southern Albania are called Northern Epirots (Vorioepirotes) (see Triandafyllidou and Veikou 2002: 191). According to the public opinion in Albania they are often referred to by Greeks or Greku or pejoratively Kaure (non-believers) or Kaur i derit (non-believer-pigs, i.e. Greek pigs)."

[102] Kretsi, Georgina (2005). 'Shkëlzen ou Giannis? Changement de prénom et stratégies identitaires, entre culture d'origine et migration [Shkëlzen or Giannis? Change of Name and Identity strategies, between Culture of Origin and Migration]'. Balkanologie. 1. (2): para 2, 23, 31-33.

[103] De Rapper, Gilles (2010). "Religion on the Border: sanctuaries and festivals in post-communist Albania". In Galia Valtchinova (ed.). Religion and Boundaries: Studies from the Balkans, Eastern Europe and Turkey. Istanbul ISIS Press. p. 6: "We have seen for instance the case of a Muslim villager building a shrine of a Christian type in his own courtyard, in clear relation to the expectations of some of the people who visit the place before crossing the border to work in Greece. One might draw a parallel between such cases and the conversion of Muslim Albanian migrants to Orthodoxy, in order to facilitate their acceptation in Greek society.

[Brisku-104] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Brisku, Adrian (2013). Bittersweet Europe: Albanian and Georgian Discourses on Europe, 1878-2008. Berghahn Books. pp. 181-187.

[Abrahams-105] Abrahams, Fred (2015). Modern Albania: from dictatorship to democracy in Europe. NYU Press. p. 233.

[106] Mueller, Karl, et al (2006). Striking first: preemptive and preventive attack in US national security policy. Rand Corporation. p. 233.

[107] "Official website of the OIC". Retrieved 11 July 2016.

[108] Konidaris, Gerasimos (2005). “Examining policy responses to immigration in the light of interstate relations and foreign policy objectives: Greece and Albania”. In King, Russell, & Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers (eds). The new Albanian migration. Sussex Academic. pp. 80-81. "Greece’s favorite candidate in these elections was clearly MR. Nano. As emerges from the interview material, he –unlike Berisha- was held in high esteem by the Greek side. It should not escape notice that Nano was by origin Orthodox Christian from Southern Albania, whereas Berisha was a northern Muslim... Greece’s favour towards Nano was clearly demonstrated in June, when he was allowed to speak to a crowd of Albanian citizens at a pre-election rally in one of Athen’s central squares. The police did not interfere and no arrests of illegal immigrants were made."

[Zamanheritage-109] "Albanians in Turkey celebrate their cultural heritage". Today's Zaman. 21 August 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2015.

[Tabak-110] Tabak, Hüsrev (03 March 2013). "Albanian awakening: The worm has turned!". Today's Zaman. Retrieved 17 July 2015.

[Petrovic-111] Petrović, Žarko and Dušan Reljić (2011). "Turkish interests and involvement in the Western Balkans: A score-card." Insight Turkey. 13. (3): 162, 166, 169-170.

[112] "Genci Muçaj: Albania enjoys magnificent relations with Turkey". Koha Jonë. 14 Mars 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.

[Rubin-113] Rubin, Barry & Kemal Kirişci (2001). Turkey in world politics: an emerging multiregional power. Lynne Rienner Publishers. pp. 54-56.

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@@ Line 45: / Line 45: @@
 By the 19th century Albanians were divided into three religious groups. Catholic Albanians who had some Albanian ethno-linguistic expression in schooling and church due to Austro-Hungarian protection and Italian clerical patronage.<ref name=Gawrych/> Orthodox Albanians under the Patriarchate of Constantinople had liturgy and schooling in Greek and toward the late Ottoman period mainly identified with Greek national aspirations.<ref name=Gawrych/><ref>Nitsiakos, Vassilis (2010). ''On the border: Transborder mobility, ethnic groups and boundaries along the Albanian-Greek frontier''. LIT Verlag. p. 56. "The Orthodox Christian Albanians, who belonged to the rum millet, identified themselves to a large degree with the rest of the Orthodox, while under the roof of the patriarchate and later the influence of Greek education they started to form Greek national consciousness, a process that was interrupted by the Albanian national movement in the of the 19th century and subsequently by the Albanian state."; p. 153. "The influence of Hellenism on the Albanian Orthodox was such that, when the Albanian national idea developed, in the three last decades of the 19th century, they were greatly confused regarding their national identity."</ref><ref name=Skoulidas>Skoulidas, Elias G. (2014). [http://www.chronosmag.eu/index.php/eskoulidas-the-albanian-greek-orthodox-intellectuals.html The Albanian Greek-Orthodox Intellectuals: Aspects of their Discourse between Albanian and Greek National Narratives (late 19th - early 20th centuries)]. ''Hronos''. '''07'''. para.  2, 19, 26-27.</ref> While Muslim Albanians during this period formed around 70% of the overall Balkan Albanian population in the Ottoman Empire with an estimated population of more than a million.<ref name=Gawrych/> With the rise of the [[Eastern Question|Eastern Crisis]], Muslim Albanians became torn between loyalties to the Ottoman state and the emerging Albanian nationalist movement.<ref name=Gawrych/> Islam, the Sultan and the Ottoman Empire were traditionally seen as synonymous in belonging to the wider Muslim community.<ref name=Gawrych/> While the Albanian nationalist movement advocated self determination and strived to achieve socio-political recognition of Albanians as a separate people and language within the state.<ref name=Gawrych/>
-The Russo-Ottoman war of 1878 and the threat of partition of Ottoman Albanian inhabited areas amongst neighbouring Balkan states at the [[Congress of Berlin]] led to the emergence of the [[League of Prizren]] (1878-1881) to prevent those aims.<ref name=Gawrych/> The league began as an organisation advocating Islamic solidarity and restoration of the status quo (pre-1878).<ref name=Gawrych/> In time it also included Albanian national demands such as the creation of a large Albanian vilayet or province which led to its demise by the Ottoman Empire.<ref name=Gawrych/> The Ottoman Empire viewed Muslim Albanians as a bulwark to further encroachment by Christian Balkan states to its territory.<ref name=Gawrych/> It therefore opposed emerging Albanian national sentiments and Albanian language education amongst its Muslim component that would sever Muslim Albanians from the Ottoman Empire.<ref name=Gawrych/> During this time the Ottoman Empire appealed to [[Pan-Islamism|pan-Islamic]] identity and attempted to console Muslim Albanians for example by employing only them in the Imperial Palace Guard and offering their elite socio-political and other privileges.<ref name=Gawrych/><ref name = Karpat/> Wars and socio-political instability resulting in increasing identification with the Ottoman Empire amongst some Muslims within the Balkans during the late Ottoman period made the terms ''Muslim'' and ''Turk'' synonymous.<ref name = Karpat/> In this context, Muslim Albanians of the era were conferred and received the term ''Turk'' while having preferences to distance themselves from ethnic Turks.<ref name = Karpat>Karpat, Kemal H. (2001). ''[https://books.google.com.au/books?id=YmZMCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA342&lpg=PA342&dq=The+politicization+of+Islam:+reconstructing+identity,+state,+faith,+and+community+in+the+late+Ottoman+state+reprisals+Albanian&source=bl&ots=nhF7_TrEBq&sig=jWIAYvISTDIiVza0mDO0ALv_28A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi83fOKzdjNAhUKkJQKHYocAcQQ6AEILzAD#v=onepage&q=The%20politicization%20of%20Islam%3A%20reconstructing%20identity%2C%20state%2C%20faith%2C%20and%20community%20in%20the%20late%20Ottoman%20state%20reprisals%20Albanian&f=false The politicization of Islam: reconstructing identity, state, faith, and community in the late Ottoman state]''. Oxford University Press. p. 342. “After 1856, and especially after 1878, the terms ''Turk'' and ''Muslim'' became practically synonymous in the Balkans. An Albanian who did not know one word of Turkish thus was given the ethnic name of ''Turk'' and accepted it, no matter how much he might have preferred to distance himself from the ethnic Turks.”; 369-370.</ref> This practice has somewhat continued amongst Balkan Christian peoples in contemporary times who still refer to Muslim Albanians as ''Turks'' and ''[[Turco-Albanians]]'', with often pejorative connotations and historic negative socio-political repercussions.<ref> Megalommatis, M. Cosmas (1994). ''Turkish-Greek Relations and the Balkans: A Historian's Evaluation of Today's Problems''. Cyprus Foundation. p. 28. “Muslim Albanians have been called “Turkalvanoi” in Greek, and this is pejorative.</ref><ref>Nikolopoulou, Kalliopi (2013). ''Tragically Speaking: On the Use and Abuse of Theory for Life''. University of Nebraska Press. p. 299. “Instead of the term “Muslim Albanians”, nationalist Greek histories use the more known, but pejorative, term “Turkalbanians”.</ref><ref>League of Nations (October 1921). "Albania". ''League of Nations –Official Journal''. '''8''': 893. "The memorandum of the Albanian government… The memorandum complains that the Pan-Epirotic Union misnames the Moslem Albanians as “Turco-Albanians”"</ref><ref> Mentzel, Peter (2000). "Introduction: Identity, confessionalism, and nationalism." ''Nationalities Papers''. '''28'''. (1): 8. "The attitude of non Muslim Balkan peoples was similar. In most of the Balkans, Muslims were “Turks” regardless of their ethno-linguistic background. This attitude changed significantly, but not completely, over time."</ref><ref>Blumi, Isa (2011). ''Reinstating the Ottomans, Alternative Balkan Modernities: 1800-1912''. Palgrave MacMillan. New York. p. 32. "As state policy, post- Ottoman “nations” continue to sever most of their cultural, socioeconomic, and institutional links to the Ottoman period. At times, this requires denying a multicultural history, inevitably leading to orgies of cultural destruction (Kiel 1990; Riedlmayer 2002). As a result of this strategic removal of the Ottoman past—the expulsion of the “Turks” (i.e., Muslims); the destruction of buildings; the changing of names of towns, families, and monuments; and the “purification” of languages—many in the region have accepted the conclusion that the Ottoman cultural, political, and economic infrastructure was indeed an “occupying,” and thus foreign, entity (Jazexhi 2009). Such logic has powerful intuitive consequences on the way we write about the region’s history: If Ottoman Muslims were “Turks” and thus “foreigners” by default, it becomes necessary to differentiate the indigenous from the alien, a deadly calculation made in the twentieth century with terrifying consequences for millions."</ref>
+The Russo-Ottoman war of 1878 and the threat of partition of Ottoman Albanian inhabited areas amongst neighbouring Balkan states at the [[Congress of Berlin]] led to the emergence of the [[League of Prizren]] (1878-1881) to prevent those aims.<ref name=Gawrych/> The league began as an organisation advocating Islamic solidarity and restoration of the status quo (pre-1878).<ref name=Gawrych/> In time it also included Albanian national demands such as the creation of a large Albanian vilayet or province which led to its demise by the Ottoman Empire.<ref name=Gawrych/> The Ottoman Empire viewed Muslim Albanians as a bulwark to further encroachment by Christian Balkan states to its territory.<ref name=Gawrych/> It therefore opposed emerging Albanian national sentiments and Albanian language education amongst its Muslim component that would sever Muslim Albanians from the Ottoman Empire.<ref name=Gawrych/> During this time the Ottoman Empire appealed to [[Pan-Islamism|pan-Islamic]] identity and attempted to console Muslim Albanians for example by employing only them in the Imperial Palace Guard and offering their elite socio-political and other privileges.<ref name=Gawrych/><ref name = Karpat/> Wars and socio-political instability resulting in increasing identification with the Ottoman Empire amongst some Muslims within the Balkans during the late Ottoman period made the terms ''Muslim'' and ''Turk'' synonymous.<ref name = Karpat/> In this context, Muslim Albanians of the era were conferred and received the term ''Turk'' while having preferences to distance themselves from ethnic Turks.<ref name = Karpat>Karpat, Kemal H. (2001). ''[https://books.google.com.au/books?id=YmZMCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA342&lpg=PA342&dq=The+politicization+of+Islam:+reconstructing+identity,+state,+faith,+and+community+in+the+late+Ottoman+state+reprisals+Albanian&source=bl&ots=nhF7_TrEBq&sig=jWIAYvISTDIiVza0mDO0ALv_28A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi83fOKzdjNAhUKkJQKHYocAcQQ6AEILzAD#v=onepage&q=The%20politicization%20of%20Islam%3A%20reconstructing%20identity%2C%20state%2C%20faith%2C%20and%20community%20in%20the%20late%20Ottoman%20state%20reprisals%20Albanian&f=false The politicization of Islam: reconstructing identity, state, faith, and community in the late Ottoman state]''. Oxford University Press. p. 342. “After 1856, and especially after 1878, the terms ''Turk'' and ''Muslim'' became practically synonymous in the Balkans. An Albanian who did not know one word of Turkish thus was given the ethnic name of ''Turk'' and accepted it, no matter how much he might have preferred to distance himself from the ethnic Turks.”; 369-370.</ref> This practice has somewhat continued amongst Balkan Christian peoples in contemporary times who still refer to Muslim Albanians as ''Turks'' and ''[[Turco-Albanians]]'', with often pejorative connotations and historic negative socio-political repercussions.<ref> Megalommatis, M. Cosmas (1994). ''Turkish-Greek Relations and the Balkans: A Historian's Evaluation of Today's Problems''. Cyprus Foundation. p. 28. “Muslim Albanians have been called “Turkalvanoi” in Greek, and this is pejorative.</ref><ref>Nikolopoulou, Kalliopi (2013). ''Tragically Speaking: On the Use and Abuse of Theory for Life''. University of Nebraska Press. p. 299. “Instead of the term “Muslim Albanians”, nationalist Greek histories use the more known, but pejorative, term “Turkalbanians”.</ref><ref>League of Nations (October 1921). "Albania". ''League of Nations –Official Journal''. '''8''': 893. "The memorandum of the Albanian government… The memorandum complains that the Pan-Epirotic Union misnames the Moslem Albanians as “Turco-Albanians”"</ref><ref> Mentzel, Peter (2000). "Introduction: Identity, confessionalism, and nationalism." ''Nationalities Papers''. '''28'''. (1): 8. "The attitude of non Muslim Balkan peoples was similar. In most of the Balkans, Muslims were “Turks” regardless of their ethno-linguistic background. This attitude changed significantly, but not completely, over time."</ref><ref>Blumi, Isa (2011). ''Reinstating the Ottomans, Alternative Balkan Modernities: 1800-1912''. Palgrave MacMillan. New York. p. 32. "As state policy, post- Ottoman “nations” continue to sever most of their cultural, socioeconomic, and institutional links to the Ottoman period. At times, this requires denying a multicultural history, inevitably leading to orgies of cultural destruction (Kiel 1990; Riedlmayer 2002). As a result of this strategic removal of the Ottoman past—the expulsion of the “Turks” (i.e., Muslims); the destruction of buildings; the changing of names of towns, families, and monuments; and the “purification” of languages—many in the region have accepted the conclusion that the Ottoman cultural, political, and economic infrastructure was indeed an “occupying,” and thus foreign, entity (Jazexhi 2009). Such logic has powerful intuitive consequences on the way we write about the region’s history: If Ottoman Muslims were “Turks” and thus “foreigners” by default, it becomes necessary to differentiate the indigenous from the alien, a deadly calculation made in the twentieth century with terrifying consequences for millions."</ref> During this time small numbers of Slavic Muslims, [[Bosniaks]] from the Herzegovina Mostar area migrated due to the [[Herzegovina Uprising (1875–77)|Herzegovina Uprising]] (1875) and Slavic Muslims expelled (1878) by Montenegrin forces from Podgorica both settled in a few settlements in north-western Albania.<ref name=Tosic2015/><ref name=Gruber2008/><ref name=Steinke/><ref name=Steinke1/>
 These geo-political events nonetheless pushed Albanian nationalists, many Muslim, to distance themselves from the Ottomans, Islam and the then emerging pan-Islamic [[Ottomanism]] of Sultan [[Abdulhamid II]].<ref name=Gawrych/><ref name=Endersen/> Another factor overlaying these concerns during the [[Albanian National Awakening]] (Rilindja) period were thoughts that Western powers would only favour Christian Balkan states and peoples in the ''anti Ottoman struggle''.<ref name=Endersen/> During this time Albanian nationalists conceived of Albanians as a European people who under Skanderbeg resisted the Ottoman Turks that later subjugated and cut the Albanians off from Western European civilisation.<ref name=Endersen/> Muslim Albanians were heavily involved with the Albanian National Awakening producing many figures like [[Faik Konica]], [[Ismail Qemali]], [[Midhat Frashëri]], [[Shahin Kolonja]] and others advocating for Albanian interests and self determination.<ref name=Gawrych/><ref name=Skoulidas/><ref name="Skendi2"/> Representing the complexities and interdependencies of both Ottoman and Albanians worlds, these individuals and others during this time also contributed to the Ottoman state amongst other things as statesmen, military personal, religious figures, intellectuals, journalists and being members of [[Committee of Union and Progress|Union and Progress]] (CUP) movement.<ref name="Skendi2"/><ref name=Gawrych/><ref name = Karpat/> Such figures were [[Sami Frashëri]] who reflecting on Islam and Albanians viewed Bektashism as a milder syncretic form of Islam with Shiite and Christian influences that could overcome Albanian religious divisions through mass conversion to it.<ref name=Endersen>Endersen, Cecile (2011). "[https://books.google.com.au/books?id=SY1KtsDAtnMC&pg=PA39&lpg=PA39&dq=Images+of+Imperial+Legacy+Shqypni&source=bl&ots=fPW9_T9_fB&sig=8g-2kqpu-bnjE8Up1yxcQDvCnFo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj2oJ-1rcvNAhWFlJQKHbDDDTIQ6AEIGzAA#v=onepage&q=Images%20of%20Imperial%20Legacy%20Shqypni&f=false Diverging images of the Ottoman legacy in Albania]". In Hartmuth, Maximilian, (ed.) ''Images of imperial legacy: Modern discourses on the social and cultural impact of Ottoman and Habsburg rule in Southeast Europe''. Lit Verlag Münster. 40-43.</ref> The Bektashi sufi order during the late Ottoman period, with around 20 monasteries in Southern Albania also played a role during the Albanian National Awakening by cultivating and stimulating Albanian language and culture.<ref name=Gawrych>Gawrych, George (2006). ''[https://books.google.com.au/books?id=wPOtzk-unJgC&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&dq=The+crescent+and+the+eagle:+Ottoman+rule,+Islam+and+the+Albanians,+1874-1913+lexicon&source=bl&ots=AGWHQM4G7W&sig=uVvbuwnsGoMlKHxgZ8eHf0OAGA0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjstZ3-n9HNAhWCEpQKHWZ3DbIQ6AEIKTAC#v=onepage&q=The%20crescent%20and%20the%20eagle%3A%20Ottoman%20rule%2C%20Islam%20and%20the%20Albanians%2C%201874-1913%20lexicon&f=false The crescent and the eagle: Ottoman rule, Islam and the Albanians, 1874-1913]''. IB Tauris. pp. 21-22, 43-53, 60-70, 72-105, 140-169, 177-179, 182, 190-196.</ref><ref name="Skendi2"/>
@@ Line 136: / Line 136: @@
 A recent [[Pew Research Center]] demographic study put the percentage of [[Muslim]]s in Albania at 79.9%.<ref>{{Citation | editor-last = Miller | editor-first = Tracy |date=October 2009 | publisher = [[Pew Research Center]] | title = Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Muslim Population | format = [[Portable Document Format|PDF]] | url=http://pewforum.org/newassets/images/reports/Muslimpopulation/Muslimpopulation.pdf | accessdate = 2009-10-08 }}</ref> However, a recent Gallup poll gives percentages of religious affiliations with only 43% Muslim, 19% [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]], 15% [[Catholicism|Catholic]] and 23% atheist or nonreligious.<ref>https://worldview.gallup.com/default.aspx</ref>
 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.<ref>[http://www.instat.gov.al/media/177354/main_results__population_and_housing_census_2011.pdf Albanian census 2011]</ref> 65% of Albanian Muslims are [[non-denominational Muslims]].<ref>"Chapter 1: Religious Affiliation". The World’s Muslims: Unity and Diversity. Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. August 9, 2012</ref>
+=== Ethno-linguistic composition ===
+Most Muslims in Albania are ethnic Albanians. There are however small though significant clusters of non-Albanian (speaking) Muslims in the country. The Romani minority in Albania are mostly Muslims and estimated to number some 50,000 to 95,000 located throughout Albania and often residing in major urban centres forming a significant minority population.<ref name=Buturovic/><ref name=DeSoto>De Soto, Hermine, Beddies, Sabine & Ilir Gedeshi (2005). ''Roma and Egyptians in Albania: From social exclusion to social inclusion''. World Bank Publications. p. 9, 21. </ref> The Romani community is often economically disadvantaged with at times facing socio-political discrimination and distance from wider Albanian society like for example little intermarriage or neighbourhood segregation.<ref name=Buturovic/><ref name=DeSoto/> Other Muslim communities are of a Slavic linguistic background. In the north-eastern borderland region of Gorë, the Gorani community inhabits the villages of Zapod, Pakisht, Orçikël, Kosharisht, Cernalevë, Orgjost, Orshekë, Borje, Novosej and Shishtavec.<ref>Steinke, Klaus, & Xhelal Ylli (2010). ''Die slavischen Minderheiten in Albanien:(SMA). 3. Gora''. Verlag Otto Sagner.  p. 11. "In den 17 Dörfern des Kosovo wird Našinski/Goranče gesprochen, und sie gehören zu einer Gemeinde mit dem Verwaltungszentrum in Dragaš. Die 19 Dörfer in Albanien sind hingegen auf drei Gemeinden des Bezirks Kukës aufgeteilt, und zwar auf Shishtavec, Zapod und Topojan. Slavophone findet man freilich nur in den ersten beiden Gemeinden. Zur Gemeinde Shishtavec gehören sieben Dörfer und in den folgenden vier wird Našinski/Goranče gesprochen: Shishtavec (Šištaec/Šišteec), Borja (Borje), Cërnaleva (Cărnolevo/Cărneleve) und Oreshka (Orešek). Zur Gemeinde Zapod gehören ebenfalls sieben Dörfer, und in den folgenden fünf wird Našinski/Goranče gesprochen: Orgjost (Orgosta), Kosharisht (Košarišta), Pakisht (Pakiša/Pakišča) Zapod (Zapod) und Orçikla (Orčikl’e/Očikl’e)’. In der Gemeinde Topojan gibt es inzwischen keine slavophone Bevölkerung mehr. Die Einwohner selbst bezeichnen sich gewöhnlich als Goranen ‘Einwohner von Gora oder Našinci Unsrige, und ihre Sprache wird von ihnen als Našinski und von den Albanern als Gorançe bezeichnet."</ref> In the central-eastern borderland region of Gollobordë, a Muslim Macedonian speaking community known as ''Gollobordas'' inhabits the villages of Ostren i Madh, Kojavec, Lejçan, Lladomericë, Ostren i Vogël, Orzhanovë, Radovesh, Tuçep, Pasinkë, Trebisht, Gjinovec, Klenjë, Vërnicë, Steblevë and three families in Sebisht.<ref name="De Rapper200111"/><ref>Steinke, Klaus, & Xhelal Ylli (2008). ''Die Slavischen Minderheiten in Albanien (SMA). 2. Teil: Golloborda-Herbel-Kërçishti I Epërm''. Verlag Otto Sagner. p. 10. "Heute umfaßt das Gebiet von Golloborda in Albanien 22 Dörfer, die verwaltungstechnisch auf drei verschiedene Gemeinden aufgeteilt sind: 1. Die Gemeinde Ostren besteht aus dreizehn Dörfern, und Südslavisch wird in den folgenden neun Dörfern gesprochen: Ostreni i Madh (Golemo Ostreni/Ostreni Golemo), Kojavec (Kojovci), Lejçan Lešničani), Lladomerica (Ladomerica/Ladimerica/Vlademerica), Ostreni i Vogël (Malo Ostreni/Malastreni/Ostreni Malo), Orzhanova (Oržanova), Radovesh (Radoveš/Radoeš/Radoešt), Tuçep (Tučepi) und Pasinka (Pasinki). 2. Die Gemeinde von Trebisht umfaßt die vier Dörfer Trebisht (Trebišta), Gjinovec (G'inovec/G'inec), Kienja (Klen'e) und Vërnica (Vărnica), und in allen wird Südslavisch gesprochen. 3. Die übrigen Dörfer von Golloborda gehören zur Gemeinde Stebleva, und zwar Stebleva, Zabzun, Borova, Sebisht, Llanga. Südslavisch wird in Stebleva (Steblo) sowie von drei Familien in Sebisht (Sebišta) gesprochen. Wie aus den bisherigen Ausführungen und den Erhebungen vor Ort hervorgeht, gibt es nur noch in fünfzehn der insgesamt Dörfer, die heute zu Golloborda gehören, slavophone Einwohner. Die Zahl der Dörfer in Golloborda wird manchmal auch mit 24 angegeben. Dann zählt man die Viertel des Dorfes Trebisht, und zwar Trebisht-Bala, Trebisht-Çelebia und Trebisht-Muçina separat. Zu Golloborda rechnete man traditionell ferner die Dörfer Hotišan, Žepišt, Manastirec, Drenok, Modrič und Lakaica, die heute in Makedonien liegen."</ref> In Albania people from the Gollobordas community are considered Albanians instead of Macedonians, even by the Albanian state, and they are known to intermarry with Muslim Albanians and not with Orthodox Macedonians.<ref name="De Rapper200111"/> The Bosniak community of the Shijak area whose presence dates back to 1875 inhabits almost entirely the village of Borakaj and in the neighbouring village Koxhas they live alongside Albanians and form a minority.<ref name=Steinke/> Bosniaks from these settlements have also settled in Durrës, Shijak and in 1924 some went and settled in the village of [[Libofshë]] where they have mostly become linguistically assimilated.<ref name=Steinke>Steinke, Klaus, & Xhelal Ylli (2013). ''Die slavischen Minderheiten in Albanien (SMA). 4. Teil: Vraka - Borakaj''. Verlag Otto Sagner. p. 137. "Das Dorf Borakaj (Borak/Borake), zwischen Durrës und Tirana in der Nähe der Kleinstadt Shijak gelegen, wird fast vollständig von Bosniaken bewohnt. Zu dieser Gruppe gehören auch die Bosniaken im Nachbarort Koxhas."; p. 137. "Die Bosniaken sind wahrschlich nach 1875 aus der Umgebung von Mostar, und zwar aus Dörfern zwischen Mostar und Čapljina, nach Albanien gekommen... Einzelne bosnische Familien wohnen in verschiedenen Städten, vie in Shijak, Durrës. Die 1924 nach Libofsha in der Nähe von Fier eingewanderte Gruppe ist inzwischen sprachlich fast vollständig assimiliert, SHEHU-DIZDARI-DUKA (2001: 33) bezeichnet sie ehenfalls als bosniakisch."; p. 139. "Die von den österreichisch-ungarischen Truppen 1916 durchgeführte Volkszählung in Albanien verzeichnet für Borakaj 73 Häuser mit 305 muslimischen Einwohnern. Von ihnen werden 184 als Albaner und 121 als Serbokroaten bezeichnet. In Koxhas werden 109 Häuser mit 462 muslimischen Einwohnern erfasst, von denen 232 Albaner und 230 Serbokroaten waren, Ferner werden in Shijak 17 Serbokroaten und einer in Sukth registriert (SENER 1922: 35, 36), Für Borakaj sind die Angaben zur ethnischen Zusammensetzung problematisch. Es ist unwahrscheinlich, dass innerhalb von vierzig Jahren die Hälfte der Einwohner in Borakaj albanisiert wurde. Dem widerspricht vor allem auch die ethnische Homo-genität des Ortes bis zu Beginn der 1990er Jahre. Andererseits gibt es keine Hinweise, dass die fraglichen Albaner zwischenzeitlich wieder weggezogen sind oder von den Bosniaken assimiliert wurden. Wahrscheinlich hat sich ein Teil aus irgendwelchen Gründen nur falsch deklariert."; p. 139. "Anders stellt sich die Situation in Koxhas dar. Die Albaner dort bilden bis heute die Mehrheit, d.h. der Anteil der Bosniaken war immer kleiner und hat weiter abgenommen, sodass dieses Dorf in der unmittelbaren Nachbarschaft nicht bosniakisch geprägt ist. Weiterhin dubios bleibt jedoch für beide Ortschaften die Beizeichnung der Einwohner als ,,Serbokroaten”, weil die muslimischen Slavophonen von Seiner sonst immer in die Rubrik ,,Sonstige” eingeordnet werden."</ref> There is a small Muslim Montenegrin speaking community near Shkodër whose presence dates back to 1878 and are known as ''Podgoriçani'', due to their origins from Podgorica in Montenegro.<ref name=Tosic2015/><ref name=Gruber2008/> Podgoriçani inhabit the villages of Boriç i Madh were they form a majority alongside few Orthodox Montengrins and some Albanians,  while they live compactly in both Shtoj i Vjetër with 30 families and in Shtoj i Ri with 17 families with some families in Shkodër city.<ref name=Tosic2015/><ref name=Steinke1>Steinke, Klaus, & Xhelal Ylli (2013). ''Die slavischen Minderheiten in Albanien (SMA). 4. Teil: Vraka - Borakaj''. Verlag Otto Sagner. p.9. "Am östlichen Ufer des Shkodrasees gibt es heute auf dem Gebiet von Vraka vier Dörfer, in denen ein Teil der Bewohner eine montenegrinische Mundart spricht. Es handelt sich dabei um die Ortschaften Boriçi i Madh (Borić Veli), Boriçi i Vogël (Borić Mali/Borić Stari/Borić Vezirov), Gril (Grilj) und Omaraj (Omara), die verwaltungstechnisch Teil der Gemeinde Gruemira in der Region Malësia e Madhe sind. Ferner zählen zu dieser Gruppe noch die Dörfer Shtoji i Ri und Shtoji i Vjetër in der Gemeinde Rrethinat und weiter nordwestlich von Koplik das Dorf Kamica (Kamenica), das zur Gemeinde Qendër in der Region Malësia e Madhe gehört. Desgleichen wohnen vereinzelt in der Stadt sowie im Kreis Shkodra weitere Sprecher der montenegrinischen Mundart. Nach ihrer Konfession unterscheidet man zwei Gruppen, d.h. orthodoxe mid muslimische Slavophone. Die erste, kleinere Gruppe wohnt in Boriçi i Vogël, Gril, Omaraj und Kamica, die zweite, größere Gruppe in Boriçi i Madh und in Shtoj. Unter den in Shkodra wohnenden Slavophonen sind beide Konfessionen vertreten... Die Muslime bezeichnen sich gemeinhin als Podgoričani ‘Zuwanderer aus Podgorica’ und kommen aus Zeta, Podgorica, Tuzi usw."; p. 19. "Ohne genaue Quellenangabe bringt ŠĆEPANOVIĆ (1991: 716-717) folgende ,,aktuelle” Zahlen:... Veliki (Mladi) Borić 112 Familien, davon 86 podgoričanski, 6 crnogorski und 20 albanische Familien. STOPPEL (2012: 28) sagt Folgendes über die Montenegriner in Albanien: ,,hierbei handelt es sich um (nach Erhebungen des Helsinki-Komitees von 1999 geschätzt,, etwa 1800-2000 serbisch-sprachige Personen in Raum des Shkodra-Sees und im nördlichen Berggrenzland zu Montenegro, die 1989 eher symbolisch mit ca. 100 Personen angegeben und nach 1991 zunächst überwiegend nach Jugoslawien übergewechselt waren”. p. 20. "Außer in Boriçi i Madh uund auch in Shtoj, wo die Slavophonen eine kompakte Gruppe innerhalb des jeweiligen Ortes bilden, sind sie in anderen Dorfern zahlenmäßig bedeutunglos geworden."; p. 131. "In Shtoj i Vjetër leben heute ungefähr 30 und in Shtoj i Ri 17 muslimische Familien, d.h Podgoričaner."</ref><ref name=Tosic2015>Tošić, Jelena (2015). "[http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14683857.2015.1091182?journalCode=fbss20 City of the ‘calm’: vernacular mobility and genealogies of urbanity in a southeast European borderland.]" ''Southeast European and Black Sea Studies''. '''15'''. (3): 394–395. "As noted above, the vernacular mobility term ‘Podgoriçani’ (literally meaning ‘people that came from Podgoriça’, the present-day capital of Montenegro) refers to the progeny of Balkan Muslims, who migrated to Shkodra in four historical periods and in highest numbers after the Congress of Berlin 1878. Like the Ulqinak, the Podgoriçani thus personify the mass forced displacement of the Muslim population from the Balkans and the ‘unmixing of peoples’ (see e.g. Brubaker 1996, 153) at the time of the retreat of the Ottoman Empire, which has only recently sparked renewed scholarly interest (e.g. Blumi 2013; Chatty 2013)." ; p. 406.</ref><ref name=Gruber2008>Gruber, Siegfried (2008). "[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1081602X08000389 Household structures in urban Albania in 1918.]" ''The History of the Family''. '''13'''.(2):  142. "Migration to Shkodra was mostly from the villages to the south-east of the city and from the cities of Podgorica and Ulcinj in Montenegro. This was connected to the independence of Montenegro from the Ottoman Empire in the year 1878 and the acquisition of additional territories, e.g. Ulcinj in 1881 (Ippen, 1907, p. 3)."</ref>
 === Identity and interreligious relations ===
-Throughout the duration of the Communist regime, national Albanian identity was constructed as being irreligious and based upon a common unitary Albanian nationality.<ref name=DeRapper20022/> This widely spread ideal is still present, though challenged by religious differentiation between Muslim Albanians and Christians which exists at a local level.<ref name=DeRapper20022>De Rapper, Gilles (2002). "Culture and the Reinvention of Myths in a Border Area." In Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie, & Bernd Jürgen Fischer (eds). ''Albanian Identities. Myth and History''. Indiana University Press. p. 191. “It is common in Albania to say that all Albanians, whether Christian or Muslim, are brothers, and that their only religion is their common Albanian nationality. The dogma of national unity as against religious differentiation is at the core of the most widely-spread Albanian national rhetoric. However, this rhetoric is challenged when local society is underpinned by, and conceptualised in terms of, religious differentiation."</ref> Contemporary Muslim Albanians in Albania see themselves as being the ''purest'' Albanians.<ref name=Nitsiakos/> This view is based on the large contribution Muslim Albanians made to the National Awakening (Rilindja) and resistance to the geo-political aims of the Serbs.<ref name=Nitsiakos/> While Muslim Albanians view Islam as a force that maintained Albanian independence, united Albanians and  prevented them from being absorbed by the Serbs, Greeks or even Italians.<ref name=Saltmarshe/> Albanian Muslims also hold the view that unlike them, Christian Albanian communities of the Orthodox historically identified with the Greeks and Catholics with the Italians.<ref name=Nitsiakos>Nitsiakos, Vassilis (2010). ''[https://books.google.com.au/books?id=H-7toRTGrFkC&pg=PA209&lpg=PA209&dq=On+the+border:+Transborder+mobility,+ethnic+groups+and+boundaries+along+the+Albanian-Greek+frontier+Islam+nucleus&source=bl&ots=Mfxo0YO3Wx&sig=Ja_8Y_9jhIOjfSDUlfq9qVAIqRY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi20eDmvMrNAhXE5IMKHeFrDCkQ6AEIGzAA#v=onepage&q=On%20the%20border%3A%20Transborder%20mobility%2C%20ethnic%20groups%20and%20boundaries%20along%20the%20Albanian-Greek%20frontier%20Islam%20nucleus&f=false On the border: Transborder mobility, ethnic groups and boundaries along the Albanian-Greek frontier]''. LIT Verlag. p. 209. "On their part, the Muslims believe that they are the purest Albanians, because they constituted the nucleus of the national renaissance and as great patriots resisted the Serbs, who tried to penetrate and conquer Albanian territories. In reference to Christians, they claim that the Orthodox identified with the Greeks and the Catholic with the Italians."; pp. 200-201. "Traces of this historical differentiation are still evident in South Albania today between Christian and Muslim Albanians. Very often on hears Christians call Muslim Albanians “Turks”; they, in their turn, often attribute pro-Greek sentiments to Orthodox Christian Albanians."</ref> Muslim Albanians often refer to Orthodox Albanians as ''Greeks'' and attribute to them pro-Greek sentiments, while Orthodox Albanians view Muslim Albanians as having historically collaborated and identified with the Ottomans thereby earning the epithet ''Turks''.<ref name=Nitsiakos/> In northern Albania and southern Albania relations between Muslim Albanians and Catholic Albanians or Muslims with Orthodox Albanians vary and are often distant with both Muslim and Christian communities traditionally living in separate villages and or neighbourhoods, even within cities.<ref name=Saltmarshe/><ref>De Rapper, Gilles (2002). "[https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00169783/document Culture and the Reinvention of Myths in a Border Area]. In Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie & Bernd J. Fischer (eds). ''Albanian Identities. Myth and History''. Indiana University Press. p. 191. "This is the case in mixed areas, where Muslims and Christians live in separate villages (or in separate neighbourhoods), and both have strong identities as religious communities – as in Devoll.  In this specific context, religion cannot consist of just being Albanian. On the contrary, people are very well aware of their belonging to a specific religious community, and national identity is rarely thought of outside the basic opposition between Muslims and Christians.”</ref><ref>De Rapper, Gilles (2005). "[https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00165725/document Better than Muslims, Not as Good as Greeks: Emigration as Experienced and Imagined by the Albanian Christians of Lunxhëri]". In King, Russell; Mai, Nicola; Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie (eds). ''The New Albanian Migration''. Brighton-Portland: Sussex Academic. p. 181. "The Muslims from Erind – the only village in Lunxhëri to be Muslim in majority – are not perceived as the descendants of migrants from other Muslim areas, but they are nonetheless definitely different, and the relations between Erind and the neighbouring villages are marked by the same stereotypes as the relations between Muslims and Christians usually are: people from Erind are said to be violent and dirty, to have no culture, and to be responsible for anything bad happening in the area."</ref> Various pejoratives are in use today for different religious groups in Albanian, some of them are based on the Ottoman system of classification (''Turk'', ''Turco-Albanians'' for Muslim Albanians, ''Kaur/infidel'', ''Kaur i derit/infidel pigs'', for Orthodox Albanians, Catholic Albanians, Greeks, Vlachs and Orthodox Macedonians).<ref name=Nitsiakos/><ref name=Saltmarshe>Saltmarshe, Douglas (2001). ''[https://books.google.com.au/books?redir_esc=y&id=_9KFAAAAMAAJ&dq=Identity+in+a+post-communist+Balkan+state%3A+An+Albanian+village+study&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=kaur Identity in a post-communist Balkan state: An Albanian village study]''. Ashgate. p. 115. "It is frequently said that how there is no difference between the religions in Albania. While it is true that there is a considerable degree of toleration, indications deriving from this study suggest that religious affiliations plays a significant part in identity formation and therefore in social relations… However the story from the Catholics was very different… there was varying mistrust of the Muslims. Many Catholics expressed resentment of the dominant position of the Muslims during communism and subsequently. Some expressed and underlying dislike of Islam and they perceived to be its philosophy.";  p. 116. "However the Muslim position was that Islam had proved to be a vital force in uniting and maintaining the independence of Albania. Without it they would have been subsumed by the Greeks, Serbs  or Italians. From this perspective, they believed, Islam formed the basis of Albanian national identity and should provide the foundation upon which its state was constructed… Yet not far below the surface there was a degree of disdain for the Catholics. In Gura, Catholic migrants reported that Muslims called them kaur, a most unpleasant derogatory term used by the Turks to describe Christians."; pp. 166-117. "So whatever might be said to the contrary, tensions were observable between Catholics and Muslims. At most basic of levels Gura was segregated into Muslim and Catholics areas. The same situation existed in Shkodër where the city was broadly split into neighbourhoods defined by faith with the Roma living on the southern outskirts of town. Yet there were many in the younger generation who did not see religion as being important."</ref><ref>Bon, Nataša Gregorič (2008). ''[http://lapshvd.e-monsite.com/medias/files/robert-elsie-religion-albanais.pdf Contested spaces and negotiated identities in Dhërmi/Drimades of Himarë/Himara area, southern Albania]'' (Thesis). University of Nova Gorica. p. 33. " According  to the  mainstream  public  opinion  in Greece the Greek speaking people of Orthodox religion living in Southern Albania are called Northern  Epirots (Vorioepirotes) (see  Triandafyllidou  and  Veikou  2002:  191).  According  to  the  public  opinion  in  Albania  they  are  often  referred  to  by  Greeks  or  Greku or  pejoratively Kaure (non-believers) or Kaur i derit (non-believer-pigs, i.e. Greek pigs)."</ref><ref>De Rapper, Gilles (2001). ''The son of three fathers has no hat on his head. Life and social representations in a Macedonian village of Albania.'' Academic paper. ''Macedonia'', Macedonias. p. 3-4.</ref> There have been also instances where Muslim Albanian migrants in Greece converted to Orthodoxy and changed their names into Christian forms in order to be accepted into Greek society.<ref>Kretsi, Georgina (2005). '[http://balkanologie.revues.org/583 Shkëlzen ou Giannis? Changement de prénom et stratégies identitaires, entre culture d'origine et migration &#91;Shkëlzen or Giannis? Change of Name and Identity strategies, between Culture of Origin and Migration&#93;]'. ''Balkanologie''. '''1'''. (2): para 2, 23, 31-33.</ref><ref>De Rapper, Gilles (2010). "[https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00400432/document Religion on the Border: sanctuaries and festivals in post-communist Albania]". In Galia Valtchinova (ed.). ''Religion and Boundaries: Studies from the Balkans, Eastern Europe and Turkey''. Istanbul ISIS Press. p. 6: "We have seen for instance the case of a Muslim villager building a shrine of a Christian type in his own courtyard, in clear relation to the expectations of some of the people who visit the place before crossing the border to work in Greece. One might draw a parallel between such cases and the conversion of Muslim Albanian migrants to Orthodoxy, in order to facilitate their acceptation in Greek society.</ref>
+Throughout the duration of the Communist regime, national Albanian identity was constructed as being irreligious and based upon a common unitary Albanian nationality.<ref name=DeRapper20022/> This widely spread ideal is still present, though challenged by religious differentiation between Muslim Albanians and Christians which exists at a local level.<ref name=DeRapper20022>De Rapper, Gilles (2002). "Culture and the Reinvention of Myths in a Border Area." In Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie, & Bernd Jürgen Fischer (eds). ''Albanian Identities. Myth and History''. Indiana University Press. p. 191. “It is common in Albania to say that all Albanians, whether Christian or Muslim, are brothers, and that their only religion is their common Albanian nationality. The dogma of national unity as against religious differentiation is at the core of the most widely-spread Albanian national rhetoric. However, this rhetoric is challenged when local society is underpinned by, and conceptualised in terms of, religious differentiation."</ref> Contemporary Muslim Albanians in Albania see themselves as being the ''purest'' Albanians.<ref name=Nitsiakos/> This view is based on the large contribution Muslim Albanians made to the National Awakening (Rilindja) and resistance to the geo-political aims of the Serbs.<ref name=Nitsiakos/> While Muslim Albanians view Islam as a force that maintained Albanian independence, united Albanians and  prevented them from being absorbed by the Serbs, Greeks or even Italians.<ref name=Saltmarshe/> Albanian Muslims also hold the view that unlike them, Christian Albanian communities of the Orthodox historically identified with the Greeks and Catholics with the Italians.<ref name=Nitsiakos>Nitsiakos, Vassilis (2010). ''[https://books.google.com.au/books?id=H-7toRTGrFkC&pg=PA209&lpg=PA209&dq=On+the+border:+Transborder+mobility,+ethnic+groups+and+boundaries+along+the+Albanian-Greek+frontier+Islam+nucleus&source=bl&ots=Mfxo0YO3Wx&sig=Ja_8Y_9jhIOjfSDUlfq9qVAIqRY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi20eDmvMrNAhXE5IMKHeFrDCkQ6AEIGzAA#v=onepage&q=On%20the%20border%3A%20Transborder%20mobility%2C%20ethnic%20groups%20and%20boundaries%20along%20the%20Albanian-Greek%20frontier%20Islam%20nucleus&f=false On the border: Transborder mobility, ethnic groups and boundaries along the Albanian-Greek frontier]''. LIT Verlag. p. 209. "On their part, the Muslims believe that they are the purest Albanians, because they constituted the nucleus of the national renaissance and as great patriots resisted the Serbs, who tried to penetrate and conquer Albanian territories. In reference to Christians, they claim that the Orthodox identified with the Greeks and the Catholic with the Italians."; pp. 200-201. "Traces of this historical differentiation are still evident in South Albania today between Christian and Muslim Albanians. Very often on hears Christians call Muslim Albanians “Turks”; they, in their turn, often attribute pro-Greek sentiments to Orthodox Christian Albanians."</ref> Muslim Albanians often refer to Orthodox Albanians as ''Greeks'' and attribute to them pro-Greek sentiments, while Orthodox Albanians view Muslim Albanians as having historically collaborated and identified with the Ottomans thereby earning the epithet ''Turks''.<ref name=Nitsiakos/> In northern Albania and southern Albania relations between Muslim Albanians and Catholic Albanians or Muslims with Orthodox Albanians vary and are often distant with both Muslim and Christian communities traditionally living in separate villages and or neighbourhoods, even within cities.<ref name=Saltmarshe/><ref>De Rapper, Gilles (2002). "[https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00169783/document Culture and the Reinvention of Myths in a Border Area]. In Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie & Bernd J. Fischer (eds). ''Albanian Identities. Myth and History''. Indiana University Press. p. 191. "This is the case in mixed areas, where Muslims and Christians live in separate villages (or in separate neighbourhoods), and both have strong identities as religious communities – as in Devoll.  In this specific context, religion cannot consist of just being Albanian. On the contrary, people are very well aware of their belonging to a specific religious community, and national identity is rarely thought of outside the basic opposition between Muslims and Christians.”</ref><ref>De Rapper, Gilles (2005). "[https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00165725/document Better than Muslims, Not as Good as Greeks: Emigration as Experienced and Imagined by the Albanian Christians of Lunxhëri]". In King, Russell; Mai, Nicola; Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie (eds). ''The New Albanian Migration''. Brighton-Portland: Sussex Academic. p. 181. "The Muslims from Erind – the only village in Lunxhëri to be Muslim in majority – are not perceived as the descendants of migrants from other Muslim areas, but they are nonetheless definitely different, and the relations between Erind and the neighbouring villages are marked by the same stereotypes as the relations between Muslims and Christians usually are: people from Erind are said to be violent and dirty, to have no culture, and to be responsible for anything bad happening in the area."</ref> Various pejoratives are in use today for different religious groups in Albanian, some of them are based on the Ottoman system of classification (''Turk'', ''Turco-Albanians'' for Muslim Albanians, ''Kaur/infidel'', ''Kaur i derit/infidel pigs'', for Orthodox Albanians, Catholic Albanians, Greeks, Vlachs and Orthodox Macedonians).<ref name=Nitsiakos/><ref name=Saltmarshe>Saltmarshe, Douglas (2001). ''[https://books.google.com.au/books?redir_esc=y&id=_9KFAAAAMAAJ&dq=Identity+in+a+post-communist+Balkan+state%3A+An+Albanian+village+study&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=kaur Identity in a post-communist Balkan state: An Albanian village study]''. Ashgate. p. 115. "It is frequently said that how there is no difference between the religions in Albania. While it is true that there is a considerable degree of toleration, indications deriving from this study suggest that religious affiliations plays a significant part in identity formation and therefore in social relations… However the story from the Catholics was very different… there was varying mistrust of the Muslims. Many Catholics expressed resentment of the dominant position of the Muslims during communism and subsequently. Some expressed and underlying dislike of Islam and they perceived to be its philosophy.";  p. 116. "However the Muslim position was that Islam had proved to be a vital force in uniting and maintaining the independence of Albania. Without it they would have been subsumed by the Greeks, Serbs  or Italians. From this perspective, they believed, Islam formed the basis of Albanian national identity and should provide the foundation upon which its state was constructed… Yet not far below the surface there was a degree of disdain for the Catholics. In Gura, Catholic migrants reported that Muslims called them kaur, a most unpleasant derogatory term used by the Turks to describe Christians."; pp. 166-117. "So whatever might be said to the contrary, tensions were observable between Catholics and Muslims. At most basic of levels Gura was segregated into Muslim and Catholics areas. The same situation existed in Shkodër where the city was broadly split into neighbourhoods defined by faith with the Roma living on the southern outskirts of town. Yet there were many in the younger generation who did not see religion as being important."</ref><ref>Bon, Nataša Gregorič (2008). ''[http://lapshvd.e-monsite.com/medias/files/robert-elsie-religion-albanais.pdf Contested spaces and negotiated identities in Dhërmi/Drimades of Himarë/Himara area, southern Albania]'' (Thesis). University of Nova Gorica. p. 33. " According  to the  mainstream  public  opinion  in Greece the Greek speaking people of Orthodox religion living in Southern Albania are called Northern  Epirots (Vorioepirotes) (see  Triandafyllidou  and  Veikou  2002:  191).  According  to  the  public  opinion  in  Albania  they  are  often  referred  to  by  Greeks  or  Greku or  pejoratively Kaure (non-believers) or Kaur i derit (non-believer-pigs, i.e. Greek pigs)."</ref><ref name="De Rapper200111">De Rapper, Gilles (2001). ''[https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00291660/document The son of three fathers has no hat on his head. Life and social representations in a Macedonian village of Albania].'' Academic paper. ''Macedonia'', Macedonias. p. 3-4.; p. 6.</ref> There have been also instances where Muslim Albanian migrants in Greece converted to Orthodoxy and changed their names into Christian forms in order to be accepted into Greek society.<ref>Kretsi, Georgina (2005). '[http://balkanologie.revues.org/583 Shkëlzen ou Giannis? Changement de prénom et stratégies identitaires, entre culture d'origine et migration &#91;Shkëlzen or Giannis? Change of Name and Identity strategies, between Culture of Origin and Migration&#93;]'. ''Balkanologie''. '''1'''. (2): para 2, 23, 31-33.</ref><ref>De Rapper, Gilles (2010). "[https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00400432/document Religion on the Border: sanctuaries and festivals in post-communist Albania]". In Galia Valtchinova (ed.). ''Religion and Boundaries: Studies from the Balkans, Eastern Europe and Turkey''. Istanbul ISIS Press. p. 6: "We have seen for instance the case of a Muslim villager building a shrine of a Christian type in his own courtyard, in clear relation to the expectations of some of the people who visit the place before crossing the border to work in Greece. One might draw a parallel between such cases and the conversion of Muslim Albanian migrants to Orthodoxy, in order to facilitate their acceptation in Greek society.</ref>
 Over the years minor incidents between Muslim Albanians with Catholic and Orthodox Albanians have occurred such as pig heads thrown into mosque  courtyards, Catholic tombstones being knocked down, an Orthodox church in Shkodër being bombed and damage done to frescoes in a church in Voskopojë.<ref name="Elsie2001"/>
 == Contemporary Issues ==

v t e Islam in Europe
Middle Ages	Conquest of Hispania Al-Andalus Islam in southern Italy Transmission of the Classics Cultural transmission Norman-Arab-Byzantine culture Medieval Christian views on Muhammad Crusades Reconquista Tatar yoke
Early Modern	Reception of Islam in early modern Europe Protestantism and Islam Anglo-Moroccan alliance Ottoman wars in Europe Ottoman–Habsburg wars Barbary pirates Barbary slave trade Islamization of Bosnia and Herzegovina Russo-Turkish wars Islamization of Albania Orientalism in early modern France
Modern	Islam in the Far North Orientalism Islam and modernity Islam in the USSR Partition of the Ottoman Empire Nazi Germany and the Arab world Islam and secularism Islamic democracy
Contemporary issues	Islam in Europe European Islam Islamic terrorism Liberal and progressive Islam in Europe Religion in the European Union Hijab and burka controversies in Europe Islamophobia Jihadi tourism
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