260-795: Islam arrived in Albania mainly during the Ottoman period when the majority of Albanians over time converted to Islam under Ottoman rule. Following the Albanian National Awakening (Rilindja) tenets and the de-emphasis of religious tradition in Albania, all governments in the 20th century pursued a secularization policy, most aggressively under the People's Socialist Republic of Albania , which actively persecuted Muslims . Due to this policy, Islam , as with all other faiths in
520-751: A Muslim nation and as Muslim fundamentalists , which has placed the secular part of Albanian identity under strain. Among Albanian intellectuals and other notable Albanians, many Muslim, this has generated much discussion and at times debates about Islam and its role within Albania and amongst Albanians as a whole in the Balkans. Within these discourses, controversial Orientalist and biological terminology has been used by some Albanian intellectuals when discussing Islam and Albanians. 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 Kosovo in
780-469: A "European face", it being "shallow" and that "if you dig a bit in every Albanian, he can discover his Christian core". The Muslim Forum of Albania called those and Kadare's comments "racist", and charged that they contained " Islamophobia " and were "deeply offensive". Following trends dating back from the Communist regime, the post-Communist Albanian political establishment continues to approach Islam as
1040-422: A "violation of legal procedures, and the application of psychological pressure on [detainees] and family members with medical conditions" following the arrests of 150 people suspected of perpetrating the 2016 Balkans terrorism plot . The majority of those arrested had no connection to the incident and were promptly released, but authorities at the time "did not present arrest warrants" and questioned suspects without
1300-410: A 22% decline of the faith since 1945. Albania came into contact with Islam in the 13th century when Angevin expansion into Albania during the reign of Charles I Anjou was made possible in part by Muslim involvement. Lucera is located only about 240 km northwest of Brindisi , which was the main port of disembarkation. Charles claimed rights in Albania, as Manfred's successor, since 1267 when
1560-463: A 915-metre deep gorge through the limestone rock on the west side of the valley to form a precipitous natural fortress, around which the town was built on several river terraces. According to an Albanian legend, the Tomorr mountain was originally a giant, who fought with another giant (mountain) called Shpirag over a young woman. They killed each other and the girl drowned in her tears, which then became
1820-434: A Muslim population that numbered 95,000 in contrast to 128,000 Orthodox inhabitants. Apart from small and spread out numbers of Muslim Romani, Muslims in these areas that eventually came to constitute contemporary southern Albania were all Albanian speaking Muslims. In southern Albania during the late Ottoman period being Albanian was increasingly associated with Islam, while from the 1880s the emerging Albanian National Movement
2080-672: 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. 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. In Albania people from
2340-678: A base for money laundering and as a transit route into the West with at times the assistance of corrupt government employees. 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. Salafi and Wahhabi forms of Islam have also entered Albania and adherents have come mainly from among
2600-583: A church in Voskopojë. An interreligious organisation called the Interreligious Council of Albania was created in 2009 by the four main faiths to foster religious coexistence in Albania. In southern Albania, urban centres of central Albania and partially in northern Albania, the status of Christianity dominates in contrast to Islam which is viewed by some Muslim Albanians as a historic accident . A rejection of Islam has also been attributed to
2860-606: A cleric was unimportant and instead patriots with a liberal outlook were favoured alongside some delegates being selected by the state. Government representatives were present at the congress. Following the government program of reforms, the Albanian Islamic congress in Tirana decided to deliberate and reform some Islamic traditional practices adopted from the Ottoman period with the reasoning of allowing Albanian society
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#17327930001453120-709: A crime against humanity by the UN and Amnesty International, while the OHCHR Fact-Finding Mission identified genocide , ethnic cleansing, and other crimes against humanity. Berat Berat ( pronounced [bɛˈɾat] ; Albanian definite form : Berati ) is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is 71 kilometres (44 miles) north of Gjirokastër , 70 kilometres (43 miles) west of Korçë , 70 kilometres (43 miles) south of Tirana , and 33 kilometres (21 miles) east of Fier . Berat
3380-429: A decentralisation of authority in Albania, many of their leaders were killed. 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. People who still performed religious practices did so in secret, while others found out were persecuted and personal possession of religious literature such as
3640-624: A demonstration in response to religious motivated violence in Paris. Meanwhile, Albania's "example" has also drawn interest recently in the West, where it has been used to argue that "religious freedom and Islamic values not only can co-exist, but also can flourish together", and is seen as a positive argument in favor of accelerating Albania's accession to the EU. Interfaith marriages between Muslims and Christians are held to be "common" and "unremarkable" in Albania with little social repercussion, although there
3900-403: A diversity of everyday objects from throughout Berat's history. The museum contains non-movable furniture which hold a number of household objects, wooden case, wall-closets, as well as chimneys and a well. Near the well is an olive press, wool press and many large ceramic dishes, revealing a glimpse of the historical domestic culture of Berat's citizens. The ground floor has a hall with a model of
4160-513: A divide that has opened up between older city dwellers and rural Muslim Albanian and somewhat conservative newcomers from the north-east to cities like Tiranë, where the latter are referred to pejoratively as " Chechens ". Some young Muslim Albanians educated in Islamic Universities abroad have viewed their role as defending Islam in the public sphere over issues such as wearing of the veil, organising themselves socially and criticised
4420-476: A figurehead monarchy. The Sunni Seljuk dynasty campaigned to reassert Sunni Islam by promulgating the scholarly opinions of the time, notably with the construction of educational institutions known as Nezamiyeh , which are associated with Al-Ghazali and Saadi Shirazi . The expansion of the Muslim world continued with religious missions converting Volga Bulgaria to Islam. The Delhi Sultanate reached deep into
4680-408: A four-member governing regency council from the four religious denominations (Sunni, Bektashi, Catholic, Orthodox) was appointed. 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. At the first Islamic National Congress (1923) the criteria for delegates attending was that being
4940-499: A historical fact, while aspects of the Muslim faith were rendered a 'superstition.' The Deputy Chairman of the Albanian Muslim Community has accused the media in Albania of anti-Muslim bias , frequently calling individuals arrested as 'jihadists' and 'terrorists' before they have been sentenced and perpetuating a "clash of civilizations" narrative between Muslim Albanians and the rest of Europe. Legal experts noted
5200-619: A majority or minority of the population. In urban settlements Muslims were almost completely a majority in Tepelenë and Vlorë, a majority in Gjirokastër with a Christian minority, whereas Berat, Përmet and Delvinë had a Muslim majority with a large Christian minority. A Muslim population was also located in Konispol and some villages around the town. The Ottoman administrative sancaks or districts of Korçë and Gjirokastër in 1908 contained
5460-465: A man from Lucera, named Pietro Cristiano. One source identifies him as "de... terra Lucerie Saracenorum", most likely a Christian convert from Islam. The demand for Muslim carpenters and blacksmiths to build war machines in Albania was so great during the summer of 1280 that it threatened to exhaust the skilled workers' pool for the construction of forts on the Italian coast. In June 1280, the king ordered
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#17327930001455720-418: A medieval street with traditional shops on both sides. On the second floor is an archive, loom, village sitting room, kitchen and sitting room. Gorica Bridge , which connects two parts of Berat, was originally built from wood in 1780 and was rebuilt with stone in the 1920s. The seven-arch bridge is 129 metres (423 ft) long and 5.3 metres (17 ft) wide and is built about 10 metres (33 ft) above
5980-580: A minority position, at times with experiences of discrimination they have had historically in relation to the Muslim majority. Meanwhile, Muslim clergy in Albania highlight the change of fortune the demise of the Ottoman Empire brought with the political empowerment of Balkan Christians making Muslims a religious minority in contemporary times within the Balkans. The Muslim Albanian community has also contended with increasing numbers of Christian charities and missionaries proselytizing (especially those of
6240-600: A mosque, 43% gave zakat (alms), 44% fasted during Ramadan and 72% expressed a belief in God and Muhammad. The same Pew survey also estimated that 65% of Albanian Muslims are non-denominational Muslims . Despite occasional issues, Albania's " religious tolerance " ( tolerance fetare ) and "religious harmony" ( harmonia fetare ) are viewed as part of a set of distinctly Albanian national ideals, and said to serve an important part in Albania's civic framework where sectarian communities ideally set aside their difference and work together in
6500-556: A movement that would evolve into tasawwuf or Sufism . At this time, theological problems, notably on free will, were prominently tackled, with Hasan al Basri holding that although God knows people's actions, good and evil come from abuse of free will and the devil . Greek rationalist philosophy influenced a speculative school of thought known as Muʿtazila , who famously advocated the notion of free-will originated by Wasil ibn Ata . Caliph Mamun al Rashid made it an official creed and unsuccessfully attempted to force this position on
6760-556: A person to hell . However, the Quran makes it clear that God will forgive the sins of those who repent if he wishes. Good deeds, like charity, prayer, and compassion towards animals will be rewarded with entry to heaven. Muslims view heaven as a place of joy and blessings, with Quranic references describing its features. Mystical traditions in Islam place these heavenly delights in the context of an ecstatic awareness of God. Yawm al-Qiyāmah
7020-507: A person's soul at the time of death. They are described as being created variously from 'light' ( nūr ) or 'fire' ( nār ). Islamic angels are often represented in anthropomorphic forms combined with supernatural images, such as wings, being of great size or wearing heavenly articles. Common characteristics for angels include a lack of bodily needs and desires, such as eating and drinking. Some of them, such as Gabriel ( Jibrīl ) and Michael ( Mika'il ), are mentioned by name in
7280-581: A place of prayer, it is also an important social center for the Muslim community . For example, the Masjid an-Nabawi ("Prophetic Mosque") in Medina, Saudi Arabia , used to also serve as a shelter for the poor. Minarets are towers used to call the adhan , a vocal call to signal the prayer time. Zakat ( Arabic : زكاة , zakāh ), also spelled Zakāt or Zakah , is a type of almsgiving characterized by
7540-564: A plurality alongside a significant Orthodox population. In the region of Gramsh Muslims were a majority except for two people and in the southern Peqin area only Muslims were present. Muslims also were a majority population in the Mallakastër region alongside a small Orthodox minority. The experience of World War One, concerns over being partitioned and loss of power made the Muslim Albanian population support Albanian nationalism and
7800-537: A presence in Albania and owns one mosque in Tiranë, the Bejtyl Evel Mosque . In 2011, a Pew Research Center population estimate in a global study based on growth rates put the percentage of Muslims in Albania at 82.1% (estimated number 2,601,000) However, a Gallup poll gave percentages of religious affiliations with only 43% Muslim, 19% Eastern Orthodox , 15% Catholic and 23% atheist or nonreligious. In
8060-534: A religious affiliation option should be part of the count as people like some intellectuals in Albania feared that the results may make Albania appear "too Muslim" to Europe. From previous pre-communist highs of 69.3% (1937) and 72% (1947) the official census of 2011 was the first to count religious affiliation after an absence of many decades that showed the Albanian Muslim population to have decreased to 56.70%. The Muslim community of Albania objected to having
Islam in Albania - Misplaced Pages Continue
8320-465: A religious context, it refers to the total surrender to the will of God . A Muslim ( مُسْلِم ), the word for a follower of Islam, is the active participle of the same verb form, and means "submitter (to God)" or "one who surrenders (to God)". In the Hadith of Gabriel , Islam is presented as one part of a triad that also includes imān (faith), and ihsān (excellence). Islam itself
8580-667: A religious group. This has been undertaken by communist forces like the Khmer Rouge , who viewed them as their primary enemy to be exterminated since their religious practice made them stand out from the rest of the population, the Chinese Communist Party in Xinjiang and by nationalist forces such as during the Bosnian genocide . Myanmar military's Tatmadaw targeting of Rohingya Muslims has been labeled as
8840-531: A result of Islamic missionary activities ( dawah ), as well as through conquests . The two main Islamic branches are Sunni Islam (85–90%) and Shia Islam (10–15%). While the Shia–Sunni divide initially arose from disagreements over the succession to Muhammad , they grew to cover a broader dimension, both theologically and juridically . The Sunni canonical hadith collection consists of six books , while
9100-679: A rocky hill on the right bank of the river Osum and is accessible only from the south. After being burned down by the Romans in 200 BC the walls were strengthened in the 5th century under Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II , and were rebuilt during the 6th century under the Emperor Justinian I and again in the 13th century under the Despot of Epirus, Michael Komnenos Doukas , cousin of the Byzantine Emperor. The main entrance, on
9360-728: A root that means "to measure" or "calculating". Muslims often express this belief in divine destiny with the phrase "In-sha-Allah" ( Arabic : إن شاء الله ) meaning "if God wills" when speaking on future events. There are five acts of worship that are considered duties –the Shahada (declaration of faith), the five daily prayers, Zakat (almsgiving), fasting during Ramadan , and the Hajj pilgrimage–collectively known as "The Pillars of Islam" ( Arkān al-Islām ). In addition, Muslims also perform other optional supererogatory acts that are encouraged but not considered to be duties. The shahadah
9620-557: A small elite class owning big feudal estates worked by a large peasant class, both Christian and Muslim though few other individuals were also employed in the military, business, as artisans and in other professions. While northern Albanian society was little integrated into the Ottoman world, it was instead organised through a tribal structure of clans ( fis ) of whom many were Catholic with others being Muslim residing in mountainous terrain that Ottomans often had difficulty in maintaining authority and control. When religious conflict occurred it
9880-613: A small tree - planted square, on a hillside inside the walls of the fortress, stands the 14th century Church of the Holy Trinity. It is built in the form of a cross and has Byzantine murals. Outside the ramparts is the Church of St. Michael (Shën Mehill), built in the 13th century. This church is reached by a steep but perfectly safe path. Near the entrance, after a guardhouse, is the little Church of St. Theodore (Shen Todher), which have wall paintings by Onufri himself. The most interesting
10140-466: A societal threat that undermined the cohesiveness of the nation. 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. The communist regime through policy destroyed the Muslim way of life and Islamic culture within Albania. Inspired by Pashko Vasa 's late 19th century poem for
10400-535: A trust from God's bounty, and is seen as a purification of one's excess wealth. The total annual value contributed due to zakat is 15 times greater than global humanitarian aid donations, using conservative estimates. Sadaqah , as opposed to Zakat, is a much-encouraged optional charity. A waqf is a perpetual charitable trust , which finances hospitals and schools in Muslim societies. In Islam, fasting ( Arabic : صوم , ṣawm ) precludes food and drink, as well as other forms of consumption, such as smoking , and
10660-543: Is tawḥīd (Arabic: توحيد ), the oneness of God. It is usually thought of as a precise monotheism , but is also panentheistic in Islamic mystical teachings. God is seen as incomparable and without multiplicity of persons such as in the Christian Trinity , and associating multiplicity to God or attributing God's attributes to others is seen as idolatory , called shirk . God is described as Al Ghayb so
Islam in Albania - Misplaced Pages Continue
10920-425: Is allowed to inmates while chaplains are banned in state schools. During the communist period Muslim Albanians were buried alongside Albanians of other faiths and due to that legacy in contemporary times separate Muslim graveyards are uncommon. Within the Balkans apart from the ethno-linguistic component of Albanian identity, Albania's Orthodox neighbours also view it through religious terms. They refer to Albanians as
11180-456: Is also identified in the Quran as Yawm ad-Dīn ( يوم الدين "Day of Religion"); as-Sāʿah ( الساعة "the Last Hour"); and al-Qāriʿah ( القارعة "The Clatterer"). The concept of divine predestination in Islam ( Arabic : القضاء والقدر , al-qadāʾ wa l-qadar ) means that every matter, good or bad, is believed to have been decreed by God. Al-qadar , meaning "power", derives from
11440-431: Is also used by Muslims and Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews in reference to God, whereas ʾilāh ( إله ) is a term used for a deity or a god in general. Angels (Arabic: ملك , malak ) are beings described in the Quran and hadith. They are described as created to worship God and also to serve in other specific duties such as communicating revelations from God, recording every person's actions, and taking
11700-591: Is also working to develop socio-political and economic ties with Israel . Islam Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centered on the Quran and the teachings of the Islamic Prophet and messenger Muhammad , the religion's founder. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims , who are estimated to number approximately 1.9 billion worldwide and are the world's second-largest religious population after Christians . Muslims believe that Islam
11960-403: Is an oath declaring belief in Islam. The expanded statement is " ʾašhadu ʾal-lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāhu wa ʾašhadu ʾanna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh " ( أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأشهد أن محمداً رسول الله ), or, "I testify that there is no deity except God and I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God." Islam is sometimes argued to have a very simple creed with the shahada being the premise for
12220-401: Is beyond comprehension. Thus, Muslims are not iconodules and do not attribute forms to God. God is instead described and referred to by several names or attributes , the most common being Ar-Rahmān ( الرحمان ) meaning "The Entirely Merciful", and Ar-Rahīm ( الرحيم ) meaning "The Especially Merciful" which are invoked at the beginning of most chapters of the Quran. Islam teaches that
12480-472: Is little statistical data on their prevalence. During the communist period, it is known that during the period of 1950–1968, the rates of mixed marriages ranged from 1.6% in Shkodër, 4.3% in Gjirokastër to 15.5% among the textile workers in Tiranë. In the district of Shkodër they reached 5% in the year 1980. Most Albanian Muslims nowadays approve of mixed marriages, with 77% approving of a son marrying outside of
12740-507: Is located in southern Berat, and contains exhibits about the Holocaust in Albania and the survival of Jews during the war in the country. The town is known for its historic architecture and scenery and is known as the " Town of a Thousand Windows ", due to the many large windows of the old decorated houses overlooking the town. It is unclear whether it really means "Thousand" (një mijë) or "One over Another" (një mbi një) windows. Indeed,
13000-612: Is located in the south of the country. It is surrounded by mountains and hills, including Tomorr on the east that was declared a national park . The river Osum (total length 161 km (100 mi)) runs through the city before it empties into the Seman within the Myzeqe Plain . The municipality of Berat was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Berat, Otllak , Roshnik , Sinjë , and Velabisht , that became municipal units. The seat of
13260-406: Is not prohibited in Albania in public areas. Unofficial restrictions and regulations on religious clothing worn within public institutions in order to maintain the secular status of the state were upheld by principals of schools and others. Examples included within schools and universities whereby some young women wearing the hijab were expelled or told to remove it. These have eased especially after
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#173279300014513520-819: 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. Within the Romani community there exist two main divisions: the Gabels who speak the Romani language and those who self identify as Jevgs that consider themselves separate from the Romani, speak Albanian and are somewhat integrated in Albania. The Romani in Albania were and are still known to be religiously syncretic often combining other elements of religions and nature in Islamic practices and pilgrimages to holy sites. Other Muslim communities are of
13780-530: Is one of the main cultural centres of the country. The name Berat has been derived through Albanian sound changes from the Old Slavonic language Bělgrad (Бѣлградъ) or Belgrád / Beligrad (Белград / Белиград), meaning "White City". It is believed to have been the site of the ancient city Antipatreia ( Ancient Greek : Ἀντιπάτρεια , "City of Antipater ") or Antipatrea in Latin , while during
14040-407: Is optional and can be undertaken at any time of the year. Other sites of Islamic pilgrimage are Medina , where Muhammad died, as well as Jerusalem , a city of many Islamic prophets and the site of Al-Aqsa , which was the direction of prayer before Mecca. Muslims recite and memorize the whole or parts of the Quran as acts of virtue. Tajwid refers to the set of rules for the proper elocution of
14300-470: Is performed from dawn to sunset. During the month of Ramadan , it is considered a duty for Muslims to fast. The fast is to encourage a feeling of nearness to God by restraining oneself for God's sake from what is otherwise permissible and to think of the needy. In addition, there are other days, such as the Day of Arafah , when fasting is optional. The Islamic pilgrimage , called the " ḥajj " (Arabic: حج ),
14560-503: Is still present, though challenged by religious differentiation between Muslim Albanians and Christians which exists at a local level. In a post communist environment, religious affiliation to either Muslim and Christian groups is viewed within the context of historical belonging (mainly patrilineal) and contemporary social organisation as cultural communities with religious practice playing a somewhat secondary to limited role. Some contemporary Muslim Albanians in Albania see themselves as being
14820-427: Is the actual religious composition of Albania. 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. The Romani community
15080-546: Is the cathedral of St. Nicholas, which has been well restored and is now a museum dedicated to Onufri. Onufri was the greatest of the 16th century painters in Albania. Not only was he a master of the techniques of fresco and icons, but he was the first to introduce a new colour in painting, shiny red, which the French called "Onufri's Red". In addition, Onufri introduced a certain realism and a degree of individuality in facial expression. The first inscription recording Onufri's name
15340-532: Is the centre of the town. The Halveti Tekke (Teqe e Helvetive) is thought to have been built in the 15th century. It was rebuilt by Ahmet Kurt Pasha in 1782. It belongs to the Khalwati Sufi order . Near of tekke is purported to be the grave of Sabbatai Zevi , an Ottoman Jew who was banished to Dulcigno (present day Ulcinj), who created controversy among his followers upon his conversion to Islam . A Jewish history museum named " Solomon Museum "
15600-576: Is the complete and universal version of a primordial faith that was revealed many times through earlier prophets and messengers , including Adam , Noah , Abraham , Moses , and Jesus . Muslims consider the Quran to be the verbatim word of God and the unaltered, final revelation. Alongside the Quran, Muslims also believe in previous revelations , such as the Tawrat (the Torah ), the Zabur ( Psalms ), and
15860-593: Is the pilgrimage on 20–25 August to Mount Tomorr to commemorate and celebrate the Shi'ite saint Abbas Ali . In Albania Halal slaughter of animals and food is permitted, mainly available in the eateries of large urban centres and becoming popular among people who are practicing Sunni Muslims. No centralised organisation exists for Halal certification of food which is unavailable in Albanian state institutions like schools, army, hospitals and so on and people requesting Halal food in those places are usually sidelined. Muslim dress
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#173279300014516120-528: Is to be done at least once a lifetime by every Muslim with the means to do so during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah . Rituals of the Hajj mostly imitate the story of the family of Abraham . In Mecca , pilgrims walk seven times around the Kaaba , which Muslims believe Abraham built as a place of worship, and they walk seven times between Mount Safa and Marwa , recounting the steps of Abraham's wife, Hagar , who
16380-425: Is viewed as foreign challenging Albanian tradition and cohesion. The conversion to Islam by Albanians is viewed by both Catholic and Orthodox clergy as falsification of Albanian identity, though Albanian Muslims are interpreted as innocent victims of Islamisation. Albanian Sunni Muslim clergy however views the conversion of Albanians as a voluntary process, while sidelining religious controversies associated with
16640-803: The Hijra ("emigration") in 622 to the city of Yathrib (current-day Medina). There, with the Medinan converts (the Ansar ) and the Meccan migrants (the Muhajirun ), Muhammad in Medina established his political and religious authority . The Constitution of Medina was signed by all the tribes of Medina. This established religious freedoms and freedom to use their own laws among the Muslim and non-Muslim communities as well as an agreement to defend Medina from external threats. Meccan forces and their allies lost against
16900-541: The Qisas al-Anbiya (Stories of the Prophets). Muslims believe that God sent Muhammad as the final prophet (" Seal of the prophets ") to convey the completed message of Islam. In Islam, the "normative" example of Muhammad's life is called the sunnah (literally "trodden path"). Muslims are encouraged to emulate Muhammad's moral behaviors in their daily lives, and the sunnah is seen as crucial to guiding interpretation of
17160-707: The Arab Spring , Jamaat-e-Islami in South Asia and the AK Party , which has democratically been in power in Turkey for decades. In Iran , revolution replaced a secular monarchy with an Islamic state . Others such as Sayyid Rashid Rida broke away from Islamic modernists and pushed against embracing what he saw as Western influence. The group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant would even attempt to recreate
17420-593: The Battle of Nahrawan but a Kharijite assassin later killed Ali. Ali's son, Hasan ibn Ali, was elected Caliph and signed a peace treaty to avoid further fighting, abdicating to Mu'awiya in return for Mu'awiya not appointing a successor. Mu'awiya began the Umayyad dynasty with the appointment of his son Yazid I as successor, sparking the Second Civil War . During the Battle of Karbala , Husayn ibn Ali
17680-684: The Deobandi movement. In response to the Deobandi movement, the Barelwi movement was founded as a mass movement, defending popular Sufism and reforming its practices. The Muslim world was generally in political decline starting the 1800s, especially compared to non-Muslim European powers. Earlier, in the 15th century, the Reconquista succeeded in ending the Muslim presence in Iberia . By
17940-788: The House of Wisdom employed Christian and Persian scholars to both translate works into Arabic and to develop new knowledge. Soldiers broke away from the Abbasid empire and established their own dynasties, such as the Tulunids in 868 in Egypt and the Ghaznavid dynasty in 977 in Central Asia. In this fragmentation came the Shi'a Century , roughly between 945 and 1055, which saw the rise of
18200-502: The Indian Subcontinent and many converted to Islam, in particular low-caste Hindus whose descendants make up the vast majority of Indian Muslims. Trade brought many Muslims to China , where they virtually dominated the import and export industry of the Song dynasty . Muslims were recruited as a governing minority class in the Yuan dynasty . Through Muslim trade networks and the activity of Sufi orders, Islam spread into new areas and Muslims assimilated into new cultures. Under
18460-419: The Injil ( Gospel ). They believe that Muhammad is the main and final Islamic prophet , through whom the religion was completed. The teachings and normative examples of Muhammad, called the Sunnah , documented in accounts called the hadith , provide a constitutional model for Muslims. Islam is based on the belief in oneness and uniqueness of the God ( tawhid ), and belief in an afterlife ( akhirah ) with
18720-693: The Kingdom of Albania , who had captured and incorporated it at the same period in the Kingdom of Albania. However, they passed the letters on to Charles as a sign of their loyalty. In 1274 Michael VIII recaptured Berat and after being joined by Albanians who supported the Byzantine Empire, marched unsuccessfully against the Angevin capital of Durrës. In 1280-1281 the Sicilian forces under Hugh
18980-630: The Köppen climate classification . Summers are characterised as hot and dry with a maximum average of 28.2 °C (82.8 °F) in July. Conversely, winter brings mild and wet weather with an average of 7.2 °C (45.0 °F) in January. The lowest minimum temperature recorded in Berat was estimated at −12.2 °C (10.0 °F) and its highest maximum temperature at 47.1 °C (116.8 °F). By
19240-613: The Last Judgment —wherein the righteous will be rewarded in paradise ( jannah ) and the unrighteous will be punished in hell ( jahannam ). The Five Pillars —considered obligatory acts of worship—are the Islamic oath and creed ( shahada ), daily prayers ( salah ), almsgiving ( zakat ), fasting ( sawm ) in the month of Ramadan , and a pilgrimage ( hajj ) to Mecca . Islamic law, sharia , touches on virtually every aspect of life, from banking and finance and welfare to men's and women's roles and
19500-756: The Maghreb , the Iberian Peninsula , Narbonnese Gaul and Sindh . The Umayyads struggled with a lack of legitimacy and relied on a heavily patronized military. Since the jizya tax was a tax paid by non-Muslims which exempted them from military service, the Umayyads denied recognizing the conversion of non-Arabs, as it reduced revenue. While the Rashidun Caliphate emphasized austerity, with Umar even requiring an inventory of each official's possessions, Umayyad luxury bred dissatisfaction among
19760-614: The Muslim population in Latin America . The resulting urbanization and increase in trade in sub-Saharan Africa brought Muslims to settle in new areas and spread their faith, likely doubling its Muslim population between 1869 and 1914. Forerunners of Islamic modernism influenced Islamist political movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood and related parties in the Arab world, which performed well in elections following
20020-599: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). In 1992 Albania became the only entirely European member of the OIC, generating intense controversy within Albania due to concerns that Albania might deviate from a secular and Western-aligned political direction. The Albanian government viewed membership in the OIC as being a bridge between the Muslim-Christian worlds and also as having a "civilising mission" role within
20280-694: The Osum River : Gorica ("little mountain" in Old Church Slavonic ), Mangalem and Kalaja, the latter being a residential quarter within the old Byzantine citadel that overlooks the town. The town also has a 15th-century mosque and a number of churches of the Albanian Orthodox Church , whose autocephaly was proclaimed there in 1922. Several of the churches house works by the renowned 16th century painter Onufri . Berat National Ethnographic Museum opened in 1979. It contains
20540-629: The Ottoman Empire it was also known as Belgrad-i Arnavud ("Albanian Belgrade") to distinguish it from Belgrade in Serbia . Today, in Aromanian , Berat is known as Birat . Ceramic finds from the 7th century BCE initially attest to a settlement of the rocky hill of Berat by the Illyrians . Berat has been identified with ancient Antipatrea . Probably since the mid-4th century BCE
20800-660: The Ottoman Empire , Islam spread to Southeast Europe . Conversion to Islam often involved a degree of syncretism , as illustrated by Muhammad's appearance in Hindu folklore. Muslim Turks incorporated elements of Turkish Shamanism beliefs to Islam. Muslims in Ming Dynasty China who were descended from earlier immigrants were assimilated, sometimes through laws mandating assimilation, by adopting Chinese names and culture while Nanjing became an important center of Islamic study. Cultural shifts were evident with
21060-653: The Pashalik of Yanina after Ibrahim Pasha of Berat was defeated by Ali Pasha in 1809. In 1867, Berat became a sanjak in Yannina (Yanya) vilayet. Berat replaced a declining Vlorë as centre of the sanjak (province) in the nineteenth century. The sanjak of Berat and the city itself were under the dominance of the Albanian Vrioni family . The Jewish community of Yanina renewed the Jewish community of Berat in
21320-519: The Provisional Democratic Government of Albania , with Enver Hoxha as its prime minister and minister of defence. During the Communist era, Berat became a place of internal exile for those who were deemed public enemies, and their families. Starting in the 1950s, the village served as a political internment center from which the internees could not leave without permission. Each day, internees were required to sign up at
21580-695: The Rashidun Caliphate and the subsequent Umayyad Caliphate ruled from the Iberian Peninsula to the Indus Valley . In the Islamic Golden Age , specifically during the reign of the Abbasid Caliphate , most of the Muslim world experienced a scientific , economic and cultural flourishing . The expansion of the Muslim world involved various states and caliphates as well as extensive trade and religious conversion as
21840-654: The Ridda wars . Local populations of Jews and indigenous Christians, persecuted as religious minorities and heretics and taxed heavily, often helped Muslims take over their lands, resulting in rapid expansion of the caliphate into the Persian and Byzantine empires. Uthman was elected in 644 and his assassination by rebels led to Ali being elected the next Caliph. In the First Civil War , Muhammad's widow, Aisha , raised an army against Ali, attempting to avenge
22100-707: The environment . The two main religious festivals are Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha . The three holiest sites in Islam are Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Prophet's Mosque in Medina , and al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem . The religion of Islam originated in Mecca in 610 CE . Muslims believe this is when Muhammad received his first revelation . By the time of his death, most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam . Muslim rule expanded outside Arabia under
22360-402: The mathematical model that was later argued to be adopted by Copernicus unrevised in his heliocentric model, and Jamshīd al-Kāshī 's estimate of pi would not be surpassed for 180 years. After the introduction of gunpowder weapons, large and centralized Muslim states consolidated around gunpowder empires , these had been previously splintered amongst various territories. The caliphate
22620-730: The millennialist Isma'ili Shi'a missionary movement. One Isma'ili group, the Fatimid dynasty , took control of North Africa in the 10th century and another Isma'ili group, the Qarmatians , sacked Mecca and stole the Black Stone , a rock placed within the Kaaba, in their unsuccessful rebellion. Yet another Isma'ili group, the Buyid dynasty , conquered Baghdad and turned the Abbasids into
22880-568: The purest Albanians. 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. Some Muslim Albanians, meanwhile, view Islam as a force that maintained Albanian independence from Christian countries like Greece, Serbia and Italy, and united Albanians. Some Albanian Muslims also hold the view that unlike them, Christian Albanian communities of
23140-483: The world's fastest-growing major religious group, due primarily to a higher fertility rate and younger age structure compared to other major religions. In Arabic, Islam ( Arabic : إسلام , lit. 'submission [to God]') is the verbal noun of Form IV originating from the verb سلم ( salama ), from the triliteral root س-ل-م ( S-L-M ), which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of submission, safeness, and peace. In
23400-476: The " Night of Power " ( Laylat al-Qadr ) and is considered a significant event in Islamic history. During the next 22 years of his life, from age 40 onwards, Muhammad continued to receive revelations from God, becoming the last or seal of the prophets sent to mankind. During this time, while in Mecca, Muhammad preached first in secret and then in public, imploring his listeners to abandon polytheism and worship one God. Many early converts to Islam were women,
23660-471: The "world's first true scientist", in particular regarding his work in optics . In engineering, the Banū Mūsā brothers' automatic flute player is considered to have been the first programmable machine . In mathematics , the concept of the algorithm is named after Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi , who is considered a founder of algebra , which is named after his book al-jabr , while others developed
23920-428: The 13th century) and only one mosque, for the use of the Muslim garrison, (of which there survives only a few ruins and the base of the minaret). The churches of the fortress have been damaged through the years and only some remain. The Church of St. Mary of Blachernae dating from the 13th century, has 16th century mural paintings by Nikollë Onufri, son of the most important post-medieval Albanian painter, Onufri . In
24180-522: The 17th century. 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. Following the wider trends for socio-political 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
24440-449: The 18th century the economy and society of Berat was closely connected to the city's craft guilds partly related to various tax exemptions that existed since the late Middle Ages. By 1750 there were twenty-two guilds, the most important of which were the tanners', the cobblers' and other leather-working guilds. Other guilds included metal-working, silver-smithing and silk-making ones. Present-day Berat houses Albania's military industry with
24700-479: The 1990s had no privileged links with the political establishment until 1997 when the Socialists came to power. Members from the then Albanian government, some with Bektashi heritage in the late 1990s onward have favoured Bektashism as a milder form of Islam for Albanian Islam and it playing a role as a conduit between Islam and Christianity. Bektashis also highlight and celebrate figures such as Naim Frashëri who
24960-583: The 19th century such as Sailaifengye in China after returning from Mecca but were eventually persecuted and forced into hiding by Sufi groups. Other groups sought to reform Sufism rather than reject it, with the Senusiyya and Muhammad Ahmad both waging war and establishing states in Libya and Sudan respectively. In India, Shah Waliullah Dehlawi attempted a more conciliatory style against Sufism and influenced
25220-747: The 19th century, the British East India Company had formally annexed the Mughal dynasty in India. As a response to Western Imperialism , many intellectuals sought to reform Islam . Islamic modernism , initially labelled by Western scholars as Salafiyya , embraced modern values and institutions such as democracy while being scripture oriented. Notable forerunners in the movement include Muhammad 'Abduh and Jamal al-Din al-Afghani . Abul A'la Maududi helped influence modern political Islam . Similar to contemporary codification , sharia
25480-413: The 2011 census the declared religious affiliation of the population was: 56.70% (1,587,608) Sunni Muslims, 2.09% (58,628) Bektashis, 10.03% (280,921) Catholics, 6.75% (188,992) Orthodox, 0.14% (3,797) Evangelists, 0.07% (1,919) other Christians, 5.49% (153,630) believers without denomination, 2.05% (69,995) Atheists, 13.79% (386,024) undeclared. Controversies surrounded the Albanian census (2011) over whether
25740-407: The 2023 census, there were 1,101,718 (45.86%) Sunni Muslims and 115,644 (4.81%) Bektashi Muslims the remaining population consisted of 201,530 (8.38%) Catholics , 173,645 (7.22%) Eastern Orthodox , 9,658 (0.4%) Evangelicals , 3 670 (0.15%) of other religions, 332,155 (13.82%) believers without denomination, 85,311 (3.55%) Atheists and 378,782 (15.76%) did not provide an answer. This represents
26000-687: The 4th century, are copies (the originals are preserved in the National Archives in Tirana). The church itself has an iconostasis of carved wood, with two icons of Christ and the Virgin Mary. The bishop's throne and the pulpit are also notable. Near the street running down from the fortress is the Bachelors' Mosque (Xhami e Beqareve), built in 1827. This has a portico and external decoration of flowers, plants, and houses. The 'Bachelors' were
26260-520: The Albanian government in 2011 backed away from proposed legislation that would have officially banned displays of religious symbols in schools. Religious Muslim law as with other religious law is not recognised by the Albanian courts. The Sunni Muslim Community of Albania however recognises nikah or religious Muslim marriage although not many people undertake marriage in this form. While chaplaincy though not officially recognised within state institutions, access to, religious advice and preaching in prisons
26520-600: The Albanian movement. The Albanian revolts of 1833–1839 greatly impacted the city, especially with revolts that occurred in October 1833. The city's castle was surrounded by 10,000 people. Berat's mütesellim , Emin Aga, was forced to leave the city in the hands of the revolt's leaders. On October 22, 1833 the revolt's leaders drafted their requests to the Sublime Porte : they would no longer allow that Berat give soldiers to
26780-617: The Albanian political establishment was concerned with Western public opinion viewing Albanians as "Islamic" due to Serbian government claims portraying the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) as interested in creating a Balkan Islamic state. In a post-communist environment, Albania emerged as being generally supportive of the US. During the Kosovo War (1999) and ethnic cleansing of mostly Muslim Albanians by Orthodox Serbs alongside
27040-482: The Albanian political establishment who promote an image of Western orientation for Euro-Atlantic integration, especially when overt displays of Muslim practice arise such as dress or rituals. State relations of Albania with Turkey are friendly and close, due to maintenance of close links with the Albanian diaspora in Turkey and strong Turkish sociopolitical, cultural, economic and military ties with Albania. Turkey has been supportive of Albanian geopolitical interests within
27300-585: The Albanians, killing many and taking prisoners. In 1345 (or maybe 1343) the town passed to the Serbian Empire . After its dissolution in 1355 Berat came under suzerainty of its former governor, John Komnenos Asen (1345-1363), Alexander Komnenos Asen (1363-1372) and Zeta of Balša II (1372-1385). In 1385 Berat was captured by the Ottomans, before the Battle of Savra . According to some sources,
27560-455: The Arabic language and performed in the direction of the Kaaba . The act also requires a state of ritual purity achieved by means of either a routine wudu ritual wash or, in certain circumstances, a ghusl full body ritual wash. A mosque is a place of worship for Muslims, who often refer to it by its Arabic name masjid . Although the primary purpose of the mosque is to serve as
27820-429: The Balkans. In Gallup polls conducted in recent times Turkey is viewed as a friendly country by 73% of people in Albania. Albania has established political and economic ties with Arab countries, in particular with Arab Persian Gulf states who have heavily invested in religious, transport and other infrastructure alongside other facets of the economy in addition to the somewhat limited societal links they share. Albania
28080-652: 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. In 1929, the Bektashi order severed its ties with Sunnism and by 1937 Bektashi adherents formed around 27% of the Muslim population in Albania. Apart from Bektashis, there were other main Sufi orders present in Albania during
28340-588: The Bektashi order and its leadership were against the Italian occupation and remained an opposition group. Fischer suspects that the Italians eventually tired of the opposition of the Bektashi Order, and had its head, Nijaz Deda, murdered. In the aftermath of World War Two, the communist regime came to power and 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. Albanian society
28600-472: The Church of Rome and Byzantium improved, Charles I of Anjou continued to send Muslim and Christian military forces to the east, towards Albania. The Muslim knight Salem, a regular army officer, led 300 Lucerians - archers and lancers - to Vlora , in 1275. In September of that year, Ibrahim became the captain of the Muslims of Durrës , who took the place of Musa. On 19 April 1279, Charles I ordered 53 of
28860-481: 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. Until the 1990s an Orthodox Macedonian minority who have since migrated used to live in some villages alongside the Gollobordas and the latter community in recent times numbers some roughly 3,000 people. The Bosniak community of
29120-495: The Illyrians went through a dynamic development, founding their own cities like Dimale and Byllis ; however it is uncertain whether this development among Illyrians involved also Berat, or whether the foundation of the city is to be attributed to Cassander of Macedon . The founding date is unknown, although if Cassander is the founder, it would date back after he took control of southern Illyria around 314 BCE. Antipatrea
29380-500: The Islamic world due to the Western orientation of Albania. The government of Sali Berisha in the 1990s generated a Muslim network in Albania which was dismantled by Socialist Party (organizational heirs of the ultra-secularist Communists) when it came to power in 1997. By 1998–99 Albania's OIC membership was suspended and temporarily withdrawn by prime-minister Fatos Nano who viewed it as inhibiting Albania's European aspirations. In
29640-500: The Muslim Albanian community resulting in competition between groups. The Gülen movement based on Muslim values of Turkish preacher Fethullah Gülen also is present from 1992 onward and its institutions are viewed as a counterweight to more conservative Muslim organisations from Arab countries in Albania, especially in the early 1990s. Some 7 madrasas (Muslim colleges containing complementary religious instruction) were opened up in Albania by Arab NGO's, although now 2 are administered by
29900-558: The Muslim Albanian establishment. Following the lead mainly of Albanian Christians obtaining visas for work into Greece there have been instances where Muslim Albanian migrants in Greece converted to Orthodoxy and changed their names into Christian Greek forms in order to be accepted into Greek society. Some other Muslim Albanians when emigrating have also converted to Catholicism and conversions in general to Christianity within Albania are associated with belonging and interpreted as being part of
30160-540: The Muslim Community and the Gülen movement runs 5 madrassas and other schools that are known for their high quality and mainly secular education based on Islamic ethics and principles. In April 2011, Bedër University , Albania's first Muslim university was opened in Tiranë and is administered by the Gülen movement. The presence and influence of the Gülen movement in Albania has recently been a source of tension with
30420-578: The Muslim and Christian communities in Berat. Albanian Muslims in the city let Jewish people worship in the local mosque, and a Star of David can still be seen on the walls of the city's main Islamic place of worship. From 23 to 30 October 1944, the second session of the Council of National Liberation of Albania was held in Berat, where the National Liberation Movement -controlled Anti-Fascist National Liberation Committee became
30680-500: The Muslim community has found itself being a majority population that is within a socio-political and intellectual minority position with often being on the defensive. Political links also emerged in the 1990s from parts of the Sunni Albanian community with the then new Albanian political establishment of whom some themselves were Muslim Albanians. The Sunni community is recognised by the Albanian state and it administers most of
30940-528: The Muslims at the Battle of Badr in 624 and then fought an inconclusive battle in the Battle of Uhud before unsuccessfully besieging Medina in the Battle of the Trench (March–April 627). In 628, the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah was signed between Mecca and the Muslims, but it was broken by Mecca two years later. As more tribes converted to Islam, Meccan trade routes were cut off by the Muslims. By 629 Muhammad
31200-478: The Orthodox and Catholic Church leaders of the country too. Muslim fundamentalism has though become a concern for Albania and its backers amongst the international community . 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. These Muslim militants used Albania as
31460-1057: The Orthodox historically identified with the Greeks. Some 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 Turk . Some Muslim Albanians hold and have expressed negative views of Catholic Albanians, while some Catholic Albanians resent past political dominance held by Muslims in Albania and have expressed dislike of Islam and what they have interpreted to be its tenets, mores and values. In rural areas in northern Albania and southern Albania, relations between Muslim Albanians and Catholic Albanians or Muslim Albanians 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. Various pejoratives are in use today for different religious groups in Albanian, some based on
31720-463: The Orthodox working often in tandem with official Greek policies) which has made a part of the Sunni Albanian leadership become more assertive and calling for Islam to be declared the official religion of Albania. These calls within the scope of political Islam have greatly waned after non-Muslim Albanians objected to those suggestions. The Muslim Community of Albania opposes the legalisation of same-sex marriages for LGBT communities in Albania, as do
31980-527: The Osum river. Mount Shpirag , named after the second giant, is on the left bank of the gorge, above the district of Gorica. Berat is known to Albanians as the city of "One above another Windows" (a similar epithet is sometimes applied to Gjirokastra ), or The City of Two Thousand Steps . It was proclaimed a 'Museum City' by the dictator Enver Hoxha in June 1961. Berat has a Mediterranean climate ( Csa ) under
32240-646: The Ottoman Empire amongst some Muslims within the Balkans during the late Ottoman period made the terms Muslim and Turk synonymous. In this context, Muslim Albanians of the era were conferred and received the term Turk , despite preferring to distance themselves from ethnic Turks. This practice has somewhat continued amongst Balkan Christian peoples in contemporary times who still refer to Muslim Albanians as Turks , Turco-Albanians , with often pejorative connotations and historic negative socio-political repercussions. These geo-political events nonetheless pushed Albanian nationalists, many Muslim, to distance themselves from
32500-781: The Ottoman Turks that later subjugated and cut the Albanians off from Western European civilisation. Albanian nationalism overall was a reaction to the gradual breakup of the Ottoman Empire and a response to Balkan and Christian national movements that posed a threat to an Albanian population that was mainly Muslim. Muslim (Bektashi) Albanians were heavily involved with the Albanian National Awakening producing many figures like Faik Konitza , Ismail Qemali , Midhat Frashëri , Shahin Kolonja and others advocating for Albanian interests and self-determination. During
32760-406: The Ottoman era. Sufi Islam in Albania interprets the Ottoman era as promoting a distorted form of Islam that was corrupted within a Sunni Ottoman polity that persecuted them. Christian clergy consider Muslim Albanians as part of the wider Albanian nation and Muslim clergy do not express derision to people who did not become Muslim in Albania. Christian identities in Albania have been forged on being in
33020-409: The Ottoman government. They also demanded that Albania's local administration be led by Albanian people. The Ottoman government accepted the rebels' requests and nominated some Albanian officials in the city and declared an amnesty as well. In August 1839 a new uprising took place in Berat. The inhabitants attacked the Ottoman forces and besieged them in the castle. Meanwhile, the rebellion spread out to
33280-681: The Ottoman period and wanting Turkey to seek redress for the invasion of Albania and Islamisation of Albanians. Some members of the Muslim community, while deemphasizing the Ottoman past, have responded to these views by criticizing what they say is prejudice toward Islam. Others, like academic Olsi Jazexhi, have added that contemporary Albanian politicians akin to the Communists perceive " Modernisation " to mean "De-Islamisation", making Muslim Albanians feel alienated from their Muslim traditions instead of celebrating them and embracing their Ottoman heritage. These views, however, are rare and often depicted as extremist in Albanian society. Other debates, often in
33540-450: The Ottoman state and the emerging Albanian nationalist movement. Islam, the Sultan and the Ottoman Empire were traditionally seen as synonymous in belonging to the wider Muslim community. 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. Wars and socio-political instability resulting in increasing identification with
33800-494: The Ottoman system of classification: turk , tourko-alvanoi/Turco-Albanians (in Greek), muhamedan/followers of Muhammad for Muslim Albanians, kaur/infidel , kaur i derit/infidel pigs , for Orthodox Albanians, Catholic Albanians, Greeks, Vlachs and Orthodox Macedonians. Among Muslims in Albania the term used for their religious community is myslyman and the word turk is also used in a strictly religious sense to connote Muslim and not ethnic affiliation, while Christians also use
34060-483: The Ottomans from the beginning. The Mevlevi Order and Bektashi Order had a close relation to the sultans, as Sufi-mystical as well as heterodox and syncretic approaches to Islam flourished. The often forceful Safavid conversion of Iran to the Twelver Shia Islam of the Safavid Empire ensured the final dominance of the Twelver sect within Shia Islam. Persian migrants to South Asia, as influential bureaucrats and landholders, helped spread Shia Islam, forming some of
34320-478: The Ottomans probably remained in Berat for some time with intention to use it as foothold to capture Valona . By 1396, the Albanian Muzaka family took over control of Berat, which became the capital of the Principality of Berat . In 1417 Berat became a part of the Ottoman Empire . In 1455 Skanderbeg , a commander with an Albanian force of 14,000 and small number of Catalan soldiers unsuccessfully tried to capture Berat from an Ottoman force of 40,000. During
34580-426: The Ottomans, Islam and the then emerging pan-Islamic Ottomanism of Sultan Abdulhamid II . 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 . During this time Albanian nationalists conceived of Albanians as a European people who under Skanderbeg resisted
34840-415: The Patriarchate of Constantinople had liturgy and schooling in Greek and toward the late Ottoman period mainly identified with Greek national aspirations. 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. With the rise of the Eastern Crisis , Muslim Albanians became torn between loyalties to
35100-417: The Quran (lit. 'Recitation') is viewed as the final, verbatim and unaltered word of God. Prophets (Arabic: أنبياء , anbiyāʾ ) are believed to have been chosen by God to preach a divine message. Some of these prophets additionally deliver a new book and are called "messengers" ( رسول , rasūl ). Muslims believe prophets are human and not divine. All of the prophets are said to have preached
35360-406: The Quran forbidden. Amongst Bektashi adherents transmission of knowledge became limited to within few family circles that mainly resided in the countryside. Mosques became a target for Albanian communists who saw their continued existence as exerting an ideological presence in the minds of people. Through the demise of mosques and religion in general within Albania, the regime sought to alter and sever
35620-430: The Quran. This example is preserved in traditions known as hadith , which are accounts of his words, actions, and personal characteristics. Hadith Qudsi is a sub-category of hadith, regarded as God's verbatim words quoted by Muhammad that are not part of the Quran. A hadith involves two elements: a chain of narrators, called sanad , and the actual wording, called matn . There are various methodologies to classify
35880-420: The Quran. Another well-known source of hadiths is known as The Four Books , which Shias consider as the most authentic hadith reference. Belief in the "Day of Resurrection" or Yawm al-Qiyāmah (Arabic: يوم القيامة ) is also crucial for Muslims. It is believed that the time of Qiyāmah is preordained by God, but unknown to man. The Quran and the hadith, as well as the commentaries of scholars , describe
36140-733: The Quran. Many Muslims recite the whole Quran during the month of Ramadan. One who has memorized the whole Quran is called a hafiz ("memorizer"), and hadiths mention that these individuals will be able to intercede for others on Judgment Day. Supplication to God, called in Arabic duʿāʾ ( Arabic : دعاء IPA: [dʊˈʕæːʔ] ) has its own etiquette such as raising hands as if begging. Remembrance of God ( ذكر , Dhikr' ) refers to phrases repeated referencing God. Commonly, this includes Tahmid, declaring praise be due to God ( الحمد لله , al-Ḥamdu lillāh ) during prayer or when feeling thankful, Tasbih , declaring glory to God during prayer or when in awe of something and saying ' in
36400-471: The Quran. Angels play a significant role in literature about the Mi'raj , where Muhammad encounters several angels during his journey through the heavens. Further angels have often been featured in Islamic eschatology , theology and philosophy . The pre-eminent holy text of Islam is the Quran . Muslims believe that the verses of the Quran were revealed to Muhammad by God, through the archangel Gabriel, on multiple occasions between 610 CE and 632,
36660-421: The Red of Sully laid siege to Berat. In March 1281 a relief force from Constantinople under the command of Michael Tarchaneiotes was able to drive off the besieging Sicilian army. Later in the 13th century Berat again fell under the control of the Byzantine Empire. The fortress of Tomorr in the early 14th century is attested as Timoro(n) under Byzantine control. In 1337, the Albanian tribes which lived in
36920-462: The Security Office or the police. In 1963, a Deportation-Internment Commission report indicated that there were 30 interned in Berat, which consisted in part of internees those interned due to risk of escape. The rest are convicted for ordinary causes. In 1967, Albanian author Ismail Kadare was sent to Berat, where he spent two years. Relatives of those who had fled abroad, or sympathized with Titoist Yugoslavia were also deported to Berat. In
37180-427: The Shia canonical hadith collection consists of four books . Muslims make up a majority of the population in 49 countries. Approximately 12% of the world's Muslims live in Indonesia , the most populous Muslim-majority country; 31% live in South Asia ; 20% live in the Middle East–North Africa ; and 15% live in sub-Saharan Africa . Muslim communities are also present in the Americas , China , and Europe . Muslims are
37440-581: 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. 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. 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. Podgoriçani inhabit
37700-540: The Sufi Rifai order. The Albanian Sunni Community has over time established links with overseas Muslims. Due to funding shortages in Albania these ties have been locally beneficial as they have mobilised resources of several well funded international Muslim organisations like the OIC which has allowed for the reestablishment of Muslim ritual and spiritual practices in Albania. Particular efforts have been directed toward spreading information about Islam in Albania through media, education and local community centres. Around 90% of
37960-434: The Sufi orders has reemerged, though the Bektashi remain the largest, most dominant, have 138 tekes and have on occasion laid claims to Sufi shrines of other orders. The Bektashi as the main Sufi order within Albania have attempted to appeal to a younger, urban and also intellectual demographic and placing itself within the wider socio-political space. The Bektashi order in Albania is a Shia Sufi order. They views themselves as
38220-489: The Sunni related celebrations, the Sufis such as the Bektashi have a series of holidays and observances. The Day of Sultan Novruz ( Nowruz ) on 22 March is an official holiday that celebrates the birth of Imam Ali. Ashura , a day commemorating the massacre at Karbala is also held and multiple local festivals in various areas, some also observed as pilgrimages are held throughout the year at Sufi saints tombs and shrines like that of Sari Salltëk in Krujë. Most prominent of these
38480-546: The Treaty of Viterbo was drawn up. During the winter of 1271, the Angevin forces took Durrës . Within a year, Charles began to use the title "rex Albaniae", a title that was later recognized by the king of Serbia and the tsar of Bulgaria. In 1273 both Muslim and Christian contingents sailed across the Adriatic. In April 1273, a Muslim from Lucera named Leone was appointed captain of the Muslim forces in Durrës. A month later, Musa took Leone's place as commander of 200 Muslims stationed "in partibus Romaniae". Although relations between
38740-541: The Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency ( TIKA ) have also helped finance the restoration of Ottoman era mosques, of which only nine survived the communist dictatorship. In a post-communist environment the Muslim Community of Albania has been seeking from successive Albanian governments a return and restitution of properties and land confiscated by the communist regime though without much progress. The Muslim Community of Albania in its statutes claims authority over all Muslim groups in Albania. Sufi Sunni Islam
39000-538: The Turkish government headed by Recep Tayyip Erdogan since it has blamed the movement for attempting to destabilize Turkey. The main state run Turkish Muslim organisation Diyanet has funded and started construction of the Great Mosque of Tiranë in 2015. 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. International assistance from oversees organisations such as
39260-451: The West, its values and culture . A 2015 study estimated some 13,000 Christians exist in Albania who had converted from a Muslim background, though it is not clear to which Christian churches these people were affiliated. Among Albanians and in particular the young, religion is increasingly not seen as important. In a Pew research centre survey of Muslim Albanians in 2012, religion was important for only 15%, while 7% prayed, around 5% went to
39520-400: The addition of 17 houses. Following their expulsion and arrival from Spain , a Jewish community existed in Berat that consisted of 25 families between 1519 and 1520. Toward the latter part of the sixteenth century, Berat contained 461 Muslim houses and another 187 belonged to newcomers from the surrounding villages of Gjeqar, Gjerbës, Tozhar, Fratar, and Dobronik. Conversion to Islam of
39780-471: The archers of the Capitanata and the Land of Bari to send 60 Muslim archers, as well as carpenters, stonemasons and blacksmiths to Albania. The archers had to report to Hugues le Rousseau de Sully in Berat. In the fall of the same year, 200 archers from Lucera were sent to Vlora. At the beginning of December, 300 archers were stationed in Durrës. Angevin forces took part in the unsuccessful siege of Berat castle, and were repulsed by Byzantine forces. Islam
40040-441: The areas of Belegrita (the region of Mt. Tomorr near Berat) and Kanina rose in rebellion, and seized the fortress of Tomorr. There is little detail about the rebellion in primary sources. John VI Kantakouzenos mentions that the Albanians in those areas rebelled despite the privileges which Andronikos III Palaiologos had given them a few years earlier. Andronikos led an army mainly composed of Turkish mercenaries, and defeated
40300-432: The authenticity of hadiths, with the commonly used grading grading scale being "authentic" or "correct" ( صحيح , ṣaḥīḥ ); "good" ( حسن , ḥasan ); or "weak" ( ضعيف , ḍaʻīf ), among others. The Kutub al-Sittah are a collection of six books, regarded as the most authentic reports in Sunni Islam . Among them is Sahih al-Bukhari , often considered by Sunnis to be one of the most authentic sources after
40560-425: The average water level. According to local legend, the original wooden bridge contained a dungeon in which a girl would be incarcerated and starved to appease the spirits responsible for the safety of the bridge. In addition to secondary schools, the city hosted the Albanian University in Berat , a private institution that terminated its programs in 2019. The football (soccer) club is KS Tomori Berat . Berat
40820-785: The beginning of the compilation of the Quran. The Caliph Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz set up the committee, The Seven Fuqaha of Medina , and Malik ibn Anas wrote one of the earliest books on Islamic jurisprudence, the Muwatta , as a consensus of the opinion of those jurists. The Kharijites believed there was no compromised middle ground between good and evil, and any Muslim who committed a grave sin would become an unbeliever. The term "kharijites" would also be used to refer to later groups such as ISIS . The Murji'ah taught that people's righteousness could be judged by God alone. Therefore, wrongdoers might be considered misguided, but not denounced as unbelievers. This attitude came to prevail into mainstream Islamic beliefs. The Umayyad dynasty conquered
41080-419: The best Muslim archers from Lucera to be selected by the Capitanata 's justiciary, Guy d'Allemagne, to go to Durrës. As usually happens in the recruitment process, the advice of Muslim military leaders was sought. Ibrahim had to approve the selections. Orders were given that Ibrahim could take four horses with him as he crossed from Brindisi to Durrës . Ibrahim served in Durrës again in the early 1280s, as did
41340-463: The budget of the Albanian Muslim community came from foreign sources in the 1990s, though from 2009 after the signing of agreements, the Albanian government allocates funding from the state budget to the four main religions to cover administrative and other costs. Some of these oversees Muslim organisations and charities coming from Arab countries, Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, and also the Muslim diaspora in Europe and America have at times exerted sway over
41600-630: The centre of a worldwide movement and have reconnected with various Turkish educational and Iran religious organisations emphasising their common links, something that other Sufi orders in Albania have done. Prominent among these have been Iranian Saadi Shriazi foundation who has funded numerous Bektashi cultural programs, while dervishes from the Bektashi have received educational training at the Theological faculty in Qom . The Bektashi though are selective of outside influence, with sometimes for example editing texts of Iranian Shia thinkers in Bektashi literature or borrowing from others. The Bektashi during most of
41860-410: The change of the urban religious composition in Berat was pressure to covert in some neighbourhoods, and a lack of Christian priests able to provide religious services. In the 18th century, Berat was one of the most important Albanian cities during the Ottoman period. In the early modern era the city was the capital of the Pashalik of Berat founded by Ahmet Kurt Pasha . Berat was incorporated in
42120-459: The city to the emperor Basil II in 1018, and the city remained in Byzantine hands until the Second Bulgarian Empire retook the city in 1203 during the rule of Kaloyan . During the 13th century, it fell to Michael I Ducas , the ruler of the Despotate of Epirus . Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos sent letters to the Albanian leaders of Berat and Durrës in 1272 asking them to abandon their alliance with Charles I of Naples , leader of
42380-446: The city was known as Pulcheriopolis . The First Bulgarian Empire under Presian I captured the town in the 9th century, and the city received the Slavic name Bel[i]grad ("White City"), Belegrada (Βελέγραδα) in Greek, which persisted throughout the medieval period, changing to Berat under Ottoman rule. The town became one of the most important towns in the Bulgarian region Kutmichevitsa . The Bulgarian governor Elemag surrendered
42640-487: The collapse of the isolationist communist regime, Albania's geopolitical orientation between West and East and the role of Christianity and Islam became debated among Albanian intellectuals and its politicians. Within the context of nationalist discourses during the 1990s the governing Albanian Democratic Party regarding European aspirations stressed aspects of Catholicism and as some government members were Muslims made overtures to Islam to join international organisations like
42900-480: The communist era had by 1996 been either reconstructed or restored in former locations where they once stood before 1967 and in contemporary times there are 555 mosques. Muslim religious teachers and prayer leaders were also retrained abroad in Muslim states or in Albania. 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
43160-463: The communist regime and who led the first prayer service in Shkodër 1990 became the grand mufti of the Muslim Community of Albania. During this time the restoration of Islam in Albania appealed to older generations of Muslim Albanian adherents, those families with traditional clerical heredity and limited numbers of young school age people who wished to qualify and study abroad in Muslim countries. Most mosques and some madrassas destroyed and damaged during
43420-407: The concept of a function . The government paid scientists the equivalent salary of professional athletes today. Guinness World Records recognizes the University of Al Karaouine , founded in 859, as the world's oldest degree-granting university. Many non-Muslims, such as Christians , Jews and Sabians , contributed to the Islamic civilization in various fields, and the institution known as
43680-428: 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. Amongst those were the abolition of Sharia law and replacement with Western law that made Muslims in Albania come under government control while the Quran was translated into Albanian and criticized for its inaccuracies. After prolonged debate amongst Albanian elites during
43940-411: The country would lead to an increasing "Muslimization" of Albania. Muslim Albanians deemphasize the (Christian) religious heritage of two famous Albanian figures by viewing Skanderbeg as a defender of the nation, while Mother Teresa is acknowledged for her charitable works and both individuals are promoted as Albanian symbols of Europe and the West. The school curriculum of Shkodra in northern Albania
44200-442: The country, underwent radical changes. Decades of state atheism , which ended in 1991, brought a decline in the religious practice of all traditions. The post-communist period and the lifting of legal and other government restrictions on religion allowed Islam to revive through institutions that generated new infrastructure, literature, educational facilities, international transnational links and other social activities. According to
44460-449: The country. Due to interwar and communist era legacies of weakening Islam within Albania and secularisation of the population, the revival of the faith has been somewhat difficult due to people in Albania knowing little about Islam and other religions. Emigration in a post-communist environment of Albanians, many Muslim, has also hindered the recovery of religion, its socio-religious structures and organisation in Albania. In contemporary times
44720-425: The creation of everything in the universe was brought into being by God's command as expressed by the wording, " Be, and it is ," and that the purpose of existence is to worship God. He is viewed as a personal god and there are no intermediaries, such as clergy , to contact God. Consciousness and awareness of God is referred to as Taqwa . Allāh is a term with no plural or gender being ascribed to it and
44980-416: The death of Uthman, but was defeated at the Battle of the Camel . Ali attempted to remove the governor of Syria, Mu'awiya , who was seen as corrupt. Mu'awiya then declared war on Ali and was defeated in the Battle of Siffin . Ali's decision to arbitrate angered the Kharijites , an extremist sect, who felt that by not fighting a sinner, Ali became a sinner as well. The Kharijites rebelled and were defeated in
45240-406: The decrease in Arab influence after the Mongol destruction of the Abbasid Caliphate. The Muslim Mongol Khanates in Iran and Central Asia benefited from increased cross-cultural access to East Asia under Mongol rule and thus flourished and developed more distinctively from Arab influence, such as the Timurid Renaissance under the Timurid dynasty . Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201–1274) proposed
45500-524: The destroyed tyrbes and other mausoleums of Sufi saints by the end of 1991. As Albanian migrants went abroad financial resources were sent back to fund other reconstruction projects of various Sufi shrines and tekkes. The Shia Bektashi order in the 1990s was only able to reopen 6 of its tekkes. the rest of Sufi orders are present in Albania such as the Rifais, Saidis, Halvetis, Qadiris and the Tijaniyah are Sunni and combined have 384 turbes, tekes, maqams and zawiyas . In post communist Albania competition between
45760-408: The early Byzantine Empire the name of the town was Pulcheriopolis ( Byzantine Greek : Πουλχεριόπολις, "City of Pulcheria "). It was recorded in Medieval Latin as Belogradum , Bellegradum , in Turkish as Belgrad , in Italian as Belgrado , and in Greek as Βελλέγραδα, Bellegrada . In the Republic of Venice the city was known as Belgrado di Romania (" Rumelian Belgrade"), while in
46020-417: The early Abbasid era, scholars such as Muhammad al-Bukhari and Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj compiled the major Sunni hadith collections while scholars like Al-Kulayni and Ibn Babawayh compiled major Shia hadith collections. The four Sunni Madh'habs , the Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki, and Shafi'i, were established around the teachings of Abū Ḥanīfa , Ahmad ibn Hanbal , Malik ibn Anas and al-Shafi'i . In contrast,
46280-557: The early days of interwar Albania and due to Albania's heterogeneous religious makeup, Albania's political leadership defined Albania as without an official religion. Muslim Albanians at that time formed around 70% of the total population of 800,000 and Albania was the only Muslim country in Europe. 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. From 1920 until 1925,
46540-425: The early period of Ottoman rule, Berat fell into severe decline. By the end of the 16th century it had only 710 houses. However, it began to recover by the 17th century, and became a major craft centre specializing in wood carving. During the first part of the sixteenth century, Berat was a Christian city and did not contain any Muslim households. The urban population of this period (1506-1583) increased little, with
46800-425: The end of the regime's collapse, it had reluctantly allowed for limited religious expression to reemerge. In 1990 along with a Catholic church, the Lead mosque in Shkodër were both the first religious buildings reopened in Albania. 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 minister were prominent leaders in
47060-469: The end. The Italian occupiers also won Muslim Albanian sympathies by causing their working wages to rise. Mussolini's son in law Count Ciano also replaced the leadership of the Sunni Muslim community, which had recognized the Italian regime in Albania with clergy that aligned with Italian interests, with an easily controlled "Moslem Committee" organization, and Fischer notes that "the Moslem community at large accepted this change with little complaint". Most of
47320-560: The faith of the Ottoman invader. Islam and the Ottoman legacy has also been a topic of conversation among wider Albanian society. Islam and the Ottomans are viewed by many Albanians as the outcome of warfare, and Turkification and within those discourses Albania's sociopolitical problems are attributed as the outcome of that legacy. In debates over Albanian school textbooks where some historians have asked for offensive content regarding Turks to be removed, some Christian Albanian historians countered angrily by referring to negative experiences of
47580-409: The faith, and 75% for a daughter, the highest rates of all Muslim nationalities surveyed by Pew at the time. Meanwhile, 12% of Albanian Muslims agreed that "religious conflict is a big problem in Albania", though only 2% thought Christians were "hostile" to Muslims and 4% admitted that they thought Muslims were "hostile" to Christians. 79% of Albanian Muslims said all their close friends were also Muslim,
47840-428: The finest work in Arabic literature , and has influenced art and the Arabic language. Islam also holds that God has sent revelations, called wahy , to different prophets numerous times throughout history. However, Islam teaches that parts of the previously revealed scriptures, such as the Tawrat ( Torah ) and the Injil ( Gospel ), have become distorted —either in interpretation, in text, or both, while
48100-458: The gates of itjihad rather than blind imitation of scholars. He called for a jihad against those he deemed heretics, but his writings only played a marginal role during his lifetime. During the 18th century in Arabia, Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab , influenced by the works of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn al-Qayyim , founded a movement called Wahhabi to return to what he saw as unadultered Islam. He condemned many local Islamic customs, such as visiting
48360-411: The generic Muslim option split according to internal differentiation into categories such as Bektashi. The census results overall have been criticized by the Muslim community of Albania and they have estimated the number of all Muslims in Albania to be 70%. Owing to the large number of people in Albania not having declared a religion the census figures leave scope for other explanations and analyses of what
48620-399: The giving of a fixed portion (2.5% annually) of accumulated wealth by those who can afford it to help the poor or needy, such as for freeing captives, those in debt , or for (stranded) travellers, and for those employed to collect zakat. It acts as a form of welfare in Muslim societies. It is considered a religious obligation that the well-off owe the needy because their wealth is seen as
48880-426: The grave of Muhammad or saints, as later innovations and sinful and destroyed sacred rocks and trees, Sufi shrines, the tombs of Muhammad and his companions and the tomb of Husayn at Karbala, a major Shia pilgrimage site. He formed an alliance with the Saud family , which, by the 1920s, completed their conquest of the area that would become Saudi Arabia . Ma Wanfu and Ma Debao promoted salafist movements in
49140-450: The imposition of a Christian monarch which alongside internal political power struggles generated a failed Muslim uprising (1914) in central Albania that sought to restore Ottoman rule. During World War one, northern, central and south-central Albania came under Austro-Hungarian occupation. In the census of 1916–18 conducted by Austro-Hungarian authorities, the results showed that Muslims in the regions of Dibër, Lumë and Gorë were over 80% of
49400-509: The interwar era and increasing restrictions, the wearing of the veil in 1937 was banned in legislation by Zog. 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. After independence, ties amongst the wider Sufi Bektashi community in former Ottoman lands waned. The Bektashi order in 1922 at an assembly of 500 delegates renounced ties with Turkey. In 1925
49660-437: The interwar period such as the Halvetis , Qadiris , Rufais and Tijaniyyah . On 7 April 1939, Italy headed by Benito Mussolini after prolonged interest and overarching sphere of influence during the interwar period invaded Albania . Of the Muslim Albanian population, the Italians attempted to gain their sympathies by proposing to build a large mosque in Rome, though the Vatican opposed this measure and nothing came of it in
49920-456: The largest Shia populations outside Iran. Nader Shah , who overthrew the Safavids, attempted to improve relations with Sunnis by propagating the integration of Twelverism into Sunni Islam as a fifth madhhab , called Ja'farism, which failed to gain recognition from the Ottomans. Earlier in the 14th century, Ibn Taymiyya promoted a puritanical form of Islam, rejecting philosophical approaches in favor of simpler theology, and called to open
50180-403: The late 18th and the 19th centuries. Some of the landmarks of that historical period could be seen in the Berat Castle, churches of the Byzantine era such as the Church of St. Mary of Blaherna (13th century), the Bachelors' Mosque, the National Ethnographic Museum, the Sultan's Mosque (built between 1481 and 1512), Leaden Mosque (built in 1555) and the Gorica Bridge. Berat Castle is built on
50440-406: The late 19th century Albanian nationalist alliance, while the city was also represented in the formation of southern branch of the league in Gjirokastër . In the First World War , a census by Austro-Hungarian occupation forces counted 6745 Orthodox Christians and 20,919 Muslims in the Berat region. During the Second World War , Jews were concealed in the homes and basements of 60 families from
50700-414: The late Ottoman period, Muslims inhabited compactly the entire mountainous and hilly hinterland located north of the Himarë, Tepelenë, Këlcyrë and Frashëri line that encompasses most of the Vlorë, Tepelenë, Mallakastër , Skrapar, Tomorr and Dishnicë regions. There were intervening areas where Muslims lived alongside Albanian speaking Christians in mixed villages, towns and cities with either community forming
50960-406: The later Medinan chapters discuss more social and legal issues relevant to the Muslim community. Muslim jurists consult the hadith ('accounts'), or the written record of Muhammad's life, to both supplement the Quran and assist with its interpretation. The science of Quranic commentary and exegesis is known as tafsir . In addition to its religious significance, the Quran is widely regarded as
51220-410: The local urban population in Berat had increased during this time and part of the newcomer population were also Muslim converts who had Islamic names and Christian surnames. Factors such as tax exemptions for Muslim urban craftsmen in exchange for military service drove many of the incoming rural first generation Muslim population to Berat. Followers of Sabbatai Zevi existed in Berat among Jews during
51480-600: The majority. Caliph Al-Mu'tasim carried out inquisitions , with the traditionalist Ahmad ibn Hanbal notably refusing to conform to the Muʿtazila idea that the Quran was created rather than being eternal , which resulted in him being tortured and kept in an unlit prison cell for nearly thirty months. However, other schools of speculative theology – Māturīdism founded by Abu Mansur al-Maturidi and Ash'ari founded by Al-Ash'ari – were more successful in being widely adopted. Philosophers such as Al-Farabi , Avicenna and Averroes sought to harmonize Aristotle's ideas with
51740-575: The media and occasionally heated, have been about public displays of Muslim practices, mosque construction in Albania, or local and international violent incidents and their relationship to Islam. Issues have also arisen over school textbooks and their inaccurate references of Islam such as describing Muhammad as God's "son", while other matters have been concerns over administrative delays for mosque construction and so on. Catholic and Orthodox Albanians hold concerns that any possible unification of Balkan areas populated by sizable numbers of Albanian Muslims to
52000-438: The mid-2000s. 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. In a 2005 speech given in Britain by president Alfred Moisiu of Orthodox heritage, he referred to Islam in Albania as having
52260-440: The mid-seventeenth century. The Berat Jewish community took an active role in the welfare of other Jews, such as managing to attain the release of war-related captives present in Durrës in 1596. By the early seventeenth century, urban life in Berat started to resemble Ottoman and Muslim patterns. From 1670 onward, Berat became a Muslim-majority city and of its 30 neighbourhoods, 19 were populated by Muslims. Factors attributed to
52520-429: The modern gold dinar as their monetary system. While some of those who broke away were quietist , others believed in violence against those opposing them, even against other Muslims. In opposition to Islamic political movements, in 20th century Turkey, the military carried out coups to oust Islamist governments, and headscarves were legally restricted, as also happened in Tunisia. In other places, religious authority
52780-400: The modern period, a Romani community numbering 200-300 lives in Berat and its outskirts whereas others in a few nearby villages, at times living in difficult economic circumstances with some seasonally migrating to Greece for work. Some Aromanian-speakers and Greek-speakers can be found in the town and nearby villages. Berat lies on the right bank of the river Osum , a short distance from
53040-465: The month of Ramadan practicing Sunni Muslims in Albania fast and 5 nights are held sacred and celebrated. These dates change per year as they follow the Muslim lunar calendar . In recent times during April Muhammad's birthday is commemorated and the Muslim Community of Albania holds a concert in Tiranë. It is attended by Albanian political and Muslim religious establishment representatives alongside Albanian citizens, many non-practising Muslims. Other than
53300-401: The moral decline and idolatry prevalent in Mecca and seeking seclusion and spiritual contemplation, Muhammad retreated to the Cave of Hira in the mountain Jabal al-Nour , near Mecca. It was during his time in the cave that he is said to have received the first revelation of the Quran from the angel Gabriel . The event of Muhammad's retreat to the cave and subsequent revelation is known as
53560-426: The mosques while also viewed as the main representative of Muslims in the country. As such it interprets its position as safeguarding an Albanian specific version of Islam which follows on institutional and ideological models established during the post-Ottoman state-building period and have gradually gained the status of an Albanian tradition. There are a few prayer houses located throughout Albania and one mosque run by
53820-588: The movement for democratic change and between 1992 and 1997 people part of the Albanian government were mostly of a Muslim background. 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. Due in part to the deprivation and persecution experienced during the communist period, Muslims within Albania have showed strong support for democracy and its institutions including official Muslim religious organisations. Within this context Muslim Albanians have also supported
54080-541: The municipality is the city Berat. The total population is 62,232 as of the 2023 census, in a total area of 421.6 km (162.8 sq mi). Berat, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008, comprises a unique style of architecture with influences from several civilizations that have managed to coexist for centuries throughout the history . Like many cities in Albania, Berat comprises an old fortified city filled with churches and mosques painted with grandiose wealth of visible murals and frescos . Berat
54340-418: The name of God ' ( بسملة , basmalah ) before starting an act such as eating. According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad was born in Mecca in 570 CE and was orphaned early in life. Growing up as a trader, he became known as the " trusted one " ( Arabic : الامين ) and was sought after as an impartial arbitrator. He later married his employer, the businesswoman Khadija . In the year 610 CE, troubled by
54600-414: The nearby Kuçovë base and Poliçan factory as well as a developing tourist economy as of recent years thanks to its historical sites. The coexistence of religious and cultural communities over several centuries, beginning in the 4th century BC into the 18th century is apparent in Berat. The town also bears testimony to the architectural excellence of traditional Balkan housing construction, which date to
54860-465: 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. In 1967 therefore the communist regime declared Albania the only non-religious country in the world, banning all forms of religious practice in public. The Muslim Sunni and Bektashi clergy alongside their Catholic and Orthodox counterparts suffered severe persecution and to prevent
55120-436: The nineteenth century. A Greek school was operating in the city already from 1835. In the late Ottoman period, the population of Berat was 10–15,000 inhabitants, with Orthodox Christians numbering some 5,000 people of whom 3,000 spoke the Aromanian language and the rest the Albanian language . During the 19th century, Berat played an important part in the Albanian national revival . Christian merchants in Berat supported
55380-458: The north side, is defended by a fortified courtyard and there are three smaller entrances. The surface that the fortress encompasses made it possible to house a considerable portion of the town's inhabitants. The buildings inside the fortress were built during the 13th century and because of their characteristic architecture are preserved as cultural monuments. The population of the fortress was Christian, and it had about 20 churches (most built during
55640-409: The opportunity to thrive. The measures adopted by the congress was a break with the Ottoman Caliphate and to establish local Muslim structures loyal to Albania, banning polygamy (most of the Muslim Albanian population was monogamous) and the mandatory wearing of veil ( hijab ) by women in public. A new form of prayer was also implemented (standing, instead of the traditional salat ritual). As with
55900-413: The pious. The Kharijites led the Berber Revolt , leading to the first Muslim states independent of the Caliphate. In the Abbasid Revolution , non-Arab converts ( mawali ), Arab clans pushed aside by the Umayyad clan, and some Shi'a rallied and overthrew the Umayyads, inaugurating the more cosmopolitan Abbasid dynasty in 750. Al-Shafi'i codified a method to determine the reliability of hadith. During
56160-433: The point where it is joined by the Molisht river. The old city centre consists of three parts: Kalaja (on the castle hill), Mangalem (at the foot of the castle hill) and Gorica (on the left bank of the Osum). It has a number of buildings of architectural and historical interest. The pine forests above the city, on the slopes of the towering Tomorr mountains, provide a backdrop of appropriate grandeur. The Osumi river has cut
56420-413: The poor, foreigners, and slaves like the first muezzin Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi . The Meccan elite felt Muhammad was destabilizing their social order by preaching about one God and giving questionable ideas to the poor and slaves because they profited from the pilgrimages to the idols of the Kaaba. After 12 years of the persecution of Muslims by the Meccans , Muhammad and his companions performed
56680-469: The population. In the western part of the mountainous areas, Shkodër and in the mountains east of the lake were areas that contained a large Muslim population. In central Albania, the area from the Mat region to the Shkumbini river mouth toward Kavajë encompassing the districts of Tiranë, Peqin, Kavajë and Elbasan the population was mainly Muslim. In the area of Berat Muslims were a majority population with an Orthodox minority, while south of Elbasan Muslims were
56940-410: The post communist period different socio-political 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. During the Kosovo crisis (1998–1999),
57200-441: The presence of an attorney. On 7 August 2016, a Muslim woman wearing a headscarf was beaten on a bus and called a "terrorist." The official religious Christian and Muslim establishments and their clergy hold diverging views of the Ottoman period and conversion of Islam by Albanians. Both Catholic and the Orthodox clergy interpret the Ottoman era as a repressive one that contained anti-Christian discrimination and violence, while Islam
57460-471: The pursuit of national interest. Although considered a "national myth" by some, the "Albanian example" of interfaith tolerance and of tolerant laicism has been advocated as a model for the rest of the world by both Albanians and Western European and American commentators, including Pope Francis who praised Albania as a "model for a world witnessing conflict in God's name" and Prime Minister Edi Rama , who marched with Christian and Muslim clergy on either side in
57720-484: The quarter is built in a very steep place and windows seem to be one over another. Similar views can be seen in Melnik, Bulgaria , Gjirokastër in Albania, as well as Catanzaro in Italy, where an Albanian minority once lived. The Citadel overlooks the river and the modern city as well as the old Christian quarter across the river. It is a well preserved area containing narrow streets, Turkish houses and Orthodox churches. Modern Berat consists of three parts divided by
57980-422: The regions of Sanjak of Vlorë . The rebels leaders sent a petition to Sultan Abdulmejid I to have Albanian officials in administration and to put Ismail Pasha, the nephew of Ali Pasha as a general governor. In September 1839 the rebels captured the castle, however once again the Ottoman government postponed the application of reforms in Albania. Berat became a major base of support for the League of Prizren ,
58240-429: The rest of the religion. Non-Muslims wishing to convert to Islam are required to recite the shahada in front of witnesses. Prayer in Islam, called as-salah or aṣ-ṣalāt (Arabic: الصلاة ), is seen as a personal communication with God and consists of repeating units called rakat that include bowing and prostrating to God. There are five timed prayers each day that are considered duties. The prayers are recited in
58500-418: The same basic message of Islam – submission to the will of God – to various nations in the past, and this is said to account for many similarities among religions. The Quran recounts the names of numerous figures considered prophets in Islam , including Adam , Noah , Abraham , Moses and Jesus , among others. The stories associated with the prophets beyond the Quranic accounts are collected and explored in
58760-420: The second lowest number (after Russia) in the survey. In Albania a series of religious celebrations are held by the Muslim community. Two recognised by the state as official holidays are: Bajrami i Madh (Big Bayram, Eid al-Fitr ) celebrated at the conclusion of Ramadan and Kurban Bajram (Bayram of the sacrifice) or Bajrami i Vogël (Small Bayram, Eid al-Adha ) celebrated on 10 Dhu al-Hijjah . During
59020-416: The separation of religion from the state with faith being considered as a personal private matter. Today, Albania is a parliamentary secular state and with no official religion. 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. Hafiz Sabri Koçi , (1921–2004) an imam imprisoned by
59280-405: The social basis of religion that lay with traditional religious structures amongst the people and replace it with communism. 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. In 1967 within
59540-423: The soldiers, he demolished the walls and burned the city". In Roman times it was included within Epirus Nova , in the province of Macedonia . The town became part of the unstable frontier of the Byzantine Empire following the fall of the western Roman Empire and, along with much of the rest of the Balkan peninsula , it suffered from repeated invasions by Slavs . During the Roman and early Byzantine period,
59800-419: The space of seven months, the communist regime destroyed 2,169 religious buildings and other monuments. Of those were some 530 tekes, turbes and dergah saint shrines that belonged mainly to the Bektashi order. 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
60060-441: The subsequent refugee influx into the country, Albania's status as an ally of the US was confirmed. Support for the USA has remained high at 95% in Muslim majority Albania in contrast to the rest of the Islamic world. Albania joined the NATO military alliance in 2009 which remains popular in the country especially due to its intervention in the Kosovo war and Albania has contributed troops to NATO led operations in Afghanistan. Within
60320-447: The teachings of Ja'far al-Sadiq formed the Ja'fari jurisprudence . In the 9th century, Al-Tabari completed the first commentary of the Quran, the Tafsir al-Tabari , which became one of the most cited commentaries in Sunni Islam. Some Muslims began questioning the piety of indulgence in worldly life and emphasized poverty, humility, and avoidance of sin based on renunciation of bodily desires. Ascetics such as Hasan al-Basri inspired
60580-498: The teachings of Islam, similar to later scholasticism within Christianity in Europe and Maimonides ' work within Judaism, while others like Al-Ghazali argued against such syncretism and ultimately prevailed. This era is sometimes called the " Islamic Golden Age ". Islamic scientific achievements spanned a wide range of subject areas including medicine , mathematics , astronomy , and agriculture as well as physics , economics , engineering and optics . Avicenna
60840-427: The territorial integrity of Albania. An understanding emerged between most Sunni and Bektashi Albanians that religious differences needed to be sidelined for national cohesiveness. Whereas an abandonment of pan-Muslim links abroad was viewed in the context of securing support internationally for and maintaining independence, though some Muslim Albanian clergy were against disavowing ties with the wider Muslim world. From
61100-545: The trials and tribulations preceding and during the Qiyāmah . The Quran emphasizes bodily resurrection , a break from the pre-Islamic Arabian understanding of death. On Yawm al-Qiyāmah, Muslims believe all humankind will be judged by their good and bad deeds and consigned to Jannah (paradise) or Jahannam (hell). The Quran in Surat al-Zalzalah describes this as: "So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it. And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it." The Quran lists several sins that can condemn
61360-443: The villages of Boriç i Madh where they form a majority alongside a few Orthodox Montenegrins and some Albanians, while they live compactly in both Shtoj i Vjetër with 30 families and in Shtoj i Ri with 17 families and some families in Shkodër city. Throughout the duration of the Communist regime, national Albanian identity was constructed as being irreligious and based upon a common unitary Albanian nationality. This widely spread ideal
61620-404: 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), it has little to negligible support for Russia . Albania is an aspirant for European Union membership after formally submitting its application to join in 2009. Sentiments among the EU exist of viewing Albania as a mainly Muslim country cause concerns for
61880-586: The word kaur to at times refer to themselves. During the Albanian socio-political and economic crisis of 1997, religious differences did not play a role in the civil unrest that occurred, though the Orthodox Church in Albania at the time privately supported the downfall of the Berisha government made up mainly of Muslims. Over the years minor incidents between Muslim Albanians with Christian 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
62140-400: The year Muhammad died. While Muhammad was alive, these revelations were written down by his companions , although the primary method of transmission was orally through memorization . The Quran is divided into 114 chapters ( sūrah ) which contain a combined 6,236 verses ( āyāt ). The chronologically earlier chapters, revealed at Mecca , are concerned primarily with spiritual topics, while
62400-434: The young shop-assistants (in practice generally unmarried), whom the merchants in Berat used as their own private militia. The King Mosque ( Albanian : Xhamia e Mbretit ), the oldest in the town built in the reign of Bayazid II (1481–1512), is notable for its fine ceiling. It is museum in the modern period. The Lead Mosque (Xhamia e Plumbit), built in 1555 and so called from the covering of its cupola. This mosque
62660-410: The young. As of March 2016, some 100 or so Albanians so far have left Albania to become foreign fighters by joining various fundamentalist Salafi jihadist groups involved in the ongoing civil wars of Syria and Iraq; 18 have died. In response to these events the Albanian government has cracked down with arrests of people associated with the few mosques suspected of radicalisation and recruitment. With
62920-428: Was a pioneer in experimental medicine , and his The Canon of Medicine was used as a standard medicinal text in the Islamic world and Europe for centuries. Rhazes was the first to identify the diseases smallpox and measles . Public hospitals of the time issued the first medical diplomas to license doctors. Ibn al-Haytham is regarded as the father of the modern scientific method and often referred to as
63180-468: Was between clans of opposing faiths, while within the scope of clan affiliation, religious divisions were sidelined. Shkodër was inhabited by a Muslim majority with a sizable Catholic minority. Realising that the collapse of Ottoman rule through military defeat in the Balkans was imminent, Albanians represented by Ismail Qemali declared Independence from the Ottoman Empire on 28 November 1912 in Vlorë. International recognition of Albanian independence entailed
63440-515: Was claimed by the Ottoman dynasty of the Ottoman Empire and its claims were strengthened in 1517 as Selim I became the ruler of Mecca and Medina . The Shia Safavid dynasty rose to power in 1501 and later conquered all of Iran. In South Asia, Babur founded the Mughal Empire . The religion of the centralized states of the gunpowder empires influenced the religious practice of their constituent populations. A symbiosis between Ottoman rulers and Sufism strongly influenced Islamic reign by
63700-484: Was co-opted and is now often seen as puppets of the state. For example, in Saudi Arabia, the state monopolized religious scholarship and, in Egypt, the state nationalized Al-Azhar University , previously an independent voice checking state power. Salafism was funded in the Middle East for its quietism. Saudi Arabia campaigned against revolutionary Islamist movements in the Middle East, in opposition to Iran. Muslim minorities of various ethnicities have been persecuted as
63960-420: Was criticized for diminishing the role of Muslims in the history of Albania. For example, "out of over 30 famous writers, historical gures, actors named in [a] textbook, there is only one Muslim in the entire list." Similarly, in 2014, Professor of Sociology at the University of Tirana Enis Sulstarova performed a comparative study of school textbooks finding that tenets of the Christian faith were often presented as
64220-405: Was described as the largest settlement with significant walls and referred to as the only urbs in the area, in contrast with other settlements that were described as castella or oppida . As reported by Roman historian Livy , in 200 BCE the Roman legatus Lucius Apustius "stormed and subdued Antipatrea by force of arms and, after killing the men of military age and granting all the plunder to
64480-404: Was established in 1969 after the burning of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem . Contact with industrialized nations brought Muslim populations to new areas through economic migration. Many Muslims migrated as indentured servants (mostly from India and Indonesia) to the Caribbean, forming the largest Muslim populations by percentage in the Americas. Migration from Syria and Lebanon contributed to
64740-597: Was first introduced to Albania in the 15th century after the Ottoman conquest of the area. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Albanians in large numbers converted to Islam . As Muslims, many Albanians attained important political and military positions within the Ottoman Empire and culturally contributed to the wider Muslim world. 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. Orthodox Albanians under
65000-511: Was for the first time partially codified into law in 1869 in the Ottoman Empire's Mecelle code. The Ottoman Empire dissolved after World War I , the Ottoman Caliphate was abolished in 1924 and the subsequent Sharifian Caliphate fell quickly, thus leaving Islam without a Caliph . Pan-Islamists attempted to unify Muslims and competed with growing nationalist forces, such as pan-Arabism . The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), consisting of Muslim-majority countries ,
65260-555: Was found in 1951, in the Shelqan church. The Kastoria church has a date 23 July 1547 and a reference to Onufri's origin : I am Onufri, and come from the town of Berat . Onufri's style in painting was inherited by his son, Nikolla (Nicholas), though not so successful as his father. In Onufri's museum can be found works of Onufri, his son, Nikolla and other painters'. There are also numbers of icons and some fine examples of religious silversmith's work (sacred vessels, icon casings, covers of Gospel books, etc.). Berat Gospels, which date from
65520-430: Was historically called Mohammedanism in the English-speaking world . This term has fallen out of use and is sometimes said to be offensive , as it suggests that a human being, rather than God, is central to Muslims' religion. The Islamic creed ( aqidah ) requires belief in six articles : God, angels , revelation, prophets, the Day of Resurrection , and the divine predestination. The central concept of Islam
65780-412: Was involved in the Illyrian Wars and Macedonian Wars , and it is mentioned as a city of Dassaretia in southern Illyria. Along with Chrysondyon , Gertous and Creonion , Antipatrea was one of the Dassaretan towns around which the Illyrian dynast Skerdilaidas and the Macedonian king Philip V fought in 217 BCE. The city eventually was conquered by Philip V until Roman intervention. Antipatrea
66040-412: Was killed by Yazid's forces; the event has been annually commemorated by Shias ever since. Sunnis, led by Ibn al-Zubayr and opposed to a dynastic caliphate, were defeated in the siege of Mecca . These disputes over leadership would give rise to the Sunni - Shia schism, with the Shia believing leadership belongs to Muhammad's family through Ali, called the ahl al-bayt . Abu Bakr's leadership oversaw
66300-476: Was looking for water for her baby Ishmael in the desert before Mecca developed into a settlement. The pilgrimage also involves spending a day praying and worshipping in the plain of Mount Arafat as well as symbolically stoning the Devil . All Muslim men wear only two simple white unstitched pieces of cloth called ihram , intended to bring continuity through generations and uniformity among pilgrims despite class or origin. Another form of pilgrimage, Umrah ,
66560-460: Was made an honorary baba because he was involved in the Albanian National Awakening and often referred to his Bektashi roots. Bektashis also use Shiite related iconography of Ali, the Battle of Karbala and other revered Muslim figures of Muhammad 's family that adorn the interiors of turbes and tekkes. The Bektashis have a few clerical training centres though no schools for religious instruction. The Ahmadiyya movement has also established recently
66820-420: Was still traditionally divided between four religious communities. In the Albanian census of 1945, Muslims were 72% of the population, 17.2% were Orthodox and 10% Catholic. 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. Albanian communists viewed religion as
67080-406: Was the dominants form of Islam in Albania under the Ottomans However the traditional reliance on the establishment hierarchy and internal structures of the restoration of Sufi Islam, historically synonymous to Sunni Islam, has faced organisational problems in reestablishing and stabilising former systems of authority. That stood in contrast with the activities of local people who were quick to rebuild
67340-548: Was victorious in the nearly bloodless conquest of Mecca , and by the time of his death in 632 (at age 62) he had united the tribes of Arabia into a single religious polity . Muhammad died in 632 and the first successors, called Caliphs – Abu Bakr , Umar , Uthman ibn al-Affan , Ali ibn Abi Talib and sometimes Hasan ibn Ali – are known in Sunni Islam as al-khulafā' ar-rāshidūn (" Rightly Guided Caliphs "). Some tribes left Islam and rebelled under leaders who declared themselves new prophets but were crushed by Abu Bakr in
67600-401: Was viewed as an obstacle to Hellenism within the region. Some Orthodox Albanians began to affiliate with the Albanian National movement causing concern for Greece and they worked together with Muslim Albanians regarding shared social and geo-political Albanian interests and aims. In central and southern Albania, Muslim Albanian society was integrated into the Ottoman state. It was organised into
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