Posted by Press release on 23/7/2012, 12:42 pm
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ACN News, Monday, 23rd July 2012 – ALBANIA Islamisation growing in Albania By John Newton RADICAL Islam is being imported into Albania leading to growing tensions in the country, according to an expert on the region. “In Albania, young imams propagate a different form of Islam from what is customary there. This is leading to tensions,” said Peter Rettig, head of the South-East Europe section of Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. Mr Rettig, who has just returned from a project assessment trip to the country, described how the growth of extremist Islam is leading to tensions not only within the Muslim congregations but also with some Christian congregations. He said: “They are scholars who have been trained in Turkey and Saudi Arabia and demand a ‘pure’, stricter Islam.” Mr Rettig added: “The number of events shows a worrying trend.” He said that when he visited the country two years ago he received no reports of radical Islam, but during his recent visit he was not only told about such incidents, he witnessed one himself. Mr Rettig described how he was sitting next to a priest of Tirana Archdiocese during a public screening of the Euro 2012 match between Germany and Netherlands when the minister was approached by two young teenagers – who he estimated to be 12 and 13 years old – who tried to convert the cleric. Mr Rettig said: “He was wearing clerical clothes, they would have immediately seen that he was a priest.” He also described receiving a report about a Protestant pastor near the Greek border who was beaten by an imam for distributing children’s gifts despite having the permission of the local school. Another report told of Muslim children near Lake Shkoder refusing sweets from religious Sisters because of their Christian faith. Mr Rettig added: “A priest in charge of education told me that they are happy that ethics courses are taught instead of religious studies in state schools as they fear the infiltration of radical Islam.” But Mr Rettig stressed that while there were growing tensions with Christians, primarily the growth of radicalism affected Islam. He said: “This conflict is first of all a conflict in the Muslim community between the local open-minded easy-going Islamic tradition and the new fundamentalist purified version.” He pointed out that the vast majority of people in Albania live together in peace. According to Mr Rettig there are no reliable statistics about religious affiliations in Albania. But it is estimated that some 60 percent of the 3.2 million Albanians belong to Sunni Islam. Some 8 percent are Bektashi, an Islamic sect which was influenced by Sufism. Orthodox Christians make up 20 percent of the population and Catholics about 10 percent. Bishop Lucjan Avgustini of Sape in Albania with confirmation candidates in Puke in 2010. Fr Paul Stenhouse the chairman of ACN Australia is also pictured on the right of picture. Editor’s Notes Directly under the Holy See, Aid to the Church in Need supports the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need. ACN is a Catholic charity – helping to bring Christ to the world through prayer, information and action. The charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including providing transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church buildings, funding for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since the initiative’s launch in 1979, Aid to the Church in Need’s Child’s Bible – God Speaks to his Children has been translated into 162 languages and 48 million copies have been distributed all over the world. While ACN gives full permission for the media to freely make use of the charity’s press releases, please acknowledge ACN as the source of stories when using the material. For more information or to make a donation to help the work of Aid to the Church in Need, please contact the Australian office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 7246 Baulkham Hills NSW 2153. On Line donations can be made at www.aidtochurch.org