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curiousman
03-28-2010, 06:58 AM
From The Sunday Times
March 28, 2010
Saudis fund Balkan Muslims spreading hate of the West
SAUDI ARABIA is pouring hundreds of millions of pounds into Islamist groups in the Balkans, some of which spread hatred of the West and recruit fighters for jihad in Afghanistan.

According to officials in Macedonia, Islamic fundamentalism threatens to destabilise the Balkans. Strict Wahhabi and Salafi factions funded by Saudi organisations are clashing with traditionally moderate local Muslim communities.

Fundamentalists have financed the construction of scores of mosques and community centres as well as handing some followers up to £225 a month. They are expected not only to grow beards but also to persuade their wives to wear the niqab, or face veil, a custom virtually unknown in the liberal Islamic tradition of the Balkans.

Government sources in traditionally secular Macedonia (official title the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), said they were monitoring up to 50 Al-Qaeda volunteers recruited to fight in Afghanistan. Classified documents seen by The Sunday Times reveal that Macedonian officials are also investigating a number of Islamic charities, some in Saudi Arabia, which are active throughout the Balkans and are suspected of spreading extremism and laundering money for terrorist organisations.

One of the groups under scrutiny is the International Islamic Relief Organisation from Saudi Arabia, which is on a United Nations blacklist of organisations backing terrorism. It did not respond to inquiries, but has previously denied involvement in terrorist activities, calling such claims “totally unfounded”.

According to its website, it works in 32 countries to provide relief to the victims of natural disasters and to carry out humanitarian, health and educational projects.

“Hundreds of millions have been poured into Macedonia alone in the past decade and most of it comes from Saudi Arabia,” said a government source. “The Saudis’ main export seems to be ideology, not oil.”

Sulejman Rexhepi, leader of the Islamic community in Macedonia, said a number of mosques had been forcibly taken over by radical groups. Four in central Skopje are no longer under the control of the official Islamic authorities. New imams claim they have been “spontaneously” installed by the “people”.

“Their so-called Wahhabi teachings are completely alien to our traditions and to the essence of Islam, which is a tolerant and inclusive religion,” said Rexhepi.

In some mosques believers are being told that Macedonia, which sent 200 soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan, has been tricked into supporting a crusade against Islam spearheaded by Britain and America. Radical clerics have shown footage from Afghanistan, Iraq and the Palestinian territories to illustrate their claims that the West is waging war on Islam.

Rahman, a 35-year-old cab driver from Skopje, Macedonia’s capital, said he had stopped going to his local mosque since it was taken over by extremists. “Following the Haiti earthquake the new imam said God would punish the West for their wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with natural disasters,” he said.

Bekir Halimi, an imam trained in Syria, runs Bamiresia, an Islamic charity that has been investigated for alleged terrorist links and money laundering. Police raided its offices but failed to find any evidence of terrorist links.

“We are fully entitled to receive funding from both governmental and non-governmental organisations from Saudi Arabia,” said Halimi, who refuses to name the sources of his funding but rejects any suggestion of criminal activity.

Macedonia’s law enforcement agencies warn that the European Union and America have failed to recognise the growing problem of Islamic extremism in the Balkans.

Baroness Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief, has declared stability in the region to be her top priority, but local politicians complain that the EU and Nato are reducing their presence in troublespots such as Bosnia and Kosovo.

Last month, Bosnian security forces raided a village strongly influenced by Salafi extremists and found a weapons cache.

In raids elsewhere rifles, bombs and rocket-propelled grenades have been uncovered.

The West has put considerable political and financial efforts into helping build democracy in Bosnia following its civil war in the 1990s. Saudi organisations have also asserted considerable influence, giving more than £450m to build more than 150 mosques and Islamic centres.

In Macedonia, Fatmir, a former disc jockey, explained how he became an adherent of Salafism. The father of two has grown a beard and instructed his wife to wear a niqab. He now makes his living by selling Islamist literature. “Ours is the Islam of the 21st century,” he said.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article7078771.ece

Lithium
03-28-2010, 07:37 AM
Fanatic muslims - the worst parasite for one european nation...

RoyBatty
03-28-2010, 09:57 AM
Yet curiously enough our Western Leaders, Royalty as well as the Shadowy Elites who conspire with, supervise and control them spare no opportunity to sell us "War On Terror" and "Islamic Fundamentalism" propaganda are on best friendly and business terms with these same Saudis.

That makes a bit of a mockery of the supposed "War on Terror" fairytale.

We're being played for fools by our mainstream medias, "intellectual classes", business and banking elites, "think tanks" and political institutions AND OF COURSE our multiparty politicians from the established parties.

The "War On Terror" Industry is a massive fraud (similar to climate change) designed to bleed us dry and enrich those who operate this handy little money spinner.

Perpetual war (which isn't supposed to be won, just read Orwell's 1984 for a good example) provides the justification to divert public money to "defensive" and "intelligence gathering" (much of it against us of course) purposes.
It provides the excuse for the authorities to take away much of the freedoms we used to take for granted, all in the name of "protecting us" from some mythical beast.

Agrippa
03-28-2010, 10:54 AM
Without Saudi Arabia, the most irrational and retarded groups of the Muslim fanatics, the Wahhabis, wouldnt have had so much influence anywhere.

But as we know, the Saudis are the USA's best Oil-friend in the region, so...

Those Saudi Wahhabis were very influential in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Bosnia, spread hate in various other African, European and Asian regions.

In comparison to f.e. Iranian Islamism, they are totally anti-modernistic and really retarded fanatics, one can't even compare them. So the US didnt just indirectly and partly (Afghanistan and Bosnia at least) directly supported Islamism, but one of its worst form.

Now think about that.

Bari
03-28-2010, 02:21 PM
This has been a growing problem not so much in Albania as in Kosovo and especially Macedonia and Bosnia. They try to undermine religious tolerance by putting different groups of religion against each other.

They persecute the average moderate muslims who are not fundamental enough, and especially Bektashi muslim communities are targeted for vandalism and harassment. Bektashi is a distinct muslim practise that is very liberal having no strict policy towards alcohol and some even eat pork. Also they are not expected to fast during Ramadan.

Some interesting articles about the situation in Kosovo and Macedonia:

http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/2008/07/the-bin-ladens.php

http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/2008/07/the-bin-ladens-1.php

They are not numbering many, but too many in my opinion. I don't ever picture this becoming a real issue in Albania proper, as there are long traditions of religious tolerance, and christian-muslim marriages are very common. Even more the later years as many migrate to other regions and settle. So the its not as simple to draw clear lines of where Christians or Muslims live in the country anymore. Although Northern Albania(especially Malesia region) are predominantly Catholic still and the Orthodox mostly reside in the South still. But many dont even have a religious identification in Albania, as many have not even been in a church or a mosque. This is however different in Kosovo or Macedonia. Im from the Kelmend commune in Malesia, which is like 98% catholic.

Kosovo and Macedonia on the other hand are conflict areas that are more vulnerable to wahhabi propaganda than in Albania. It should be dealt with properly now before it eventually can rize into a serious threat. Already i have heard they tried to bribe people into wearing hijab and various islamic clothing. With not much success yet.

Osama bin Laden and his top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, with help from Iran, have recruited and trained brigades of blond, blue-eyed Bosnians and indoctrinated them for martyrdom, according to a report in Insight magazine.

http://www.wnd.com/index.php/index.php?pageId=16134

Bosniaks on the other hand are quite vulnerable due to the war which is still in fresh memory, and the fact that their whole ethnicity is centered around Islam. I know they have history before that, but to be honest, most Bosniaks ive encountered havent put much emphasis on pre-Ottoman history of Bosnia. Some of them even claim they have always been muslim. Even though most of them are quite moderate and agnostic/atheist theres a more visible fundamentalist element present in the country. During the heat about the mohammed cartoons muslims in Sarajevo organized a protest and burned Norwegian, Danish and Croatian flags. So theres definately been a rise in fundamentalism.