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C O N F I D E N T I A L TIRANA 001209 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/SCE (EKOTHIEMER) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/27/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KISL KIRF AL
SUBJECT: IMPASSE ENDS AFTER ISLAMIC COUNCIL VOTES TO 
DISMISS SHKODRA MUFTI 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR MARCIE RIES FOR REASONS: 1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. After losing a vote of confidence in a 
meeting of the National Islamic Council on November 25, 
Bashkim Bajraktari, the Mufti of Shkoder, agreed to step 
down. His resignation ended a weeklong impasse during which 
Bajraktari, who had been fired earlier in the week by Selim 
Muca, head of the Albanian Islamic Community (AMC), refused 
to vacate the muftini headquarters or to relinquish control. 
Bajraktari and Muca have been at loggerheads over several 
issues in the past year, but, in the end, it was a dispute 
over the development of AMC property that precipitated the 
mufti,s firing.  A new mufti, Ndricim Sulejmani, has been 
named to replace Bajraktari.  Preliminary reports suggest 
that Sulejmani is theologically more moderate than 
Bajraktari. END SUMMARY. 
 
TROUBLESOME SHKODER MUFTI REPLACED 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Following numerous disputes with the leadership of 
the Albanian Muslim Community (AMC), on November 15 the AMC 
took the unusual step of dismissing the controversial Mufti 
of Shkoder, Bashkim Bajraktari. Over the past year, 
Bajraktari has gained notoriety and come into conflict with 
both the leadership of the AMC and the City of Shkoder when 
he publicly opposed the construction of a statue of Mother 
Theresa in Shkoder,s central square. The mufti also opposed 
the reconstruction of a church-mosque structure within the 
confines of the Rozafa Palace, overlooking the city, a 
project that was to be undertaken with support from the 
Ambassador,s Fund for Cultural Preservation. 
 
¶3. (C) According to Saimir Rusheku, Deputy Director of the 
AMC, there were three formal reasons for Bajraktari,s 
dismissal: poor management of community property and 
resources; allowing foreign influences access to himself and 
to the local Islamic Council; and, public insubordination and 
blatant disregard for directives from the AMC.  Rusheku also 
added that Bajraktari is a villager and lacks the necessary 
intellectual skills and theological training to be a mufti. 
 
¶4. (SBU) On November 16, one day following Bajraktari,s 
dismissal, Muca appointed Ndricim Sulejmani, the imam of one 
of Shkoder,s largest mosques, to be the new mufti. 
Bajraktari refused to vacate the muftini premises, however, 
and instead launched a weeklong public relations campaign to 
muster support for his continued service as mufti. He held a 
press conference during which he claimed that, at the urging 
of the nine-member local Islamic Council of Shkoder, he would 
not relinquish his position. Bajraktari,s efforts culminated 
in a quickly organized inauguration ceremony for a new mosque 
on November 24, during which he circulated a petition calling 
for the dismissal of Selim Muca as head of the AMC. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Saimir Rusheku, Deputy Director of the AMC, told us 
that all mosques, administrative buildings, and other lands 
are the property of the AMC. Furthermore, all salaries, 
including that of the Shkoder Mufti, are paid directly by the 
AMC.  Thus, according to Rusheku, local Islamic Councils 
serve only in an advisory capacity and have no legal 
authority over either the property or personnel of the 
individual muftinis.  Rusheku pointed out, however, that 
Shkoder is one of only four self-financed muftinis, which 
gives it a certain degree of autonomy. 
 
SHKODRA COUNCIL STACKED WITH EXTREMISTS 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Rusheku said that two closely allied Islamic 
 
organizations heavily influence Bajraktari and the Shkoder 
Islamic Council. The Albanian Muslim Forum (AMF), headed by 
Ferit Hafizi, is a group that has been openly hostile to the 
AMC leadership and regularly issues anti-American statements. 
(NOTE: Embassy sources indicate that Olsi Jaxeshi is the 
behind-the-scenes leader of the AMF. END NOTE) The other 
organization is the Muslim Brotherhood, an extremist 
organization with roots in the Middle East. According to 
Rusheku, the Muslim Brotherhood is represented by Arben 
Halluni, who is frequently referred to as the &Deputy 
Mufti8 despite the fact that such a position does not 
officially exist and Halluni is not on the AMC payroll. 
 
¶7. (SBU) According to Rasim Hasanaj, head of the State 
Committee on Cults (SCC), under the by-laws of the AMC its 
leadership has the authority to dismiss a mufti and, if the 
mufti objects, an appeal may be brought to the National 
Islamic Council. On November 25, during a regularly scheduled 
meeting of the Council, a secret vote was conducted. 
According to media reports, after losing the vote, Bajraktari 
shook hands with Sulejmani and accepted his defeat.  Media 
have reported that Bajraktari has been offered the position 
of imam of a prominent mosque in Shkoder. 
 
PROPERTY AT THE HEART OF THE ISSUE 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Though the AMC leadership and Bajraktari have been 
at loggerheads over a number of issues in the past, in the 
end, it was a dispute over the development of a large parcel 
of land in the center of Shkoder, referred to as Zadrale, 
that precipitated Bajraktari,s dismissal. According to 
Rusheku, the AMC and the City of Shkoder have been after 
Bajraktari for years to develop Zadrale.  Because the Muftini 
of Shkoder is financially self sufficient, most of the 
proceeds would accrue to the national organization. 
 
¶9. (C) Both sides have accused the other of manipulating 
public perception to obfuscate the fact that each is seeking 
personal gain.  Whereas Bajraktari had been negotiating with 
a Middle Eastern company to construct a commercial center, 
the AMC had been negotiating with a construction firm to 
erect apartment buildings.  Initially, Rusheku said that such 
revenue would be used to finance the restitution procedures 
for thousands of other properties to which the AMC has claim 
all across Albania. Rusheku later intimated that his boss, 
Muca, and Bajraktari, were competing for personal enrichment 
from Zadrale and that neither one had noble theological 
interests at heart. 
 
ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM ON THE FRINGES OF THE DISPUTE 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶10. (C) SCC Head Hasanaj said that the by-laws of the AMC 
state that the Islamic tradition in Albania is that of 
Hanafism, which was introduced during the Ottoman period. 
Hasanaj said that Hanafism is a moderate strain of Islam and 
that all AMC-affiliated muftis and imams must sign an 
agreement to respect this rite and tradition. Hasanaj said 
that Hanafism is in competition with the more fundamentalist 
current of Islam, Salafism, which is gaining ground in 
Albania through foreign influences.  Hasanaj said that 
despite officially being Hanafist, there are many imams and 
mosques that abide by this in name only and are, in fact, 
following the Salafist tradition. 
 
¶11. (C) According to Rusheku, though Bajraktari himself may 
not be a Salafist, he is allowing this movement to gain 
ground in the Shkoder region.  In contrast to Hasanaj, 
Rusheku said that though the AMC is officially Hanafist, it 
 
was not, per se, opposed to Salafism.  He said that where the 
AMC leadership and the GOA draw the line, however, is the 
Muslim Brotherhood. According to Rusheku, this movement seeks 
political and not just theological influence.  Rusheku 
intimated that, in addition to the dispute over property 
management, it was Bajraktari,s giving license to 
extremists, including the Muslim Brotherhood, to gain ground 
in Shkoder that precipitated his removal. 
 
NEW MUFTI: A MODERATE LOYAL TO THE AMC 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶12. (C) The new mufti of Shkoder is Ndrecim Sulejmani, 
formerly the imam of the Abu Bekr mosque, a large new mosque 
in the heart of the city.  According to Rusheku, Sulejmani 
went to Syria in the early 1990s and studied theology in the 
Hanafist tradition.  Rusheku said that while Sulejmani may 
not be a gifted Islamic scholar, unlike Bajraktari he does 
possess the necessary intellectual skills and theological 
training to serve as a mufti.  Moreover, Sulejmani is a 
moderate who is expected to be loyal to Muca. 
 
COMMENT 
------ 
 
¶13. (C) The biggest issues facing Albania,s religious 
communities are the return of property seized during the 
Communist regime.  Once among the largest landholders in 
country, the AMC has regained only a small portion of its 
former holdings.  Since the fall of Communism in the early 
1990s, the lure of quick personal enrichment from these 
properties has drawn many people to the organization, 
including many of its leaders.  The dismissal of Bajraktari 
as the mufti of Shkoder demonstrates that the battle for 
control of assets plays a greater role in the day-to-day 
operations of the AMC than the battle for Islamic faith. The 
danger is that while greed and corruption sew confusion and 
distract the attention of the leadership, extremist 
influences are able to gain a foothold. END COMMENT. 
RIES