MACEDONIA: IDENTIFYING "CREDIBLE VOICES" IN MUSLIM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000739

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE PLEASE PASS TO NCTC LIAISON JAMES VAN DE VELDE AND
ROXANNE CABRAL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL MK
SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: IDENTIFYING "CREDIBLE VOICES" IN MUSLIM
COMMUNITIES THAT REJECT VIOLENCE

REF: STATE 122288


1. (SBU) CONTEXT: In Macedonia, there is a rough correlation
between religion and ethnicity; most ethnic Albanians, who
comprise 25 percent of the total population, are Muslim, as
are most Roma and ethnic Turks. There are also smaller
populations of ethnic Macedonian Muslims. Macedonia's Muslim
Albanians traditionally have been strongly pro-American and
pro-NATO, and have opposed radical Islam. In May of this
year -- in response to international and local media reports
on the involvement of several Macedonian Albanians from Debar
in a terror plot aimed at Ft. Dix, New Jersey -- ethnic
Albanian residents of Debar unequivocally and publicly
denounced such actions as repugnant and embarrassing to the
entire Albanian community. Many ethnic Albanian political
leaders also fly the American flag in their offices. They
tend to be strongly pro-U.S. because of the positive role
they consider the USG to have played during the Kosovo
crisis. Radical Islam has yet to find fertile soil in which
to expand in Macedonia, in part due to the country's
established inter-faith tolerance and in part due to the more
moderate Islam planted in Macedonia during the 600-year
period of Ottoman rule.


2. (SBU) After consulting with members of the country team,
Post has identified the following Islamic theologian who
might be a "credible voice" for tolerance. The following is
keyed to the criteria outlined in reftel:

PROF. ISMAIL BARDHI

A.) Influence. Prof. Ismail Bardhi, an Islamic scholar,
former Dean of the Islamic Theological Faculty in Kondovo,
and a believer in inter-faith dialogue who once invited an
American professor of Judaism to lecture on the shared
Judaeo-Islamic heritage of Abraham, has made public
statements promoting inter-faith tolerance. Although Bardi
might be willing to make a public written statement against
Islamic radicals and the use of violence to further religious
aims, his influence has waned since he was ousted from the
Theological Faculty in 2006.

B.) Biographical data. Bardhi has received education in
Islamic theology in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, and may have
also received some religious instruction in Iran. As noted
above, he is a professor of theology and served until 2006 as
the Dean of the Islamic Theological Faculty in Kondovo.
Bardhi, an ethnic Albanian, is a Sunni Muslim. He was born
in 1959, is married, and has an adult daughter.

C.) Area of Influence. Although he has published scholarly
articles in journals and books published abroad, we believe
Bardhi's influence is limited to Macecedonia, mostly in the
northwestern part of the country where most ethnic Albanian
Muslims reside.

D.) Target Audience: Bardhi's stylistic approach is most
likely to appeal to educated Muslims in Macedonia. It is
unlikely that he would wield much influence in rural areas or
among working-class or agriculturist ethnic Albanians.

E.) Forums used by the individual to exert influence:
Lectures and published works. He does not write for any
newspapers, as far as we know, and rarely appears on TV talk
shows.

F.) Known disagreements and criticisms of US policy: None
known.

G.) Record of advocating violence against the US: None known.

H.) Ideological position regarding "jihad": None known,
although we assume that Bardhi's moderate bent would favor
the interpretation of jihad as an internal struggle, rather
than an external battle against the infidels.

I.) Known derogatory information: None.

J.) Any calls for violence against this individual by Islamic
leaders: In 2006, Bardhi was involved in a short-lived power
struggle over who would head the Islamic Faculty in Kondovo.
Bardhi complained to us that Islamic Community of Macedonian
(ICM) leaders had threatened him with physical injury if he
persisted in holding on to his position, and he eventually
was ousted and replaced by an ICM candidate.

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K.) Current relationships with the USG: At the Embassy's
request, Bardhi agreed to give a presentation in 2005 on
Islam in Macedonia. He has been a regular contact of the
Embassy's since then, and has been considered for IV grants
as well as a Fulbright Fellowship, although he was not
selected for either program.


3. (SBU) In addition to Bardhi, the following Muslim leaders
could be counted on to issue statements condemning acts of
violence against the United States or US citizens, and wield
some influence in the Islamic community. They would not,
however, be likely to engage in more extensive public
expressions against extremism or the use of violence
generally by Islamic believers:

- Rushdi Lata (50),the Imam of the town of Debar and former
head of the Islamic Community of Macedonia;
- Jakup Selimovski (60),former head of the Islamic
Association of former Yugoslavia;
- Bahri Aliu (50),former deputy head of the Islamic
Community of Macedonia;
- Shaqir Fetahu (50),head of the Islamic Association of
Gostivar.


4. (U) POC for further enquiries is POLOFF Mariana Neisuler.
NAVRATIL