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Nationalities Papers
The Journal of Nationalism and Ethnicity
Volume 28, 2000 - Issue 1
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Original Articles

The Albanians of Kosovo and Macedonia: Ethnic identity superseding religion

Pages 67-92 | Published online: 19 Aug 2010

References

  • Skendi , Stavro . 1967 . The Albanian National Awakening 1878-1912 , 469 Princeton : Princeton University Press .
  • Jelavich , Barbara . 1994 . History of the Balkans. Twentieth Century , 86 New York : Cambridge University Press . They tried to create an Albanian state composed of the vilayets of Jarrina, Kosovo, Bitola, and Skhode'r with full administrative autonomy. Albanian was to be the language of education and administration
  • Skendi . National Awakening 470 There are two principal Albanian dialects: Geg and Tosk. Geg is spoken by about two-thirds of Albanians, including almost all the Albanians in Kosovo. Despite the subdialects within each dialect and the variations that have developed in isolated communities, Albanians generally communicate well with each other
  • Zickel , Raymond and Iwaskiw , Walter R. , eds. 1994 . Albania: A Country Study , 71 Washington : Library of Congress .
  • 1996 . Mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der österreichischungarischen Periode , Frankfurt : Peter Lang . On the national development of the Bosnian Muslims see Aydin Babuna, Die nationale Entwicklung der bosnischen Muslims
  • Friedman , Francine . 1996 . The Bosnian Muslims. Denial of a Nation , Boulder : Westview Press .
  • Babuna , Aydin . 1996 . "The Emergence of the First Muslim Party in Bosma-Hercegovina" . East European Quarterly , 2 : 131 – 151 .
  • Biberaj , Elez . 1990 . Albania. A Socialist Maverick , 10 Boulder : Westview Press .
  • Norris , H. T. 1993 . Islam in the Balkans , 166 London : Hurst .
  • Biberaj . Albania 9
  • Skendi . National Awakening 470 There were instances in which one of the brothers was a Muslim and the other a Christian and they celebrated together the main holidays of their respective religions
  • Lampe , John R. 1996 . Yugoslavia as History. Twice There Was a Country , 114 New York : Cambridge University Press .
  • Beljo , Ante , ed. 1992 . Greater Serbia. From Ideology to Aggression , 37 – 50 . Zagreb : Croatian Information Centre . Even the total expulsion of the Albanians was planned in a memorandum submitted to the Stoyadinovic government in 1937 by Vaso Èubrilovic
  • Banac , Ivo . 1995 . Nacionalno Pitanje u Yugoslaviji , 310 – 311 . Zagreb : Durieux . On the cemiyet see
  • Malcolm , Noel . 1998 . Kosovo. A Short History , 269 London : Macmillan . They had agreed at the conference in Skopje on demands for rights, such as full religious autonomy, protection of the beys' estates, preservation of the vakifs and sheriat courts, and the free and official use of the respective mother tongues, where non-Serb, in the schools
  • Ibid.
  • Vickers , Miranda . 1998 . Between Serb and Albanian. A History of Kosovo , 101 – 102 . London : Hurst .
  • Poulton , Hugh and Vickers , Miranda . 1997 . "The Kosovo Albanians: Ethnic Confrontation with the Slav State" ” . In Muslim Identity and the Balkan State , Edited by: Poulton , Hugh and Farouki , Suha Taji . 145 London : Hurst .
  • Banac . Nacionalno pitanje 241
  • Malcolm . Kosovo 268
  • Ibid.
  • Banac . Nacionalno pitanje 244
  • Poulton and Vickers . "Kosovo Albanians" ” . 146 – 147 .
  • Malcolm . Kosovo 292
  • Biberaj . Albania 116 – 117 .
  • Ibid., pp. 117-118.
  • Malcolm . Kosovo 322
  • Poulton , Hugh . 1993 . The Balkans. Minorities and States in Conflict , 92 London : Minority Rights Group . Some 80,000 according to Yugoslavia's statistical yearbooks and over 150,000 according to Turkish sources
  • Ibid., p. 92.
  • Biberaj . Albania 118
  • Vickers . Between Serb and Albanian 195 The number of Kosovars declaring themselves "Yugoslav" in the census of 1981 was 0.2, the lowest in all of Yugoslavia
  • Horvat , Branko . 1988 . Kosovsko pitanje , 121 Zagreb : Globus .
  • Ibid., p. 123.
  • Malcolm . Kosovo 324
  • Vickers . Between Serb and Albanian 170
  • Horvat . Kosovsko pitanje 66
  • Ibid., pp. 100-101.
  • Lampe . Yugoslavia 297 The demonstrators in Tetovo demanded that the Albanian-inhabited areas of Macedonia should join Kosovo in a seventh republic
  • Poulton , Hugh . 1995 . Who Are the Macedonians? , 126 London : Hurst .
  • Lampe . Yugoslavia 297
  • Vickers . Between Serb and Albanian 180
  • Poulton and Vickers . "Kosovo Albanians" ” . 152
  • Vickers . Between Serb and Albanian 182
  • Vickers , Miranda and Pettifer , James . 1997 . Albania. From Anarchy to a Balkan Identity , 144 New York : New York University Press .
  • Vickers . Between Serb and Albanian 110 – 111 . In contrast to the tribal structure in northern Albania the Kosovar Albanians lived in zadrugas (large families) like their Serbian and Montenegrin neighbours. This way of life, which largely disappeared after World War II, was still evident in many Kosovo Albanian villages in the 1990s. Life in these zadrugas was shaped by Islam
  • Ibid., p. 186.
  • Horvat . Kosovsko pitanje 99 In 1985 it would be 3.33 times higher than the national average
  • Vickers . Between Serb and Albanian 191
  • Lampe . Yugoslavia 332
  • Horvat . Kosovsko pitanje 101 – 103 .
  • Poulton . Balkans 78
  • Poulton and Vickers . "Kosovo Albanians" ” . 152
  • Poulton . Balkans 72
  • Poulton and Vickers . "Kosovo Albanians" ” . 152
  • The first pan-Albanian organization, "Revolutionary Movement for the Unification of the Albanians," was founded by Adem Demaci in the early 1960s. He was arrested in 1964.
  • Poulton . Balkans 63
  • Beljo , ed. "Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences. Memorandum 1986" ” . In Greater Serbia 68
  • Crnobrnja , Mihailo . 1996 . The Yugoslav Drama , 101 London : I. B. Tauris .
  • Cohen , Lenard . 1993 . Broken Bonds. The Disintegration of Yugoslavia , 52 Boulder : Westview Press .
  • Crnobrnja . Yugoslav Drama 105
  • Andrejevich , Milan . 1990 . "Some New Dimensions in the Kosovo Crisis" . Report on Eastern Europe , 2 March : 40
  • PuIa , Gazmend . 1996 . "Modalities of Self-Determination-The Case of Kosovo as a Structural Issue for Lasting Stability in the Balkans" . Südosteuropa , 4-5 : 384
  • Ibid.
  • Troebst , Stefan . 1999 . "The Kosovo War, Round One: 1998" . Südosteuropa , 3-4 : 156
  • 1999 . "Kosovo Crisis. Making a Deal" . Time , 14 June : 24
  • Andrejevich , Milan . 1990 . "Kosovo and Slovenia Declare Their Sovereignty" . Report on Eastern Europa , 27 July : 45
  • Andrejevich , Milan . 1991 . "Kosovo: A Precarious Balance between Stability and Civil War" . Report on Eastern Europa , 18 October : 27
  • Troebst . "Kosovo War" ” . 161
  • 1993 . The Truth on Kosovo , 335 Tirana : Encyclopaedia Publishing House .
  • Reuter , Jans . 1994 . "Die politische Entwicklung in Kosovo 1992/3" . Südosteuropa , 1-2 : 22 – 23 .
  • Troebst . "Kosovo War" ” . 163
  • Poulton and Vickers . "Kosovo Albanians" ” . 169
  • Reuter . "Kosovo 1992/3" ” . 24
  • Vickers , Miranda . Between Serb and Albanian 299
  • Schmidt , Fabian and Moore , Patrick . 1995 . "Die Albaner im ehemaligen Jugoslawien als Sicherheitsfaktor" ” . In Minderheiten als Konfliktpotential in Ostmittel-und Südosteuropa , Edited by: Seewann , Gerhard . 81 – 82 . Munich : Südosteuropa Gesellschaft .
  • Troebst . "Kosovo War" ” . 163 – 164 .
  • Schmidt . "Albaner" ” . 83
  • Maliqi , Shkelzen . 1996 . “ 'The Albanian Movement in Kosovo" ” . In Yugoslavia and After , Edited by: Dyker , David A. and Vejvoda , Ivan . 147 London : Longman .
  • Schmidt . "Albaner" ” . 83
  • Ibid., p. 85.
  • Maliqi . "Albanian Movement" ” . 148
  • Ibid., p. 151.
  • 1996 . "MiloSevié poslije MiloSeviéa" . Svijet , 47 : 30 DraSkovié supported a high level of autonomy while Djindjié was in favour of regionalism
  • Vickers . Between Serb and Albanian 296
  • Reuter . "Kosovo 1992/3" ” . 29
  • 1993 . "The Memorandum of the Association of Albanian Historians, Prishtine, Kosova 18.08. 1992" . Academy of Albanian Intellectuals of Sciences and Arts , : 149 – 150 .
  • Stavileci , Esat . 1992 . Kosova and Albanians. Its Past, Present and Future , 196 Pristina : Independent Association of Lawyers of Kosova .
  • Repishti , Sami . 1993 . "Self-Determination and the Present Status of Kosova" . Kosova , 2 : 37
  • 1999 . "Sad Serbs" . The Economist , 31 July : 25 The percentage of Albanians in the total population of Kosovo must have increased, since a large number of the local Serbs left the province after the withdrawal of the Serbian forces. About two-thirds of the Serbian minority had already left Kosovo before the beginning of August 1999
  • Maliqi . "Albanian Movement" ” . 145
  • Vickers . Between Serb and Albanian 294
  • PuIa . "Modalities" ” . 387 – 390 .
  • PuIa . "Modalities" ” . 398 – 404 . For the calls of the Albanian leaders for a reformulation of political objectives in Kosovo
  • Vickers . Between Serb and Albanian 292
  • Troebst . "Kosovo War" ” . 156 – 190 . For the details of the fighting between the KLA and the Serbian forces in 1998 in Kosovo, see
  • Lipsius , Stephan . 1998 . "Kommunistische Parteien in Albanien und Kosovo-Vorbild Enver Hoxhar . Südosteuropa , 10-11 : 545
  • Reuter , Jans . 1998 . "Die internationale Gemeinschaft und der Krieg in Kosovo" . Südosteuropa , 7-8 : 289 – 290 .
  • Hedges , Chris . 1999 . "Kosovo's Next Masters?" . Foreign Affairs , 3 : 26 – 28 .
  • Reuter . "Krieg in Kosovo" ” . 289
  • Hedges , Chris . "Kosovo's Next Masters?" ” . 28
  • Ibid., p. 40.
  • 1999 . Svijet , : 20 – 21 . On the other hand the quality of its military equipment and the number of experienced and professional officers among the commanders of the KLA also increased
  • 1999 . "Patriarch und Partisan" . Der Spiegel , 21/24 : 170
  • Hedges . "Kosovo's Next Masters?" ” . 39 Even though some ties between the KLA and the Islamist organizations have been detected and there is suspicion that some money has been forwarded by these organizations to the KLA, it seems that there are practical rather than ideological reasons behind this. It is estimated that only in the case of disenchantment with the West might the KLA turn to the Islamic radicals
  • 1991 . "Hvala Islamskoj Zajednici u Sarajevo" . Prepared , 2 ( 489 ) : 8
  • Silajdzié , Haris . 1990 . "Islamski fundamentalizam na Kosovu izmedu Cinjenica i motiva" . Glasnik , 3 : 7 – 11 .
  • SillajxWq , Haris . 1994 . "Fundamentalizm! islamik ne Kosovë ndërmjet fakteve e motiveve" . Dituria Marne , 60 : 38 – 39 .
  • Bata , Josef . 1997 . "Das Verhältnis von Christentum und Islam bei den Albanern in Geschichte und Gegenwart" ” . In Religion und Gesellschaft in Südostueropa , Edited by: Döpmann , Hans-Dieter . 162 Munich : Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft .
  • Malcolm . "Kosovo" ” . 351
  • Clayer , Nathalie . 1997 . "National and Religious Identity among Albanian Muslims" . Islamic Studies , 2 ( 3 ) : 408
  • Boya , Recep . 1998 . "Tek hedef bagimsizlik" . Zaman (Istanbul) , 19 March : 5
  • Clayer . "National and Religious Identity" ” . 409
  • Poulton , Vickers . "Kosovo Albanians" ” . 168
  • Andrejevich , Milan . 1991 . "Republican Leaders Reach Compromise Accord on Country's Future" . Report on Eastern Europe , 28 June : 34 – 35 .
  • BUschenfeld , Herbert . 1995 . "Die Volkszählung 1994 in Makedonien. Erste Ergebnisse" . Osteuropa , 45 : 773 The Albanians had boycotted the previous census of 1991
  • Schmidt . "Albaner" ” . 116 – 117 . For example the number of Albanian refugees who fled from Kosovo into Macedonia during NATO's military campaign against Yugoslavia had reached a proportion (248,400 in June 1999) that could have changed the whole ethnic balance in Macedonia, but most of the refugees were to return to Kosovo after the end of the war
  • Andrejevich , Milan . 1990 . "The Yugoslav Army in Kosovo: Unrest Spreads to Macedonia" . Report on Eastern Europa , 23 February : 39
  • Schmidt . "Albaner" ” . 123
  • Ibid., pp. 121-122.
  • Schmidt . "Albaner" ” . 123
  • Mickey , Robert W. 1996 . "Citizenship, Status, and Minority Political Participation: The Evidence from the Republic of Macedonia" ” . In Muslim Communities in the New Europe , Edited by: Nonneman , Gerd , Niblock , Tim and Szajkowski , Bogdan . 62 Lebanon : Ithaca Press . The Macedonians opposed the project on the grounds that there is no law regulating the establishment of such a university, but the Macedonian leaders pointed out that such a university would not be allowed even if there were regulations for it in force
  • Wieland , Garsten . 1997 . "Ein Makedonien mit drei Gesichtern. Innenpolitische Debatten und Nationskonzepte" . Südosteuropa , 12 : 703
  • Vickers and Pettifer . Albania 162
  • Mickey . "Citizenship" ” . 67 Many members of the political elite of the Macedonian Albanians, such as Arben Xhaferi and Fadil Sulejmani, are from Kosovo
  • Schmidt . "Albaner" ” . 132
  • Mickey . "Citizenship" ” . 68
  • Shoup , Paul . 1968 . Communism and the Yugoslav National Question , 144 – 183 . New York : Columbia University Press . On the national question in Macedonia following World War II see
  • 1998 . "Makedonskiot narod medu najstarite" . VeCer , 1 October : 17
  • 1998 . "Makedonski-Bugarski jaziCen spor" . Nova Makedonija , 12 August : 7
  • 1998 . "Interview with Boro Mokrov. An Expression of National and Spiritual Independence" . Macedonian Times, February , : 24 – 26 .
  • Pop-Atanasov , Gjorgi . 1998 . "Macedonia and Macedonians in the Holy Bible" . Macedonian Times , March : 16 – 18 .
  • Wieland . "Makedonien" ” . 703 709
  • 1991 . Ustav na Republika Makedonija , 3 Skopje : Nip Magazin 21 .
  • Mickey . "Citizenship" ” . 59
  • 1998 . Macedonian Times , April : 20 For example, after the imprisonment of Rufi Osmani (ex-mayor of Gostivar), vice-president of the DPA, Memduh Thachi declared that the Albanians who had been living for centuries together with the Macedonians had no intention of creating a parallel institution in Gostivar
  • Mickey . "Citizenship" ” . 58 – 60 .
  • Mickey . "Citizenship" ” . 61 According to Arben Xhaferi, with this status the Albanians would be able to prevent Macedonia from sliding into Orthodox alliances
  • Ibid., pp. 61-62.
  • Mickey . "Citizenship" ” . 65 – 66 . The Albanians, by contrast, complain that they are always outvoted by a coalition of Macedonian parties on issues relating to their rights and that the ministries given to them are less influential than the others
  • Ibid., p. 63.
  • Atanasovski , Todor . 1998 . "Kosovo-A New Phase in the Regional Crisis" . Macedonian Times , June : 9 – 11 . Though Adem Demaci had declared that the KLA was not following a greater Albanian policy, some KLA officials like Krasniqi and Salihu stressed that the aim of the KLA was the unification of the Albanians in the Balkans. According to the Krasniqi, the KLA was already active in Macedonia
  • Neke , Michael Schmidt . 1999 . "Makedoniens Albaner: Konfliktpotential oder Stabilisierungsfaktor" . Südosteuropa , 3-4 : 210
  • Vickers and Pettifer . Albania 178
  • Clayer . "National and Religious Identity" ” . 405 Simply because it is a multinational and multi-religious state
  • Ibid., p. 407.
  • Ibid., p. 409.
  • Poulton . Balkans 55
  • Poulton . "Changing Notions of National Identity among Muslims in Thrace and Macedonia: Turks, Pomaks and Roma" ” . In Muslim Identity Edited by: Poulton and Farouki . 94 – 96 . The Slavic Muslims tended to support the PDP in the elections of November 1990. Ibid
  • Clayer . "National and Religious Identity" ” . 407 – 408 .
  • Najcevska , Mirjana , Simoska , Emilija and Gaber , Natasha . "Muslims, State and Society in the Republic of Macedonia: The View from Within" ” . In Muslim Communities Edited by: Nonneman , Niblock and Szajkowski . 91 – 96 . According to the results of this survey made in the two population groups, some 30 of the Orthodox population was devout while the proportion among the Muslims was thought to be somewhat higher, but the negative attitudes of the two communities towards members of the other faith appeared to have increased. More than 70 of both communities were against marriages with persons of different confessions while just over 45 favoured ethnically homogeneous marriages. Similar trends could be observed in the choice of neighbours, colleagues, and friends. As far as attitudes towards religious institutions are concerned, 64 of the Orthodox thought that the Islamic religious community had played a negative role in relations between the two communities, while 91 of the Muslims thought that its role was a positive one. In contrast, 67 of Orthodox Macedonians found the role of their church in relations between the two communities positive while 63 of the Muslims regarded it as negative. For the detailed results of this survey
  • Gaber , Natasha . "The Muslim Population in FYROM (Macedonia): Public Perceptions" ” . In Muslim Identity Edited by: Poulton and Farouki . 110 In the survey of 1994 there was no change in the attitudes of the two communities to the religious institutions
  • Najcevska , Simoska and Gaber . "Muslims" ” . 89
  • Najcevska , Simoska and Gaber . "Muslims" ” . 92 – 93 . Ibid., p. 86. There are also some positive results of this study. More than 80 of both populations would never start an ethnic or religious war, and over 70 of both groups harboured no emotional hatred against the other group. More than 60 of both groups believed that inter-confessional problems were the result of political manipulation mainly by other countries and in part by the political parties and the extremists on both sides. The two populations were more or less in agreement about the factors that worsened inter-ethnic relations: the main reason was the social and economic crisis, followed by extreme nationalism, the non-recognition of the Republic of Macedonia, the political parties, interference by neighbouring countries, the primitive political culture, and the role of the religious communities
  • Gaber . "Muslim Population" ” . 110 – 111 . The opinions of both communities on the negative factors in the inter-ethnic relations were more or less the same in the survey of 1994
  • Willemsen , Heinz . 1999 . "Machtwechsel in der EIR Makedonien" . Südosteuropa , 1-2 : 26
  • Neke . "Makedoniens Albaner" ” . 203 – 204 . For the programs of the Albanian parties see
  • Ibid., p. 204.
  • 1998 . "Per shiptaret e RM-së te formohet universitet" . Flaka , 12 nëntor : 11
  • 1998 . "Universitetin e ri duhet ta miratojè Qeveria" . Flaka , 13 nëntor : 11
  • 1998 . "Universitetit te Tetovës" . Flaka , 21-22 nëntor : 7
  • 1998 . "Intervju Abdurahman Aliti Definitivno odime vo opozicija" . Puls , 19 November : 16 – 19 .
  • Najcevska , Simoska and Gaber . "Muslims" ” . 81 In 1993 86 of Albanians polled considered themselves second-class citizens. This number fell sharply to 42 in the survey of 1994. Among the Roma this figure was 35 while the Turks did not consider it an issue
  • Gaber . "Muslim population" ” . 111
  • Milosavlevski , Slavko and Tomovski , Mirce . 1997 . Albancite vo Republika Makedonija 1945-1995 , 315 – 438 . Skopje : Studentski zbor . For statistics about the participation of the Albanians in the social, economic, and cultural life in Macedonia see
  • Najcevska , Simoska and Gaber . "Muslims" ” . 81
  • 1998 . "Kolika Kosovo ja zagrozuva Makedonija?" . Nova Makedonija , 15 September : 2
  • 1998 . "Intervju so Arben Caferi, pretsedatel na PDPA-NDP. Albancite se cuvstvuvaat nezaStiteni" . Nova Makedonija , 29 September : 5
  • 1999 . RFE/RL Balkan Report , 3 ( 30 ) 3 August http:// www.rferl.org/balkan-report/

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