(AP-Washington Post) Konstantin Testorides - An online music video praising Osama bin Laden by a group of Macedonian men sing in Albanian has driven home a troubling new reality: A radical brand of Islam is gaining a foothold in the Balkans. At the center of the issue is the Wahhabi sect, an austere brand of Islam most prevalent in Saudi Arabia and practiced by bin Laden and the Taliban. "Wahhabism in Macedonia, the Balkans and in Europe has become more aggressive in the last 10 years," said Jakub Selimovski, head of religious education in Macedonia's Islamic community. He said Wahhabis were establishing a permanent presence in Macedonia where none existed before, and that "they are in Bosnia, here, Kosovo, Serbia, Croatia and lately they have appeared in Bulgaria."
2010-09-22 10:00:41Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive