海角大神

With its four minarets towering over the Albanian parliament next door, no visitor can miss the Great Mosque of Tirana.

When completed in 2019, the hulking new central mosque will be the biggest in the Balkans, with enough room for 5,000 worshipers. And it more closely resembles听the great old mosques of Istanbul听than any here in Albania, a country ruled by the Ottoman Empire for over four centuries.

That's because Turkey is funding this mosque鈥檚 construction and overseeing its design, at an estimated cost of 鈧�30 million ($34 million), as it鈥檚 done with dozens across the Balkans and beyond.

Not all Albanians are happy about that 鈥� including many Muslims, who make up an estimated 60 percent of the population. Tirana鈥檚 new central mosque has already become a symbol for those Muslims who feel like a听鈥渄iscriminated majority鈥� in one of Europe鈥檚 few Muslim-majority countries, in the words of prominent Albanian intellectual Fatos Lubonja听鈥� and like pawns in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo臒an鈥檚 great game.

Despite Albania鈥檚 Muslim majority (the remainder 听and 7听percent听Orthodox 海角大神s), there have long been听political undercurrents that view听Islam as incompatible with being 鈥淓uropean,鈥� says Mr. Lubonja, a writer and political analyst.

During Albania鈥檚 19th-century national awakening, he explains, the nascent Albanian intellectual class suppressed religious identity in favor of a non-religious nationalism: 鈥淎lbanianism.鈥� They chose a national hero, Skanderbeg, who spent decades fighting against Ottoman rule 鈥� and, thus, Islam 鈥� in the 1400s.

鈥淢uslims here still feel frustrated because of their Muslim identity,鈥� says Lubonja, who spent 17 years as a political prisoner under communist dictator Enver Hoxha鈥檚 regime. In Albania,听鈥淚slam has always been a synonym for backwardness, the religion of occupiers.鈥�

Rebuilding religious society听

Today Albanian society remains largely secular, due in no small part to Mr. Hoxha鈥檚 brutal rule over the country for more than 40 years. He proclaimed Albania an officially atheist state in 1967, and under his rule, mosques across the country were abandoned, destroyed, or converted into museums. After communism collapsed in Albania in the early 1990s,听many were reopened.

But not enough. According to Ilir Dizdari, the former head of the Albanian State Committee on Cults (which manages relations between religious communities and the state), today Tirana has the same number of mosques as it did in the 1960s, despite the city鈥檚 population having quadrupled.

Tirana鈥檚 Muslims have been asking for a new mosque for decades. After communism, many were left praying on the streets or in the Namazgah Park near the parliament building, a popular spot for outdoor prayers during Islamic festivals. While new Catholic and Orthodox cathedrals were built with little controversy after the fall of communism, plans for a new mosque never got off the ground. Even after Albania鈥檚 then-President Sali Berisha laid a foundation stone for it in 1992, the Roman Catholic speaker of the country鈥檚 parliament protested the plans.

And so that foundation stone in Namazgah Park lay forgotten until 2010, when then-Mayor Edi Rama announced that a new, modernist mosque would finally be built. Mr. Rama鈥檚 opponents accused him of playing to the Muslim vote before elections.

As Rama became Albania鈥檚 prime minister in 2013, his dedication to a central mosque project coincided with Ankara's mosque-building campaign. The public debate around the mosque soon became a debate about Turkey, and whether a 鈥渘eo-Ottoman鈥�-style mosque was the right fit in a country that takes great pride in having rebelled against Ottoman rule.

Even the most senior Muslim religious official in Albania, Grand Mufti Sk毛nder Bru莽aj, admitted that Turkey鈥檚 role in the mosque project听had been divisive. However, he stressed that the most important thing for him is that a central mosque is finally being built.

鈥淚f we had the money, we would听have done something different,鈥� admits Mr. Bru莽aj in his offices opposite the construction site. 鈥淏ut things were decided before 鈥� it鈥檚 not easy for us.鈥�

Some remain irritated that their own government wasn鈥檛 willing to fund it.

鈥淭he mosque was necessary, but it should have been built by the Albanian state,鈥� says听one woman, who declined to give her name, after Friday prayers at the small Kokonozi Mosque near Tirana鈥檚 old bazaar.

鈥淭hat we were unable to build it shows that we are weak,鈥� remarks Gjoka Blebie, on Tirana鈥檚 sprawling Skanderbeg Square. 鈥淲hy not do it ourselves?鈥�

A new Turkish diplomacy听

Many Albanians wonder if the mosque is really for them at all. Niuton Mulleti, a lecturer in political science and international relations at Tirana鈥檚 Epoka University, points out how unusual it was that Mr. Erdo臒an himself appeared at the mosque鈥檚 official groundbreaking ceremony in 2015.

鈥淚t would be unimaginable to see the president of Italy at the opening of a Catholic church,鈥� says Professor Mulleti, 鈥渁nd controversial to say the least to see the Greek prime minister at the opening of Tirana鈥檚 Orthodox Cathedral.鈥�

The Turkish state, through its international development agency TIKA, is also investing millions in restoring a handful of small Ottoman-era mosques throughout Albania. Such mosque (re)construction efforts are part of a longstanding strategy of Erdo臒an鈥檚 Justice and Development Party (AKP), which first came to power in 2002. Under the guidance of former Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davuto臒lu, Erdo臒an embarked on a new approach to Turkish diplomacy that focused on exerting soft power 鈥� including across parts of the Balkans with large Muslim populations 鈥� in a strategy some have characterized as 鈥渘eo-Ottoman,鈥� though Mr. Davuto臒lu himself rejects the moniker.

That influence has recently served another purpose: Ankara is pressuring Balkan countries to hand over Turkish citizens deemed linked to the 鈥淕眉len terrorist organization鈥� 鈥撎齛s Turkey classifies the Islamic social movement led by Turkish preacher Fethullah G眉len听鈥� which it blames for a failed coup attempt in 2016.

In 2016, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevl眉t 脟avu艧o臒lu the 鈥渃enter鈥� for G眉lenist activities in the Balkans, while pro-government Turkish media has portrayed Grand Mufti Bru莽aj . After initially dragging its heels, Albania鈥檚 government has vowed to cooperate in Ankara鈥檚 crackdown since Erdo臒an鈥檚 re-election: Prime Minister听Rama recently to tackle the G眉len network.

It鈥檚 one reason why Erdo臒an gains by positioning himself as defender of Muslims across the Balkans and beyond. And while he鈥檚 certainly seen this way by some Muslims across the region, this is far from the case in Albania, where Erdo臒an鈥檚 increasingly autocratic model holds little appeal for Albanians who want to eventually join the European Union.

鈥淭urkey鈥檚 not a big brother,鈥� Dorian Shatku听says after prayers at Kokonozi Mosque. 鈥淢ost Turks I know oppose Erdo臒an.鈥�

'Skyscrapers are the symbol of our new religion'

Elton Hatibi, a researcher who has Islam in Albania, sees Albanian politicians鈥� 鈥淭urkophilia鈥� as strategy rather than conviction. 鈥淎lbania is a small country which knows how to play the 鈥榖ig brother鈥� card well,鈥� he explains.

鈥淏ut people vote with their feet,鈥� adds Mr. Hatibi. 鈥淎lbanians once moved to Istanbul to make their fortune. These days, they go to the EU to do real business, and Turkey for holidays.鈥�

Other Albanians have even less time for Erdo臒an. In the park next door to the mosque, a group of older men playing chess are more than happy to share their opinions about what鈥檚 being built just across the way 鈥� and about the man responsible for it.

鈥淓rdo臒an is a dictator,鈥� says Agim (who declined to provide a last name), an atheist who grew up in a Muslim family. 鈥淗e鈥檚 worse than Enver Hoxha.鈥�

鈥淲hile I don鈥檛 care much for mosques, particularly not in an Ottoman style, for me the new mosque isn鈥檛 the most terrible thing,鈥� reflects Lubonja, the writer and former political prisoner. 鈥淪kyscrapers are the symbol of our new religion.鈥�

鈥淚slam could become the religion of the poor, and be instrumentalized against new elites who claim to be European 鈥� those same corrupt elites who have promised to bring capitalism and modernity for over 20 years.鈥�

Reporting for this story was supported by听Reporters in the Field, a Robert Bosch Stiftung program hosted together with n-ost, a media network.听