Albanians are Coming Back to God and Allah Also
by Dr. D ~ April 4th, 2007
Albania was a closed country for years and religion was completely forbidden. Now Albanians are coming back to God but also to Allah:
Albania became the first officially atheist country in the world in 1967. Its dictatorial ruler, Enver Hoxha, ordered all churches and mosques demolished or converted into sports arenas, warehouses or other secular facilities. He shut the borders. And, until communism collapsed in 1990, public expressions of faith were banned.
Read this interesting article about the rediscovery of religion in Albania. Outside missionaries and funds from Islamic organizations and Christian churches have kick-started a resurgence of religion in this small nation. One interesting feature, Christians and Muslims are getting along here so far.
Albania had a long history of being a moderate multi-religion society which tolerates and respects different faiths. Now there’s concern that it could all change since a lot of the funding is coming from extreme Muslim groups. Also, some Albanians are concerned about divergent attitudes coming from some of the foreign missionaries.