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No widespread support for religious extremists in North Macedonia and the Balkans (2015)

Type Official document
Date published 01.09.2015
Author Analytica Think Tank, The Republic of North Macedonia
Description

One lurking danger that is constantly on the agenda of any government in the Balkans is the threat of the growing radical Islamist community. This is a pressing concern as there is a sizeable Muslim population in the region. It ranges from more than 90% in Kosovo to 45% in Bosnia and Herzegovina to about 33% in North Macedonia (State Statistical Offices of the Countries), a fact that could be exploited by organizations like ISIS. For people in former Socialist Yugoslavia terror and radicalization until recently were foreign concepts; they were perceived as issues that simply do not happen in this region. Muslims were de-Islamized by the Socialist Party to a point where Muslims were more secular than the average Yugoslav citizen.

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