REPORT FAVORABLE TREATMENT OF SUNNI MOSLEMS, SEVERE PERSECUTION OF CATHOLICS IN ALBANIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700050569-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 22, 2011
• Sequence Number: 569
• Publication Date: April 8, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/23: CIA-
CLASSIFICATION
1
1-
COUNTRY
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
AGENCY REPOR1I
SUBJECT Sociological - Religion, persecution
HOW
PUBLISHED Weekly newspap
WHERE
PUBLISHED Algiers. Rome
DATE
PUBLISHED 1 Oct, 27 Dec
LANGUAGE French, Italia
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REPORT FAvOrig TREATMENT OF SUNNI MOSLEMS,
SEVERE PERSECUTION OF CATHOLICS IN ALBANIA
SAYS 71 PERCENT ARE MOSLEMS -- Algiers, Liberte, 27 Dec 51
Returning from Albania where he i.tervieweu the Grand Sunnite Mufti,
.afiz Musa Hajj All, Ahmet Mahmoudi writes that the People's Republic of Al-
bania guarantees freedom of worship in its Constitution.
Seventy-one percent of the Albanian people are said to belong to the Mos-
lem faith, the majority being Sunnis, while about 13,000 belong to the Bektashi
sect which does not exist in North Africa. It is found, however, in Iran, Iraq,
and Egypt The Grand Mufti resides in Tirana. There are also about. 100,000
Catholics and 50,000 /reel Orthodox Christians. There is a Sunni cultural
center in each village to manage the funds, buildings, and feasts and direct
religious matters. It is elected democratically every year, so that It must
satisfy the people.
The Mufti said that there are 1,000 mosques in the country. A school has
been organized for muftis and imams. The Sunnis have an annual budget of 10
million leks which suffices for administration costs, personnel, and building
maintenance. The government supplies 7 million of this total, the other 3 mil-
lion being derived from property belonging to the cult. Government aid is pro-
portionate to the number of persons in any cult.
RECOUNTS FRESH PERSECUTIONS OF ALBANIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH -- Rome, L'Albanie
Libre, 1 Oct 5
The Albanian Catholic Church, one of the smallest Catholic communities
subjected to Communist attacks, has been perhaps the heaviest sufferer, The
following data is offered as proof of this assertion.
DATE DIST. " Apr 1952
. OF PAGES 2
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
Newspaper and periodical as indicated.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/23: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700050569-4
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/23: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700050569-4
Of the 120 priests and monks composing the Albanian Catholic clergy, 40
have been hanged or tortured to death and about 30 are in prison or sentenced
to hard labor. The rest live miserably, expelled from their monasteries or
parish houses, deprived of bread ration coupons, continually humiliated and
insulted. The 70-year old archbishop, poet, and man of letters, Mgr Vincenzo
Prennushi, died as the result of forced labor in the Maliq swamps, Two bish-
ops, Mgr Frgno GJino and Mgr Gjorj Volaj, were shot after a summary trial.
The Provincial of the Albanian Franciscans, Father A. Rarapi, author of valu-
able philosophical works and an eloquent orator, and Dom Andrea Zadeja, writer
of dramatic poems, were also shot. Two of the most cultured and distinguished
men of letters, Lazar Shantoja and Father B. Pala,j, were tortured to death.
Other religious sects such as the Bektashi (Mohammedan reformists) have
also suffered but to a lesser degree than the Catholics. The reason is that
the USSR and its Satellites cannot tolerate citizens who recognize the moral
authority of persons or organizations outside these Communist-dominated areas.
All the sees are now vacant, except that of Pulati, where the aged and failing
Monsignor Shllaku is braving a new wave of persecution and terror, with the aid
of the few surviving priests in other areas.
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Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/23: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700050569-4