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John R. Bolton: International Court decision could encourage separatists

Last week's International Court of Justice decision on Kosovo could have a significant global effect. While there is less there than meets the eye in legal terms, how the ruling is read politically may be quite different.

The ICJ decided that Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia "did not violate any applicable rule of international law." Although the world media first headlined that the court had approved Kosovo's actual independence, the real result was much more limited. The ICJ made it very clear it was merely providing an "advisory opinion" to answer the United Nations General Assembly's question whether Kosovo's declaration of independence was valid.

And indeed, the ICJ decision has not really clarified the situation in the Balkans. While Kosovo's declaration of independence, according to the court, did not violate the applicable international law, the underlying, and far more important, issue is still unresolved: Is Kosovo legitimately independent or not?

Serbia immediately rejected both the ICJ opinion and any broader conclusions about Kosovo's status. Belgrade held firm to its long-standing view that Security Council Resolution 1244 of 1999 expressly reaffirmed "the commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity" of former Yugoslavia, and did not decide the "final status" of the province. T

Therefore, Serbia argued, Kosovo remains part of Serbia until and unless the parties to the dispute agree otherwise. Russia and China, echoing Belgrade's position, have consistently said that Resolution 1244 simply provided a political framework to allow the parties to reach their own conclusions.

By contrast, the European Union and the United States welcomed the ICJ decision. Unfortunately, Brussels and Washington have long held confused and inconsistent positions, simultaneously holding that Serbia and Kosovo should resolve the status issue by negotiation, while at every opportunity encouraging and assisting Kosovo's leaders to make their country independent.

Small wonder that Kosovo has never shown much inclination to negotiate. With the kind of external political support it has received for unilateral independence, why should it compromise on anything less?

Politically, Kosovo's continued de facto sovereignty means it has achieved essentially what it sought by declaring independence. But because Kosovo's independence was imposed on Serbia, rather than negotiated mutually, there is a basis for yet another unresolved Balkan conflict that could later return to haunt us.

The larger, global implications are even more troubling, despite the very limited nature of the ICJ's advisory opinion. Even the Palestinian-Israeli conflict might be affected.

Separatist regions in Europe and around the world will draw their own conclusions from the decision, thus precipitating unnecessary confrontations between separatists and central governments, but without any real guidance beyond the specifics of the Kosovo situation.

Concerns about these potential ramifications undoubtedly shaped the positions not only of Russia and China, but even those of European nations like Spain, which faces several regional separatist movements.

The real conclusion is that lasting, peaceful solutions to separatist conflicts ultimately can only emerge from agreements among the parties themselves. Until and unless they find the means to do so (or to live with them until a better idea arises), they are only postponing the day of reckoning.

The blunt truth is that some will only be resolved by military conflict. But as its Kosovo opinion makes clear, the artificial and inadequate ICJ is probably the least useful approach of all.

John R. Bolton is the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

ICJ on Kosovo: Less Than Meets the Eye

The three-hour-long reading of the majority opinion of the International Court of Justice had barely begun when cheerleaders of the pseudo-state hit the world media with their pronunciamentos that the Kosovo question had been settled in favor of independence. Their sole piece of evidence was the tortured holding of ten of the judges that the February 2008 unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) 'did not violate general international law.'

Leave aside for the moment that, on cue, the ICJ's insubstantial observation immediately was morphed � as the ten unworthies knew it would be � into 'Kosovo independence is in accordance with international law' and thence, to 'Kosovo really is a state.'

Leave aside the damage done to the reputation of what had been one of the few institutions of the international system that had been respected as relatively resistant to political pressure.

Leave aside the short-term jubilation of the Albanian mafia kingpins who run Kosovo and their shills worldwide, as well as the comparable disheartenment of not only Serbs but anyone with a decent respect for justice and the very concept of the rule of law.

Instead, ask: what really happened at the Court, and what difference will it make? Short answer to both parts of the question: not much.

As to the decision itself: The majority opinion rambled at length, combining the best of sophistry with the worst of pettifoggery, to justify answering not the question the ICJ was asked, but the one the majority preferred to answer. Specifically, since the (Albanian Muslim) Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG) created under UN Security Council Resolution 1244 obviously had no authority to declare anything valid about the province's status, the majority declined to answer the validity of a declaration of the PISG qua PISG.

Instead, the Provisional Institutions � or rather the same individuals who both issued the UDI and who constitute the PISG, but were somehow not acting as the PISG when they issued the UDI � were transformed by an act of pure invention of the Court into a voice of the people of Kosovo generally (as if such existed), whose declaration was outside of (though not, it seems, in violation of) any identifiable legal constraint. Since anyone can 'declare' anything without impacting international law, which concerns only actions of states, international law was, ergo, not violated.

It is a stunning perversion of any concept of juridical thought. If one takes the time to read the majority opinion (which almost no one actually does � it is enough to refer to it in respectful tones) and compare it to the dissents, the worthlessness of the former is inescapably evident.

More important is what comes next on the international political front. Predictably, the Obama Administration � notably Vice President Joseph Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton � weighed in immediately, the former with a friendly call to Serbian President Boris Tadic, the latter with an appeal to the world community to jump on board the Kosovo recognition train bound for glory and the EU. As for the Biden-Tadic 'come to Jesus' talk, I'll leave the speculation to others. As for the Clinton appeal, we shall see what the real political waves may be. My guess is, again: not much.

To be sure, the global hosannas to the Court included the usual caveats regarding Kosovo's 'uniqueness' and implied notice stamped on the opinion that negative consequences of any principle of law cited herein applicable only to Serbs. Separatists around the world seem not to have gotten the memo, however. Already we hear the 'us too' chorus from Palestinians, Armenians (Nagorno-Karabakh), Ossetians, Abkhazians, Catalans, Basques, Kurds, etc.

To the extent that most global opposition to Kosovo's supposed statehood is generated by fear of separatism, this decision paradoxically will scare many more countries than it convinces. Spain and Romania have already reaffirmed their firm opposition. Slovakia and Cyprus will be unshakable. (Greece, unreliable from the start, is a greater concern.) But when the matter is examined country by country, it is apparent that the decision may prompt another dozen recognitions, a score at most.

This still would not be a majority in the UN General Assembly, and still not a way to get past a Russian and Chinese veto under Chapter Two, Article 4 of the UN Charter, according to which membership is by '� decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.' Not only Russia and China, but the rest of a world where Washington's voice matters less and less will not be swayed but will be even more adamant in their opposition to legitimating separatism: India and Pakistan, Iran and Israel, Indonesia, Brazil, South Africa, Argentina, Mexico, Ukraine, Georgia, most of Latin America, most of Africa.

What might have been� The real tragedy is that if the independence of the Court � heretofore one of the less disreputable of the UN institutions � had not been subverted, and if a decent decision had been forthcoming, the possible ratchet the other way might have been significant. Some countries � Czech Republic comes to mind � having been bullied into what they know to be an immoral and destructive position, might have used the Court's ruling as an excuse to do the right thing and withdraw recognition. That path to 'walking the dog back,' and perhaps setting the stage for genuine and serious negotiations, unfortunately, is closed for the foreseeable future. What we will have is what we have now: stalemate, tension, and threat of violence.

Viewed in context, the ICJ advisory ruling is a setback, a crying shame, and a perversion of truth and justice. In other words, just more of the same we have seen in the Balkans since 1991 and even before. What it means finally is that the multi-front struggle continues, not only for Kosovo but for simple honesty and decency. So what has changed?

Oh No! Another �Ally� Arrested! (And Released, Apparently)

We are now up to TWO Albanians and one Bosnian being involved in the North Carolina cell disrupted last year.

Bajram Aslani (Tanjug)

For Immediate Release, June 17, 2010, U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs (202) 514-2007/TDD (202) 514-1888

Kosovar National Charged with Terrorism Violations

RALEIGH, NC - Bajram Asllani, 29, a resident of Mitrovica, Kosovo, has been charged in a criminal complaint with providing material support to terrorists and conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim, and injure persons abroad, David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; George E.B. Holding, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina; Owen D. Harris, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Charlotte Field Division; and Robin Pendergraft, Director of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, announced today.

Let's note that the terror suspect is from Mitrovica, the town whose northern half is the last Serbian holdout from a Muslim-Albanian Kosovo. This is whose control we want to bring all of Mitrovica under, as we try to submit Northern Mitrovica to what the rest of Kosovo has been submitted to: lawlessness and terror. Though I suspect this development could slow down our attack plans on northern Mitrovica - not only because the terror connection is too conspicuous right now, but also because our military (if not our leaders) may finally and reluctantly take the long-existent hint that an official Serbian presence in Kosovo could help be our eyes and ears in that increasingly Islamic 'country'. (Well, they'll entertain this notion until our Albanian 'partners' remind us that the deterioration of our security will accelerate if we don't support and secure all of Kosovo for them.)

Asllani, also known as 'Bajram Aslani,' or 'Ebu Hatab,' was arrested earlier today [Thursday] by authorities in Kosovo in connection with a U.S. provisional arrest warrant issued in the Eastern District of North Carolina. The United States intends to seek his extradition from Kosovo to stand trial in Raleigh. In accordance with the extradition agreement between the United States and Kosovo, Asllani faces a potential maximum of 40 years in prison if convicted.

Last July, eight defendants were indicted in the Eastern District of North of Carolina on charges of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists; conspiracy to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons abroad; and other violations. Those charged were Daniel Patrick Boyd, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina; Hysen Sherifi, a native of Kosovo and a U.S. legal permanent resident in North Carolina; Anes Subasic, a naturalized [BOSNIAN] U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina�.

A superseding indictment returned on Sept. 24, 2009, added new charges against Daniel Patrick Boyd, Hysen Sherifi and Zakariya Boyd, alleging, among other things, that Daniel Boyd and Sherifi conspired to murder U.S. military personnel as part of a plot to attack troops at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia. �

An April 19, 2010, criminal complaint unsealed today alleges that Asllani was a member of the conspiracy involving the defendants listed above. Specifically, the complaint alleges that Asllani has had repeated communications with the conspirators; solicited money from the conspirators to establish a base of operations in Kosovo for the purpose of waging violent jihad; tasked the conspirators with completing work to further these objectives and accepted funds from the conspirators to help him travel.

Among other things, the complaint alleges that Hysen Sherifi departed from Raleigh for Pristina, Kosovo, on July 30, 2008, to pursue violent jihad. While in Kosovo, Sherifi allegedly formed a relationship with Asllani. Sherifi often referred to Asllani as 'the brother' in Kosovo who was advising him and who was 'wanted.' According to the complaint, Asllani had been arrested by Kosovar law enforcement in 2007 and been placed on house arrest for a period of time. He was later convicted in absentia by a Serbian court in September 2009 for planning terrorist-related offenses and was sentenced to eight years of confinement.

According to the complaint, Asllani provided Sherifi with videos related to violent jihad for the purposes of translating them so they could be used to recruit others for violent jihad or to motivate those currently involved in violent jihad. Sherifi, did in fact, translate videos provided him by Asllani, the complaint alleges.

The complaint further alleges that Asllani directed Sherifi to collect money for the purpose of later purchasing land and establishing a community in Kosovo, where they could store weapons and ammunition and which they could use as a base of operations for conducting violent jihad in Kosovo and other countries. Sherifi did, in fact, return to the United States on April 5, 2009, and collected money for this purpose, receiving a check for $15,000 in July 2009. Sherifi was arrested on July 27, 2009, before he could take the money back to Asllani in Kosovo.

In addition, the complaint alleges Asllani received money from Sherifi that was sent with the intention of being used by Asllani to obtain travel documents. And finally, the complaint alleges that Daniel Boyd stated his desire to assist Sherifi in his plan to raise money for the mujihadeen in Kosovo. Specifically, Boyd stated he wanted to send his sons, Zakariya Boyd and Dylan Boyd, and himself to Kosovo after Sherifi returned. Zakariya and Dylan Boyd spent time online with Sherifi chatting with Asllani in Kosovo.

Isn't that odd? What could the Boyd family's interest in Kosovo possibly be?

'The facts as alleged in this complaint underscore the connectivity between extremists at home and abroad and the global nature of the terrorist threat we face. At the same time, the arrest of Asllani demonstrates how effective cooperation among international partners serves to address such threats. I applaud the many agents, analysts and prosecutors who helped bring about this important case,' said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
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'People who are plotting to harm America and Americans are no longer a world away from us. This case began in Raleigh, N.C., and now stretches across the globe, a circumstance no one would have thought possible less than 10 years ago,' said Owen D. Harris, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina. [�]

Uh, actually. Actually, uh, 11 years ago when we took the Muslim side in a war for land - and resettled a few hundred thousand of those Muslims here and in Europe - this possibility did, uh, sort of cross some of our minds. Two news reports on the initial arrest are here.

Meanwhile, we have an update: the suspect has been released. The reason is the Kosovo standard: 'not enough evidence.' Though one does find this surprising in a case where the U.S. also wants the guy. Perhaps the suspect has protection from someone in Pristina officialdom and so a 'message' was sent to the EULEX judge. Still, thanks to U.S. security interests being at stake (rather than just expendable Serbian ones), there seems to be a twist to the usual arrest-and-release policy for Kosovo Albanians: he has to report to police twice a week.

EULEX releases terrorism suspect
19 June 2010 | 10:47 | Source: B92

BELGRADE - An EULEX judge has freed Bajram Aslani from custody, who was suspected of planning terrorist attacks in America and Kosovo.

Aslani was arrested earlier under a warrant issued by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices.

He was freed after the prosecution confirmed that there was not enough evidence to keep him, though he is obligated to report to the police twice a week.

Aslani, an ethnic Albanian from the town of Kosovska Mitrovica, was arrested on Thursday and is the second suspect in Kosovo from a group of nine terror suspects.

The Associated Press stated that Aslani was arrested in 2007, and that we was convicted in absentia by the Serbian courts in 2009 for involvement in the planning of a terrorist attack. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.

One may wonder why, if his whereabouts are now finally known, he's not being delivered to the Serbian authorities who convicted him, but that conviction was only for his being a threat to the Balkans - and terrorism in the Balkans doesn't qualify as terrorism. Plus, 'guilty' in a Serbian court is all just 'Serbian propaganda' until we're targeted too. (Besides, he only killed Serbs.)

Another report: Kosovo terror suspect wanted in U.S. released

PRISTINA (Reuters) �'He has to report to police twice a week,' Kristiina Herodes, a spokeswoman from the EU police and justice mission (EULEX) said. 'The prosecutor will have a close look at the written decision by the judge and then will decide to appeal against the decision or not.'
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Despite the decision from the EU judge, Herodes said that now it is up to the Kosovo government whether Asllani will be extradited to the United States or not.
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'I personally have asked to be extradited to the United States because I am not afraid of U.S. justice, I believe in justice because I am innocent,' Asllani told local media in his town in Mitrovica after he was released.

He said that Americans are good people and he has nothing against them. The United States is the biggest supporter of Kosovo's independence and has 1,480 troops on the ground. [�]

Here Asllani is struggling with his identity crisis: his inner Albanian wants to love Americans for furthering those supremacist ambitions, but his inner Muslim knows that the love affair has to end.

Further update:

Interior Minister condemns Aslani release
19 June 2010 | 16:59 | Source: Tanjug

BELGRADE - Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said that the decision of an EULEX judge to release terrorism suspect Bajram Aslani from custody is surprising and condemnable.

He is wanted in Serbia and America for involvement in the planning of terrorist attacks in America, Kosovo and other locations.

Dacic said that Serbia expects that the international presence in Kosovo will take into consideration the demands of the Serbian courts and that it will also respect the American demands for processing Aslani, as one of the leaders of an extremist radical Islamic group in the province.

He added that Aslani's release 'can point to the fact that there are suspicions of some double standards for members of Albanian radical groups.'

Aslani is also suspected of planning terrorist attacks in Jordan and the Gaza Strip.

Now what could an Albanian's interest in the Gaza Strip be? After all, Albanians feel they have so much more in common with Israelis than with Palestinians. So let us be reminded that four Albanians were among the 'protesters' in the anti-Israel war convoy to Gaza. Let us also be reminded that the same month saw the arrest of five Wahhabis and seizure of a huge weapons cache in Kosovo, which involved three Bosnians and two Albanians.

Dacic said that operative information of the Serbian police shows that Aslani came into the possession of plastic explosives in Bosnia last year, which were taken to Kosovo, adding that the explosives were planned to be used in a terrorist attack in central Serbia.

'Operative information of our police also shows that Aslani is still a member of the Wahhabi movement and that he was in close relations and ties with known radical Islamists on the territory of Novi Pazar and Sjenica,' Dacic said.

Dacic also said that there is information pointing to the fact that Aslani had organized a Wahhabi camp that was uncovered in a police action in March 2007.

So now we're beginning to see how beautifully, how symbiotically not-like-that Muslim Kosovo collaborates with not-like-that Muslim Bosnia. On that subject, here is the Aslani/Asllani news from last year, relating to his absentia trial in Serbia (again, we can see the timeless and historic Albanian/Bosnian sandwich):

Serbia: Four radical Muslims jailed for terror plot

Belgrade, 8 Sept. (AKI) - A special Serbian court has sentenced four radical Muslims from the volatile Sandzak region of the country to up to eight years in prison each for planning terrorist attacks on targets in the Balkans. The four men were sentenced on charges of terrorism, illegal possession of weapons and alleged links with unidentified foreign terrorist groups, following an eight-month trial.

Adis Muric and Bajram Aslani were sentenced to eight years each, Nedzad Bulic to seven and Enes Mujanovic was given a four year jail term. Bulic and Aslani's sentenced were delivered in absentia as they earlier escaped from police and are on the run.

The four men were arrested in police raids in 2007 in the Sandzak region, which borders Kosovo. They are from predominantly Muslim town of Novi Pazar and adhere to the fundamentalist Wahabi interpretation of Islam followed by Osama bin Laden and many Al-Qaida members.

The group formed a cell in 2007 that planned to carry out terrorist acts in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia, judge Milan Ranic stated, explaining the court's verdict. The group's objective was to spread fear among citizens and to gain religious power.

The prosecution claimed the group planned to plant explosives at Novi Pazar football stadium and to kill policemen deployed there.

The group was in close contact with other Wahabis from Bosnia, Albania and Syria and had in their posession a large quantity of terrorism prosyletising materials, according to the court indictment.

The group was based in Novi Pazar and in Kosovska Mitrovica, where weapons and explosives were found.

Twelve Wahabis were sentenced in July to a total 60 years in jail for terrorism, conspiracy and planning terrorist attacks in Serbia, including a plot to assassinate local mufti Muamer Zukorlic, who the group considered to be an American spy and betrayer of Islam.

Most of those convicted were arrested in 2007 during a raid at a Wahabi training camp on Ninaj mountain in Sandzak, where police found a large weapons cache in a cave.

The group's leader Ismail Prentic was killed as security forces tried to arrest him in Donja Trnava village a month later.

The radical Islamist movement was brought to the Balkans by fighters from Muslim countries during the 1990s Bosnian war. Many have remained and are believed to operate camps and recruit young people in a bid to gain influence in Serbia, Bosnia and elsewhere in the region. [�]

In a related story, please observe. This is Kosovo:

Thousands rally in Kosovo in support of Muslim headscarf

PRISTINA - Thousands [about 5,000] Kosovo Albanians staged a protest rally Friday in Pristina after girls were banned from school for refusing to take off their Muslim headscarves.

The protesters, who carried signs saying 'Stop Discrimination' and chanted 'Allahu Akbar' (God is great), demanded that the Kosovo government allow the wearing of religious symbols in schools.

They also urged the authorities to reverse the recent suspension of several girls from school because they were wearing the headscarf.

'Communists out', the protesters chanted in the front of the government offices.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, adopting a secular constitution which stipulates the separation of religious and state authority.

With an overwhelming Muslim majority but a tradition of moderate Islam at ease with Western values, the government prohibits girls from attending public schools wearing the headscarf. [�]

Previous post on Kosovo and headscarves here.

Meanwhile, a reader named George sent me this link, according to which it turns out that the first mosque in America was built by Albanians (Maine, 1915). Looking only a wee bit further (on Wikipedia), one finds that the first organized Muslim community was that of�Bosnian Muslims! (Chicago, 1906) To paraphrase Nebojsa Malic, it's certainly interesting that the supposedly non-Muslimy Bosnians and Albanians are the first mosque- and community-builders in the US.

Bishop Artemije Condemns Violent Provocations Against Serbian Elections in Kosovo, Calls on International Authorities for Protection

June 1 -- Bishop Artemije, spiritual leader of Orthodox Christian Serbs in the Province of Kosovo and Metohija condemned violent attacks on Serbs excercising their legitimate democratic rights in local elections held on Sunday, May 30. He called on the United Nations authority and foreign military forces present in Kosovo under UN authority to protect Serbs from violent provocations. He also praised actions by local Serbs and called for the Serbian government to support them.

In an exclusive statement to the American Council for Kosovo, Bishop Artemije said:

"It is clear anyone what is the nature of these attacks. According to media, these 'demonstrations' were launched by so-called 'Kosovo Liberation Army veterans' protesting Serbian local elections to �protect Kosovo's sovereignty.' We must translate this into normal human language: members of a Islamic terrorist organization headed by mafia figures Tha�i, Haradinaj, and �eku, have organized attacks on Christian Serbs holding legitimate democratic elections in their own country for the supposed purpose of 'protecting' the nonexistent 'sovereignty' of an illegal, lawless separatist entity.

"I categorically condemn these attacks and call on all persons in any position of authority to do likewise. When the United Nations and various foreign countries undertook civil administration in Kosovo and Metohija following the illegal NATO war against our country, they also undertook, under UNSC 1244, the moral obligation to protect peaceful people engaged in legitimate pursuits. What can be more legitimate than Serbs voting in Serbian elections in Serbia? Yet this is used as a pretext for violent attacks! The UN and foreign military forces must not allow what are clearly intended as a practice run for a violent seizure of those small parts of Kosovo and Metohija where Serbs still enjoy a minimum degree of security.

"It is important for the Serbian local administration resulting from these elections to be formed as soon as possible, and for it to receive the fullest possible support from authorities in Belgrade. I commend the Serbs of Kosovo and Metohija for the restrained but steadfast manner in which they have resisted these latest provocations."

Saudis fund Balkan Muslims spreading hate of the West

SAUDI ARABIA is pouring hundreds of millions of pounds into Islamist groups in the Balkans, some of which spread hatred of the West and recruit fighters for jihad in Afghanistan.

According to officials in Macedonia, Islamic fundamentalism threatens to destabilise the Balkans. Strict Wahhabi and Salafi factions funded by Saudi organisations are clashing with traditionally moderate local Muslim communities.

Fundamentalists have financed the construction of scores of mosques and community centres as well as handing some followers up to �225 a month. They are expected not only to grow beards but also to persuade their wives to wear the niqab, or face veil, a custom virtually unknown in the liberal Islamic tradition of the Balkans.

Government sources in traditionally secular Macedonia (official title the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), said they were monitoring up to 50 Al-Qaeda volunteers recruited to fight in Afghanistan.

Classified documents seen by The Sunday Times reveal that Macedonian officials are also investigating a number of Islamic charities, some in Saudi Arabia, which are active throughout the Balkans and are suspected of spreading extremism and laundering money for terrorist organisations.

One of the groups under scrutiny is the International Islamic Relief Organisation from Saudi Arabia, which is on a United Nations blacklist of organisations backing terrorism. It did not respond to inquiries, but has previously denied involvement in terrorist activities, calling such claims 'totally unfounded'.

According to its website, it works in 32 countries to provide relief to the victims of natural disasters and to carry out humanitarian, health and educational projects.

'Hundreds of millions have been poured into Macedonia alone in the past decade and most of it comes from Saudi Arabia,' said a government source. 'The Saudis' main export seems to be ideology, not oil.'

Sulejman Rexhepi, leader of the Islamic community in Macedonia, said a number of mosques had been forcibly taken over by radical groups. Four in central Skopje are no longer under the control of the official Islamic authorities. New imams claim they have been 'spontaneously' installed by the 'people'.

'Their so-called Wahhabi teachings are completely alien to our traditions and to the essence of Islam, which is a tolerant and inclusive religion,' said Rexhepi.

In some mosques believers are being told that Macedonia, which sent 200 soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan, has been tricked into supporting a crusade against Islam spearheaded by Britain and America. Radical clerics have shown footage from Afghanistan, Iraq and the Palestinian territories to illustrate their claims that the West is waging war on Islam.

Rahman, a 35-year-old cab driver from Skopje, Macedonia's capital, said he had stopped going to his local mosque since it was taken over by extremists. 'Following the Haiti earthquake the new imam said God would punish the West for their wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with natural disasters,' he said.

Bekir Halimi, an imam trained in Syria, runs Bamiresia, an Islamic charity that has been investigated for alleged terrorist links and money laundering. Police raided its offices but failed to find any evidence of terrorist links.

'We are fully entitled to receive funding from both governmental and non-governmental organisations from Saudi Arabia,' said Halimi, who refuses to name the sources of his funding but rejects any suggestion of criminal activity.

Macedonia's law enforcement agencies warn that the European Union and America have failed to recognise the growing problem of Islamic extremism in the Balkans.

Baroness Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief, has declared stability in the region to be her top priority, but local politicians complain that the EU and Nato are reducing their presence in troublespots such as Bosnia and Kosovo.

Last month, Bosnian security forces raided a village strongly influenced by Salafi extremists and found a weapons cache.

In raids elsewhere rifles, bombs and rocket-propelled grenades have been uncovered.

The West has put considerable political and financial efforts into helping build democracy in Bosnia following its civil war in the 1990s. Saudi organisations have also asserted considerable influence, giving more than �450m to build more than 150 mosques and Islamic centres.

In Macedonia, Fatmir, a former disc jockey, explained how he became an adherent of Salafism. The father of two has grown a beard and instructed his wife to wear a niqab. He now makes his living by selling Islamist literature. 'Ours is the Islam of the 21st century,' he said.