Cited from BalkanPress video.

Abstract

This study documents the persecution of Albanian Muslim religious leaders (imams, hoxhas) by Yugoslav—primarily Serbian—authorities in the immediate post–World War II period. Drawing on archival material presented by Sabile Kecmezi-Basha, it examines arrests, imprisonments, torture, and executions of imams in Kosovo and neighboring regions from 1945 onward. Many of those targeted were suspected of supporting Albanian national unity, which brought them under scrutiny by the Yugoslav security services. The cases listed reveal systematic repression of religious authority as a means of political control, highlighting the intersection of religion, nationalism, and state violence in socialist Yugoslavia.

In 1945 Albanian Muslim imams (hoxhas or hoxhallarë) were kidnapped, imprisoned, tortured and murdered by Serb Yugoslav authorities. Many imams were for Albanian unity and were therefore an issue for the Yugoslav secret service. According to released dossiers, many imams were killed and imprisoned at the Goliotok prison. This information is taken from Sabile Kecmezi-Bashas work “Albanian political prisoners in Kosovo. 1945-1990”. The victims were:

Mulla Irfani of Lipjan.

Mulla Malik Dauti, convicted in 1945

Maliq Balija, imam, (1906), Weekly, 11.09. 1945. LP. a. 3/ 1 (executed by shooting)

Mulla Jusuf Imami, Peja, 8. 12. 1945. article 3/ 3 LP. (case under review)

Arif Shala, imam from Flamuras (formerly Sankoci), 1946 (transported to the mountains and then killed).

Shefqet Mehmet Hoxha, hoxha, (1915), year of conviction 1949, (14 years in prison)

Mulla Idriz Gjilani, in 1949, (burned in the cell with gasoline)

Mulla Ramë Hërtica, year of conviction 1947, (6 years in prison)

Mustafa Osman Osmani, Hoxha, (1910), Duraj, 30.12.1947. article 3/3 LP. (6 months imprisonment)

Azem Miftar Fazliu, imam, (1911), convicted in 1947, Dragobil, article 3/3 LP. (4 years in prison)

Haki S.Taipi, imam, (1917), Gjilan, 10.02.1947.article 3/7, 8, 14 LP. (20 years imprisonment)

Riza Osmani Shurdhani, imam, Policka, 10.02.1947.article 3/7, 8, 14 LP. (12 years imprisonment)

Mexhid Haki Zymberi, imam, (22 years old), Tanishec, 7.02.1947, (10 years in prison)

Hajdar K. Jashari, imam (37 years old) Orizare (Kumanovo) 7.02.1947, (12 years in prison)

Hetem Tahiri. Hoxha, Reçicë e Madhe, convicted in 1947, (18 years in prison)

Mulla Miftar Shabani, (1889), Gjakova, 5.08.1949.article 3/14 LP. (14 months imprisonment)

Miftar Sh. Shala, imam, (1889), Gjakova, 16. 09. 1949. article 3/14 LP. (4 months imprisonment).

Mulla Nura, Prizren-Suharek, year of conviction 1949, (9 years in prison)

Shefqet M. Mehmeti, imam, (1917), Koriša, 13.09.1949. (life imprisonment).

Sejar M. Oruqi, imam, (1900), Prizren, 15. 02. 1950. article 3/14 LP. (6 years in prison.)

Jakup V. Murtezi, imam, (1919), Prizren, 19. 02.1950. article 3/8 LP. (20 years imprisonment)

Gani A. Kastrati, imam, (1900), Peja, 1. 03. 1950. article 3/8 LP. (4 years imprisonment).

Mulla Bahtiar Nezir Bahtiari, (1905), Bellobrad, September 26, 1953, (8 years in prison)

Hysen Berisha, Hoxha, (1908), Ruhot, 2. 11. 1953. article 117/1 LP. (20 years in prison)

Zeke Berdynaj, Hoxha, (1909), Novo Selo, 6.11.1953. article 117/1 LP. (16 years in prison)

Mujedin Oruçi, imam, (1906), Orçush, 20. 07. 1954. article 105, LP. (10 years imprisonment)

Ferat R. Ruhani, imam, (1911), Laçiq, 30.06.1954. article 118/1 LP. (2, 6 years in prison)

Isah S.Sylejmani, imam, (1887), Cërnica, 21, 08.1954.article 118/1 LP. (1, 6 years imprisonment)

Addendum

The persecution of Albanian imams must be understood within the broader framework of postwar Yugoslav state-building, which combined socialist secularism with strict controls over national minorities. Religious figures often functioned as community leaders and carriers of national consciousness, particularly among Albanians in Kosovo. As such, they were perceived not merely as clerics but as political actors capable of mobilizing resistance. The repression documented here reflects a dual strategy: dismantling independent religious authority and neutralizing Albanian nationalist aspirations. These cases contribute to a growing body of scholarship on state violence, minority repression, and the criminalization of religious leadership in socialist Eastern Europe.

Source:

Sabile Kecmezi-Basha, Albanian political prisoners in Kosovo. 1945-1990,