DAS with report on religious freedoms, cites ban on headscarves in schools and Decani Monastery

The report also analyses in specific chapters the state of freedom of trust in Albania and Kosovo.

In the chapter for Kosovo, the report stresses that the constitution prohibits religious discrimination and provides freedom of trust, but cautions that the law does not allow religious groups to be registered as legal persons. A bill designed to grant them such status, submitted to parliament in 2020, was on hold.

The Islamic Community of Kosovo said some schools continued to implement an education ministry directive banning religious clothing, denying access to the school to students wearing headscarves.

The report highlights that in September, Kosovo's Constitutional Court, the state prosecutor announced the government's continued refusal to implement that 2016 court ruling, which was familiar with the Serbian Orthodox Church's ownership of about 24 hectares of land around the Decani Monastery. In response to the government's continuing failure to comply with that decision, as well as a 2020 roadwork agreement within the Decan Monastery's Special Protection Zone, the Serbian Orthodox Church suspended official communication with the government in May.

In October, media reported that authorities were investigating a nongovernmental Christian organisation (OJQ) following complaints that the organisation published photos of children along with religious content without parental permission. Media reported that the NGO denied violations of the laws.

In August, the Islamic Community of Kosovo and the media reported that police arrested author Gene Morena on charges of publishing poetry that promote non-tolerance against Muslims. Morena was later found guilty and fined.

Representatives of the Kosovo Protestant Evangelist Church said the lack of institutional support to secure the cemetery for its followers is preventing them from performing burial services according to their faith.

According to the Serbian Orthodox Church, in June, police, without explanation, ordered a bus of Serb pilgrims to return to Serbia. In April, the pan-European federation of cultural heritage civil society organisations Europe Nostra included the Decani Monastery on the list of the seven most endangered heritage sites in Europe, a definition government officials said was “unilateral” and “incorrectly”.

The report notes that in June, a Montenegrin citizen cheered “Kill Albanians” during a rally with the St Vitos Day event in Gazimestan near Pristina. The Pristina court fined him instead of imprisonment and prevented him from entering the country for five years.

The Islamic Community said media reports continued to portray its community negatively, contributing to a climate of intolerance and discrimination.

Representatives of this community as well as Protestant Gospel Church said that some of their followers were reluctant to practice their faith openly because of fear of discrimination.

The UN quoted Kosovo police reports of 87 incidents during the year, while a year earlier it had recorded 57.

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe reported that it continues to support improved relations between religious communities and municipalities.

US embassy officials continued to encourage the government to adopt laws allowing religious groups to gain legal status, implement mechanisms to protect freedom of trust, implement legislation and judicial decisions concerning the religious objects of the Serbian Orthodox Church and resolve property disputes with the church.

The U.S. government estimates that of the 1.9 million people believed to have Kosovo, 95.6 percent are Muslims, 2.2 percent Catholic, and 1.4 percent belong to Orthodox faith. The law does not define an official belief, but lists five religious communities <x0).

Report Part for Albania

The report again underlines that Albania's Constitution guarantees freedom of confidence. It stipulates that there is no official religion, says the state is neutral in matters of trust, recognises the equality and independence of religious groups, and prohibits discrimination on religious grounds.

The government has agreements with the Albanian Muslim Community, the Muslim Community Bektas, the Catholic Church, the Albanian Autoceal Orthodox Church and the Albanian Evangelical Brotherhood. These agreements recognise these groups as the country's main religious communities and address property returns and other adjustments.

The government reportedly legalized 62 religious - owned buildings during 2021, which were built without construction permits compared to 92 as legalized in 2020. Another 25 properties remained under consideration.

The five religious communities, which have agreements with the government, continued to voice concerns about the return of properties confiscated during the communist regime, declaring that corruption, the government's lack of knowledge of competencies and jurisdiction for property issues and large burdens of cases in the judicial system prevented their demands.

The State Agency of Cadastra, which established an official registry in 2020 to show the quantity, value and ownership of real estate, reported challenges in the process of returning property exploited by other parties, providing compensation with other properties, or paying compensation in money.

Gospel Brotherhood leaders reported continuing difficulties in obtaining permission to build objects of worship. The Bektashi community and the Muslim Community again reported problems protecting their rights on certain properties.

The five main religious communities continued to seek the government's release from certain state taxes, according to bilateral agreements. Although the government's measures for preventing COVID-19 supported, religious leaders complained that the government has not responded to their demands for financial assistance to cope with the impact of pandemic, and that restrictions on public gatherings prevented the collection of funds.

In September, the government and the Albanian-American Development Fund opened the tender process for the construction of a museum in Vlora, dedicated to the country's efforts to protect Jews during World War II.

The report cites that in April, a man attacked believers at a mosque in Tirana, wounding five people. Prosecutors demanded that the attacker, converted to Islam, be hospitalised because of a history of mental illness.

According to a report by the International Republic Institute (IRI), most of the media instead of referring to Jews focused on the memory of the Holocaust and the country's good relations with Israel, although there were some writings that spread conspiracy theories about Jews.

The American Embassy, said the report, called on government officials to accelerate the treatment of property claims and return religious groups to buildings and other properties confiscated during the communist era. Embassy officials met with representatives of religious communities to discuss interreligious and government relations, challenges related to legalisation and property returns, as well as financial challenges caused by restrictions due to COVID-19's pandemic. Embassy-backed programmes, including youth programmes, focused on developing community inclusion, promoting women's empowerment in religious communities, and emphasising the compatibility of religious faith and democracy.

The U.S. government estimates that of 3.1 million in Albania, the 2011 census estimates that the Sunni Muslims make up 57 percent of the population, Catholics 10 percent, Orthodox nearly 7 percent, and Bektas 2 percent. Some 20 percent have refused to answer about their religious affiliation.

Public schools are secular, said the report, while private schools can offer religious lessons. Religious communities run 113 educational institutions, including universities, elementary and high schools, pre-school institutions, gardens, professional schools and orphanages. /Vosa