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<blockquote data-quote="vantexan" data-source="post: 3116993" data-attributes="member: 24302"><p>Started long before that.&nbsp; The Ottoman Turks controlled the area for 500 years.&nbsp; They subjugated various ethnicities and were brutal in putting down uprisings.&nbsp; Had rules like Christian families had to give up a son to serve in their military.&nbsp; The son was forced to convert to Islam.&nbsp; Churches couldn&#039;t be built as high as a mosque.&nbsp; Some churches were built into the ground so that the inside could still have a high ceiling.&nbsp; The Muslims in the region today are descendants of Christians who converted to get better treatment.&nbsp; WWI&#039;s aftermath was a major problem too.&nbsp; Borders were drawn that divided groups like the Albanians.&nbsp; Interestingly the communist dictatorship in Albania brutally tried to stamp out all religion there.&nbsp; It was the world&#039;s first declared atheist state.&nbsp; The result is that most Albanians are only nominally religious.&nbsp; Their ancestors were Muslim or Christian so that&#039;s what they are.&nbsp; But the Muslim majority gets along well with the Christian minority.&nbsp; Unlike intensely Muslim countries Albanian Muslims drink alcohol, eat pork, and women wear what they please, including very revealing bathing suits at the beach.&nbsp; One fellow traveling through was invited to eat with a Muslim group at a restaurant.&nbsp; He commented he was surprised at the alcohol and pork.&nbsp; They all laughed and said they&#039;re Muslim-lite.&nbsp; There are more conservative practitioners of Islam and Christianity there, but they are a small minority.&nbsp; And yet the Albanians have deep seated animosity towards the Serbs and Macedonians, and vice versa.</p></blockquote><p></p>

[QUOTE="vantexan, post: 3116993, member: 24302"] Started long before that. The Ottoman Turks controlled the area for 500 years. They subjugated various ethnicities and were brutal in putting down uprisings. Had rules like Christian families had to give up a son to serve in their military. The son was forced to convert to Islam. Churches couldn't be built as high as a mosque. Some churches were built into the ground so that the inside could still have a high ceiling. The Muslims in the region today are descendants of Christians who converted to get better treatment. WWI's aftermath was a major problem too. Borders were drawn that divided groups like the Albanians. Interestingly the communist dictatorship in Albania brutally tried to stamp out all religion there. It was the world's first declared atheist state. The result is that most Albanians are only nominally religious. Their ancestors were Muslim or Christian so that's what they are. But the Muslim majority gets along well with the Christian minority. Unlike intensely Muslim countries Albanian Muslims drink alcohol, eat pork, and women wear what they please, including very revealing bathing suits at the beach. One fellow traveling through was invited to eat with a Muslim group at a restaurant. He commented he was surprised at the alcohol and pork. They all laughed and said they're Muslim-lite. There are more conservative practitioners of Islam and Christianity there, but they are a small minority. And yet the Albanians have deep seated animosity towards the Serbs and Macedonians, and vice versa. [/QUOTE]

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