ALBANIANS, DARDANIA AND ALBANIAN CHRISTIANITY
An Identity That Cannot Be Erased
By Flamur Buçpapaj
Albanians are a European people with a history far older than the Ottoman period and with deep roots in the ancient civilizations of the Balkans. In the territories where Albanians live today, particularly in Kosovo, North Macedonia and Albania, there is archaeological, linguistic and historical evidence attesting to an ancient past. One of the most important regions is Dardania. In present-day Kosovo, the ancient city of Ulpiana is one of the strongest testimonies to this heritage. Basilicas, baptisteries, mosaics, necropolises, inscriptions and other structures from the Roman period and Late Antiquity have been discovered there. A Latin inscription discovered at Ulpiana connects the city with the expression “urbs Dardaniae,” meaning “the city of Dardania.” We also have evidence of an early ecclesiastical organization, including the mention of Macedonius, Bishop of Ulpiana, in the context of the Council of Sardica in 343. These are facts that should form part of serious historical study of Kosovo and the Albanians. We do not need to invent a past. Our land speaks for itself.
Christianity spread very early throughout the territories of the Roman Empire and in Illyria and Dardania. It became part of the civilization of these lands and subsequently part of the European heritage of the Albanians. Even the earliest religious traditions, including the ancient cults of Epirus and Dodona, demonstrate that these territories had religious and cultural life long before later historical transformations. The transition from ancient beliefs to Christianity was a long historical process and should not be interpreted through the political categories of the modern age.
The role of the Roman Empire and Christianity in shaping the culture of the region must also be examined scientifically. With regard to figures such as Constantine the Great and Helena, historical sources must be respected, and claims about ethnic identity should not be made without sufficient evidence. What is indisputable is that the Illyrian-Dardanian territories were part of the Roman world and of the great process of the Christianization of Europe.
This history is particularly important today because Albanian identity has often been interpreted through the lens of religion. A Muslim Albanian has been called “Turkish,” another “Arab,” while Orthodox Albanians have sometimes been identified exclusively through the cultures of neighboring peoples. But this is a fundamental mistake. Religion is not nationality. A Muslim Albanian is Albanian. A Catholic Albanian is Albanian. An Orthodox Albanian is Albanian. Religious belief may change, but national identity, language, history and collective memory do not disappear.
It is precisely here that we must recognize one of the most important information battles in the Balkans: the attempt to separate Albanians from their European identity and to present them solely through their religious affiliation. Such a narrative directly serves any policy seeking to weaken Albanian identity. If Muslim Albanians are portrayed as Turks or Arabs, the intention is to create the idea that Albanians are not a European nation, but a people who arrived from elsewhere or are foreigners in their own lands. This thesis must be challenged through history, documents and science.
In this context, the activities of Serbian state and intelligence structures must also be studied. Historically, Serbia has had a direct interest in portraying Kosovo as an exclusively Serbian historical territory and in weakening the historical and political legitimacy of Albanians in Kosovo. For this reason, any propaganda, disinformation or intelligence activity aimed at creating religious or ethnic divisions must be uncovered and documented by Albanian and Kosovar institutions. People should not be accused without evidence, but neither should we be naïve in the face of information warfare.
One thesis that deserves particular investigation is the use of religious issues as an instrument of influence. Following the Kosovo War, there has been considerable foreign funding of religious projects by various Muslim countries, including Turkey and countries of the Gulf. In Kosovo and Albania, many mosques have been built or reconstructed with foreign financing. The foreign financing of a mosque is not, in itself, evidence of extremism and should not be used against Muslim believers. However, all foreign financing should be transparent and subject to oversight, because religion can also be used as an instrument of “soft power” and political influence.
This raises an important political question that Albanian and Kosovar institutions should ask: Who finances these projects? Who builds them? Who administers them? Which organizations are involved? And what long-term influence do these forms of financing create? If there is evidence that any foreign structure, including structures connected to Serbian state interests, is attempting to manipulate religious issues in order to create conflict among Albanians, this must be investigated and made public. But such an accusation must be supported by concrete documents. The fight against propaganda must be conducted with evidence, not with new propaganda.
Serbia, and any other actor seeking to influence Albanian society, must not succeed in creating conflict among Albanian Muslims, Catholics and Orthodox Christians. That would be the greatest victory for any divisive policy. On the contrary, Albanians should do the opposite: protect Catholic churches, Orthodox churches, mosques and tekkes as part of their historical and cultural heritage. Freedom of religion is one of the foundations of a European Albania.
If a religious community seeks to build a church in Kosovo, Albania or in Albanian-inhabited territories and fulfills all legal requirements, the state should grant permission in accordance with the law. The same principle should apply to a mosque or any other place of worship. We cannot build a European state by preventing people from praying. But neither can we allow religious buildings to become centers of illegal political influence, extremism or interference by foreign intelligence services.
Therefore, Albania and Kosovo need strong security and intelligence institutions. Albanian services must uncover every espionage network, every illegal source of financing, every form of foreign interference and every organized destabilization campaign. If structures belonging to Serbian intelligence services are operating within Albanian or Kosovar territory, they must be identified and neutralized in accordance with the law. But this must be done with professional discretion, evidence and through institutions—not through unsupported declarations.
We must also reject propaganda that seeks to call us “Turks” or “Arabs” because of our religion. Muslim Albanians are not Turks and they are not Arabs. They are Albanians who belong to one of the religious traditions of the Albanian nation. Their history is part of the history of Albania. In the same way, Catholic and Orthodox Albanians are neither more nor less Albanian than anyone else.
This is my thesis: Albanian identity cannot be reduced to religion, and Albanian history cannot begin with the Ottoman conquest. Before the Ottoman period, we have Dardania, Illyria, Roman cities, early Christianity, the cultural traditions of the Balkans and a long European history. After the arrival of Islam, Albanians did not cease to be Albanian. On the contrary, the Albanian nation survived by bringing different religious communities together around language and national identity.
This is why we must defend our history through science. We must excavate more. We must study Dardania, Ulpiana, the ancient cities, the early churches, the inscriptions, the documents and the language. We must publish serious studies in European languages. We must present our history to international scholars through evidence, not through blind nationalism.
We do not need to hate neighboring peoples in order to defend our identity. But we have a duty to oppose every policy that denies our history, every form of propaganda that divides us, and every foreign intervention that threatens our security and freedom.
Our word is Albania.
A strong, free and European Albania.
An Albania where Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Muslims are equal.
An Albania that protects both the church and the mosque.
An Albania that respects faith, but does not allow faith to be used against the nation.
An Albania that recognizes Dardania and protects Ulpiana.
An Albania that does not allow anyone to call an Albanian Turkish or Arab.
An Albania that responds to propaganda with science and to foreign interference with strong institutions.
We are Albanians.
Europe is our space.
History is our memory.
And Albania is our home.
Flamur Buçpapaj
