In Their Image and Likeness:
Part I
Militant Islamic "Green Belt"
Threatens West
October 1, 2003
By Toby Westerman
Copyright 2003 International News Analysis Today
www.inatoday.com
A fast expanding "green belt" of militant Islamic influence now extends from Muslim Turkey well into the interior of the Balkan Peninsula, warned Thomas Fleming, noted author and historian, in an exclusive interview with International News Analysis Today.
Fleming, president of the Rockford Institute, a respected conservative policy analysis foundation, and editor of Chronicles, the organization's monthly magazine, has just returned from the Balkans, after spending several weeks examining the most recent developments in the troubled, volatile region.
Green is the color of Islam, and the "green belt" includes regions dominated by Muslim populations. The Balkan Peninsula was once ruled by the Ottoman Empire, a Muslim power, which at one time threatened to conquer all of Europe. In 1923, the nation of Turkey succeeded the much-constricted Ottoman Empire.
Fleming includes portions of northern Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, and Kosovo (nominally part of Serbia, but presently under NATO and UN control, and quickly proceeding to independence) in the expanding "green belt."
Most Muslims in the region are Albanian in origin, and the term "Greater Albania" is often used in lieu of "green belt." A "Greater Albania" would unite the nation of Albania with the Albanian-dominated fragments of other states in the Balkans.
Most analysts agree that any change in national boundaries in the Balkans -- won through bitter struggle -- invites the igniting of ancient fears of Muslim domination, and another round of warfare. Any new conflict would certainly draw in the major European nations and the U.S.
Many are concerned that a new Islamic state in the Balkans would be a springboard for further militant Islamic expansion into Europe.
Fleming advised INA Today that the border area between Montenegro and Serbia is an area of increasing violence and unrest. Although 85 percent Christian, the border is coming under increasing pressure from Muslims seeking to detach the area from the Serb-Montenegrin coalition, and join with other Muslims in the "green belt."
Fleming warned of increasing violence in the Serb-Montenegrin borderland, which he believes will result in the exodus of many Christian families from the area. In time, a Muslim mini-state will be declared, and a union with other "green belt" Islamic areas will be accomplished, establishing a Muslim European state of considerable size, predicted Fleming.
Despite denials to the contrary, Muslim sentiments favor the establishment of an Islamic "green belt," Fleming stated, with millions of dollars flowing to Islamic militants in the Balkans from Muslim nations, especially Saudi Arabia.
"What's the difference between most Saudi businessmen and Osama bin Laden?" Fleming asked rhetorically.
Assistance for the "green belt" also comes from Turkey, whose upper-class sympathies lie with Islamic militants seeking to expand the "green belt" as far into Europe as possible.
"I've never known a Turk who did not say that the Balkans would be a peaceful region, if it was again under Turkish rule," observed Fleming.
Recent reports verify Fleming's assessment of militant Islam expanding its power - a "green belt" -- in the Balkans.
In early September, the leader of the banned Albanian Liberation Army, Avdil Jakupi, warned that a new civil war would erupt in Macedonia if local Albanians are not granted independence.
In nominally Serbian Kosovo, local Albanian leaders are also demanding independence. Although UN Resolution 1244 guarantees that Kosovo will remain a part of Serbia, the province has all the trappings of an independent nation, including a president and legislative assembly.
The UN and NATO have administered Kosovo since the end of the 78-day NATO air war against the then-existing Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which governed Kosovo as an integral part of Yugoslavia, both by political and historical right.
The president of Kosovo, Ibrahim Rugova, is pressing for the area, which he refers to as " Kosava," to be given the right to send diplomatic representatives to other nations, and to take over the civil administration of Kosovo/Kovsova from the UN.
The two steps would guarantee independence for Kosovo/Kosova from Serbia.
Rugova claims that independence for Kosovo/Kosova will forestall pressure from Islamic militants for the establishment of a "Greater Albania." Many are skeptical, and regard Kosovo/Kosova independence as another step toward the establishment of a large, militant Islamic state near the heart of Europe.
Thomas Fleming is the author of numerous books and articles. His latest book is Montenegro: The Divided Land.
Tomorrow: In Their Image and Likeness Part II
International Organizations Help Build the "Green Belt"
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