[Shqipo]

Albanian Muslims are equally divided between Sunni and Bektashi (most liberal sect of Islam). Albanian Christians are both Catholic and Eastern Orthodox, and all of Europe would have been Islamicized in the 15th Century if The Albanians didn't rout and humble the Ottoman legions for 25 years under their great commander Skenderbeg. While the rest of Europe sat on their asses, the Albanians fought off the mightiest Islamic Armies of Mehmed and Murad II, saving Rome and the papacy before finally being overrun. It is a forgotten legacy that took 500 years for Albania to free itself from, as it forged independence in 1912.

[Capt. Tom]

Religions:
Muslim 70%, Albanian Orthodox 20%, Roman Catholic 10% note: all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited; in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice