A natural Islamic axis (Albania-Bosnia-Central Asia)
would then form and threaten the Slav peoples wherever they are (Serbs,
Russians, Bulgarians). What started as the normal friction between two
ethnic groups in close physical proximity ended as a mythical
re-enactment of the Islamic (Ottoman) invasion of Europe in the 14th
century. A nightmare revived fraught with the fears of an economically
languishing Christian-Orthodox, Slav, Byzantine civilization. A very
concrete issue of land and autonomy assumed the dimensions of a cosmic
clash between the titans of religion.
Officially, the Albanians constitute 23% of the population in
Macedonia. But Albanian did not take well to what they regarded as
coercion: the population census. They refused to be counted and evaded
the census takers - to their great detriment. As a result, their
numbers are severely understated. It is safe to say that well over ONE
THIRD of the population was of Albanian origin long BEFORE the wave of
refugees swept over this 25,000 square kilometres country. Should one
third of the refugees be absorbed by Macedonia - another 80,000
Albanians - the Albanian population stands to constitute more than 40%
of the population.
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