International Conference: Current Security Challenges for the Western Balkan Region Addressed by Means of Joint Responsibility and Cooperation ISLAMIC“RE-CONQUEST” OF THE BALKANS For centuries, Western Balkans Muslims have tied their religious identity to the Ottoman Empire and for Hana school of Islam, which was the dominant interpretation of Islamic religious teaching in the European territory of the Ottoman Empire. With the war events that followed the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the other interpretations of Islamic teachings found their way to this region. The situation that emerged in Bosnia during, and after war in 1992-95. greatly increased and opened up new political, religious and security challenges for the Western Balkans region. during the Russian occupation) which"...subsequently brought Muslims from various parts of the world to participate in Jihads in Bosnia, Kosovo..." 29 Evan F. Kohlmann gives the following description of true nature of this solidarity"It would not be long before a much more serious effort was made by distant Islamic extremists to aid the suffering Bosnian Muslims. These young men, galvanized by hateful religious and political ideologies, were determined to turn the global tide against the 'indel' regimes, even those outside the traditional boundaries of the Middle East." 30 One of the major challenges is the increased This way the Saudi's and Iranian interpretations inuence of the leading Islamic, Middle Eastern of Islamic teachings found their way to the states on the Muslim population of Bosnia and Balkans region, which had a signicant impact Herzegovina and on the total Muslim population on the change in religious consciousness and 35 in the region, particularly the Muslims at the territory of the Republic of Serbia(Sand ž ak, understanding of Islam among the local Muslim population. Under the mask of Islamic solidarity Kosovo). But it should be emphasize that the same phenomena can be noticed in Macedonia and Albania. and through political, military and humanitarian aid, Sala teachings, as well as the Shia interpretation of Islam, arrived to this region from the Muslim states of the Middle East. In Three leading Muslim states in particular are interested in the Muslim question in this region. Those are Saudi Arabia, Iran and Turkey. Since the end of the 80's these countries showed continued interest in the Balkans. With the war this way traditional Ottoman Islamic heritage has ceased to be the only form of practicing Islam, and space was created for different Islamic religious teachings which originating from Middle Eastern countries. events that followed the dissolution of Yugoslavia, begins the arrival of the Muslim Jihadists from the Middle Eastern countries, which came to help their Bosnian"brothers" at war with Christians(Serbs and Croats). As John L. Esposito noted, they came inspired by the new global Jihadist sentiment that was conceived on the Afghan battleeld. The sense of solidarity and global Jihad sentiment was States such as Saudi Arabia and Iran have thus made considerable religious and political inuence over the Balkan Muslims, thereby becoming, besides Turkey(which has a traditional presence and inuence among Muslims of this region) another"external" determinant of their internal religious and political relations. born among Arab-Afghans ghters(Arabs and other Muslims who had fought in Afghanistan 29 John L. Esposito, Unholy war-Terror in the Name of Islam, Oxford University Press, 2002., p.116. 30 Evan Kohlmann, Al-Qaida's Jihad in Europe-The Afghan-Bosnian Network, Berg, Oxford, 2004., p.16.