

IVZ head, Sulejman Rexhepi. Photo: IVZ



The head of the official Islamic Community of North Macedonia, IVZ, Sulejman Rexhepi, has been warned that he may face criminal charges if he persists with his threat to review the ban on public prayers in mosques.

In a televised address on Thursday, while demanding more government financial aid, Rexhepi said he might reconsider the IVZ’s earlier decision to stop public prayers in mosques as part of the wider measures imposed in North Macedonia to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

“I will remind them [the government] one more time, because if, God forbid, we review our decision, no force will be able to combat the epidemic, I guarantee you” Rexhepi said.

Deputy Interior Minister Slavjanka Petrovska later said that the leader of the second largest religious community in the country, after the Macedonian Orthodox Church, should “reconsider” his views, or the Interior Ministry wouldn’t hesitate to act.

“We are communicating with the public prosecutor and we will decide together whether to press criminal charges … but calling for, or expressing disobedience to, government measures that are in the interests of citizens is inappropriate, as this is not a government or societal battle but a world-wide battle,” Petrovska said.

The prosecution on Thursday also said Rexhepi could face charges for inciting disobedience to government measures intended to curb the coronavirus.

The government has also said that the authorities are working on a set of financial measures to help all the religious communities in the country.

Some fellow Muslims in the government have been more sympathetic to the embattled IVZ leader. The Vice Prime Minister in charge of European Affairs, Bujar Osmani, said his message had been taken out of context and should be interpreted as a plea for help.

“We shouldn’t make drama out of a plea for help… I am in regular communication with the IVZ head… The main source for financing for the IVZ is donations for the Ramadan holiday [which starts on April 23], so their fear is that … they won’t be able to pay wages for the imams,” Osnami said.

The politically outspoken and often controversial Rexhepi has made headlines in the past. Among his many controversial statements, in 2018, to the applause of supporters, he appeared to wish a speedy death for a judge who had issued a ruling against the IVZ.

Muslims make up at least a quarter of the population of multi-ethnic North Macedonia. Most are ethnic Albanians, while smaller numbers are ethnic Turks and others.