international association for religious freedom belief with integrity Agenda Item 3: Protection of the existence and prevention of violence against religious minorities Oral Statement by the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF) 6th Session Forum on Minority Issues, 26th November 2013 Thank you Madam President. My name is Arben Sulejmani. I am the official representative of the Bektashi Community, a religious minority in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and a member of the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF), an international organization of over 70 member associations of religious and faith based organizations working for freedom of religion or beliefs in over 30 countries. My intervention on this agenda item focuses on acts of aggression or violence against the Bektashi community, including intimidation, specifically in our places of worship and assembly. We are urging the government to protect and guarantee our right to property like any of the religious groups in our country so that we can freely practice our religion and culture in community with other members of our community. Non-Recognition In Macedonia, there is no official state religion; however, a 2001. constitutional amendment specifically lists five religious groups: the MOC-OA, the Islamic Community of Macedonia (ICM), the Roman Catholic Church, the Jewish community, and the Evangelical Methodist Church. The 2007 Law on the Legal Status of a Church, a Religious Community and a Religious Group allows for the legal registration of other religious groups, however, despite our applications for registration, our group has been denied legal recognition due to the the prior use of the Bektashi title by a separate group, and based on the Supreme Court's decision that the teachings of the Bektashi have similarities to the Islamic Community of Macedonia (ICM). No less than the former Special Rapporteur of Freedom of Religion and Belief, Asma Jahangir, on her Mission to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in 2009 recognized the resulting tensions and friction between different Muslim groups in the country.