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It also includes Russia's strategy to expand its influence in the Muslim world through charitable organizations and foundations.
When tensions between Prishtina and Belgrade rose in August 2022 over the issue of illegal Serbian vehicle number plates being used in northern Kosovo, the European Muslim Forum expressed its concern that Muslims could suffer from any possible incident. .
This, however, was not the first time that this organization has shown interest in the Balkan region.
Her work was recently mentioned in a report compiled by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), based in the United Kingdom, considered the world's oldest institute in the field of defense and security.
The report titled "Russia's Unconventional Warfare Threat Beyond Ukraine, 2022–'24" mentions Russia's various tactics to create disruption in Europe.
It also includes Russia's strategy to expand its influence in the Muslim world through charitable organizations and foundations.
One of them is the Ahmat Kadyrov Foundation, which tends to popularize as a religious figure the former Chechen leader, at the same time the father of the current leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, who is an ally of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
Similar work is done by the European Muslim Forum.
According to the British report, "the organization is especially active in the Balkans, where it has established links with authoritative Muslim representatives (not only religious, but also political figures) in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Croatia , Greece and Romania".
Radio Free Europe has reached out to this entity for a comment regarding the findings of the RUSI report, but it was not available.
On its website, on the Internet, there are no data on the way the organization is financed.
What relations does Kosovo have with the European Muslim Forum?
In July 2021, a delegation from the European Muslim Forum, led by its chairman, visited the Islamic Community of Kosovo (BIK) and the Faculty of Islamic Studies. The delegation was received by the chairman of BIK, Mufti Naim Tërnava, and by his associates.
Meanwhile, BIK officials told Radio Free Europe that they had only welcomed the delegation as a sign of respect and that they had not been aware of who the organization is close to.
The delegation made many visits to other countries in the Balkans.
On the website of the Council of Muftis of Russia, the visit was announced as an opportunity to advance to another level the cooperation between the Muslims of the Balkans and those of Russia.
What is known about the Forum and who runs it?
The European Muslim Forum is an organization founded in October 2018 and has several offices in Europe.
The leader of the Forum is Abdul-Vahed Niyazov. In the past, he is believed to have been a leader of the "Muslims in Support of President Putin" movement, and for a period was a representative of Putin's party in the Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament.
According to the Forum's website, it is committed to providing assistance for the integration of Muslim immigrants into European societies, for the construction of mosques and cultural centers, or for the development of the Halal industry in Europe.
But Lithuania's State Security Department Office said in its 2023 annual report that the Forum spreads propaganda against the West.
According to the Lithuanian authorities, the main positions in the Forum belong to the leaders of Russian Muslim organizations, which are connected to the presidential administration of Russia.
In the past, Niyazov has been seen meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
According to Lithuanian authorities, Niyazov has been banned from entering the Schengen area in Europe since October 2022.
What are the connections of the European Muslim Forum with the Balkans?
Part of the council of the European Muslim Forum, from the Balkan region, are the muftis of Serbia, Mevlud Dudić and Abdullah Numan, then Behijjudin Shehapi from North Macedonia and Rifat Feiziq from Montenegro.
A mufti of Serbia also participated in the founding of the Forum in 2018 in Barcelona.
On the Forum page on the Facebook social network, pictures of mosques in the Balkans and their activities are often published.
Sometimes support is also expressed for some political figure, such as Bakir Izetbegović, former president of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or Muammer Zukorlić, now deceased deputy speaker of the Parliament of Serbia.
On social networks, in posts mainly in Russian, the Forum also declares support for controversial figures, such as Andrew Tate.
The former American-British kickboxer has been congratulated by the organization for converting to Islam, with the hope that he will promote Islamic values.
Tate is currently facing court proceedings in Romania on charges of rape and trafficking, charges he has denied.
Jakub Kalensky of the COI Center for Hybrid Impact, based in Finland, told Radio Free Europe a few days ago that Europe needs to increase its capacity to identify and document disinformation originating from Russia.
"It is believed that Russia now allocates 2 billion euros for disinformation operations within the year, while the EU's response is financed by 12 million euros," he said.
"If we have 2 billion euros against 12 million euros, we clearly know the end. It doesn't matter if the EU campaign is better, in the end Russia will win", Kalensky said. /Rel
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