Perception of Faith, Finance, and Foreign Influence: Analyzing International Investments in Religious Infrastructure in the Western Balkans from a Community Perspective

The religious infrastructure in the Western Balkans was in a state of decay (wars, state atheism) at the start of the 21st century, and local religious communities needed more finances for its reconstruction. Ever since, foreign investors (development funds, charities, religious NGOs) from across the world have given a helping hand in building hundreds of mosques, churches and shrines while also financing the religious personnel, providing religious literature and scholarships to study theology, etc. The aim of these development investments has not been solely altruistic, as many states saw it as a possibility to spread their soft power and specific political agenda. The long-term impact of these investments varies a lot as there are many good examples of substantial improvement of quality of life in local communities, all the way to very controversial examples of groups of religious extremists willing to fight for their beliefs. This paper assesses how local communities perceive this foreign investment in religious infrastructure in the Western Balkan. It shows how the population sees the building itself, the events happening there, its role in the neighbourhood, and the values it spreads. At the same time, it looks as if they are in contrast or cohesion with how the neighbourhood functioned before the mosque's construction. It takes an example of Kosovo and its capital, Pristina, as it compares two neighbourhoods in Pristina, which has recently seen construction projects (a new mosque) funded by Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The paper is based on the month-long field research in Kosovo (December 2023), where the author has collected questionnaires from local inhabitants with the help of Hasan Prishtina University students. The collected data are now analysed using qualitative and quantitative methods. Critical findings concerning the perception of these projects will be the main results of the planned article, which will be based on this paper presented at the conference.