By Damir Ahmed, IOL Correspondent

MOSCOW, (IslamOnline.net) – The recent arrest of three Lithuanian Muslims in the capital Vilnius on alleged terror charges, triggered concerns of a possible campaign targeting the Muslim community in the former Soviet republic and one of the EU's newcomers.

Police forces raided on Monday, July 19, a flat used by Muslims as a makeshift mosque in Vilnius, allegedly in search of weapons and banned books, eyewitnesses told IslamOnline.net.

They said three worshippers were arrested in the raid, although no such arms or books were found.

But the Baltic BNC network claimed pamphlets inciting sectarian violence and plotting terrorist attacks were discovered in the prayer room.

The network said Lithuanian police would refer results of the investigations to the public prosecutor to take action against the three, all Lithuanians of Russian origin.

Although inhabited by 30,000 Muslims, the capital Vilnius does not have a single proper mosque.

Fears

The raid, being the first in a two years' time, sent waves of concerns among the 110-thousand-strong Muslim community in the country.

"The arrests could mark the beginning of a new campaign against Muslims of the former Soviet republic," one Muslim activist told IOL on condition of anonymity.

Lithuania has some 12 mosques and one group working to spread awareness of Islam.

Muslims in Lithuania are estimated at 110,000, mostly of Caucasus and Arab origins.

Noticeably, a large number of Catholic Christians and other non-Muslim Lithuanians have embraced Islam over the past years.

A recent study by the Helsinki human rights group found that scores of Lithuanians have sought to have a better knowledge of Islam in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, blamed by Washington on Al-Qaeda network of Osama Bin Laden.

The group said more than 10,000 young people from various areas of the country have bought copies of the Noble Qur'an from government-run libraries in Vilnius.

The study also expected Islam to become one of the main religions in Lithuania within 20 or 30 years.

Lithuania, which has a population of 3.6 million people, joined European Union in May 2004.

Eight of the newcomers were former communist states, joining the Western club 15 years after most of them emerged from years of Soviet domination.

With the accession of the ten newcomers, the number of Muslims in Europe was expected to number 30 million out of its overall 450-million population.

The European Parliament committees invited Muslims to their meetings on the bloc's draft constitution, which carry articles for religious freedom and equal treatment of minorities.
 

Source :  http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2004-07/22/article01.shtmls