Skënder Bruçaj

Taking in consideration his academic background, the leadership of the Muslim Community of Albania (MCA) elected Bruçaj as the vice head in December 2013 and as the head of the organisation in March 2014. The election of Bruçaj to the position was considered by many Muslims and imams in Albania as illegal and violating MCA statutes. They viewed Bruçaj's election as successful interference by the Gülen movement which for them sought to dominate the main Muslim institution of Albania. Major Albanian politicians commended the election of Bruçaj as MCA leader, as did many Western embassies in Albania. As a newly elected leader, Bruçaj stated that a taskforce had been established to place certain mosques not following the ideology of the MCA under the control of the organisation. During August 2014 after the Albanian government conducted operations to end drug cultivation activities in Lazarat, Bruçaj visited the village and commended practicing Muslim families who had distanced themselves from drug related activities due to their religious convictions.

During September 2011 and December 2013, apart from giving lesions at the university in Social Psychology and Islamic Psychology, he was also Head of the Department of Law and vice dean of Faculty of Humanities at Bedër University.

During 2010 – 2011 years he completed his postgraduate studies, while actually he is attending doctoral studies on thesis: “Quality Management in Education”

For some years later he has worked as an adviser for foreign companies. In 2008 he was appointed as the head of the Career Planning Office at the “Epoka” University in Tirana.

In 1996 he finished the “Beykoz Imam Hatip” High School in Istanbul, Turkey. After that, he completed the high studies in the Institute of Foreign Languages at the Bosphorus University, in which after he certified his English proficiency continued his studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences - Psychology Branch.

After finishing the primary school in his birthplace, he was among the first contingent of student’s sent by the Muslim Community of Albania to Turkey for further studies in 1992.

Skëndër Bruçaj was born on June 22, 1976 in the district of Malësia e Madhe, Albania. He served as chairman of Albanian Muslim Community from 2014–2019. His successor is Bujar Spahiu.