thirty-ninth meeting of the commission, item 25, reading, "Implementation of the Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination based on Religion or Belief." There was little consequence at first, but on 20 July 1984 a member of the Danish Parliament inserted an article in one of Denmark's major newspapers protesting the violation of religious freedom in Albania. After the death of Enver Hoxha in 1985, his successor, Ramiz Alia, adopted a relatively tolerant stance toward religious practice, referring to it as "a personal and family matter." Émigré clergymen were permitted to reenter the country in 1988 and officiate at religious services. Mother Teresa, an ethnic Albanian, visited the country in 1989, where she was received in Tirana by the foreign minister and by Hoxha's widow and where she laid a wreath on Hoxha's grave. In December 1990, the ban on religious observance was officially lifted, in time to allow thousands of Christians to attend Christmas services. The atheistic campaign had significant results especially to the Greek minority, since religion which was now criminalized was traditionally an integral part of its cultural life and identity. Religions Islam Islam was first introduced to Albania in the 15th century after the Ottoman conquest of the area. It is the largest religion in the country, representing 56% of the population according to the 2011 census. One of the major legacies of nearly five centuries of Ottoman rule was that the majority of Albanians had converted to Islam. Therefore, the nation emerged as a Muslim-majority country after Albania's independence in November 1912. In the North, the spread of Islam was slower due to the resistance of the Roman Catholic Church and the region's mountainous terrain. In the center and south, however, Catholicism was not as strong and by the end of the 17th century the region had largely adopted the religion of the growing Albanian Muslim elite. The existence of an Albanian Muslim class of pashas and beys who played an increasingly important role in Ottoman political and economic life became an attractive career option for most Albanians. Widespread illiteracy and the absence of educated clergy also played roles in the spread of Islam, especially in northern Albanian-inhabited regions. During the 17th and 18th centuries Albanians converted to Islam in large numbers, often under sociopolitical duress experienced as repercussions for rebelling and for supporting the Catholic powers of Venice and