My name is
Konstantinos Giakoumis, and I am associate professor of history,
arts and methods at Logos University College, Tirana, Albania.
The fate of
Islamic heritage in Albania
has been, let's see, a sad story
at the beginning of the 20th century
and soon after the establishment of the Albanian state in 1912
in Tirana, for example, there were well over 40
mosques, masjids,
tekes and other, let's say, heritage of the sort.
Currently in Tirana, there are three
old, let's say, mosques
Their fate let's see you know has been
diverse. To begin with in the course of the interwar period
Albania, in the process of modernization,
engaged in the de-Ottomanization program
as a result of which major cities in Albania, such as Elbasan
and other cities, Tirana, included, let's say Tirana
produced new urban plans
and engaged in a concerted
and concentrated let's say, effort concerted and concentrated effort to
eradicate the you know
the Islamic heritage of the city. As a result of this,
as a consequence of this, a number of beautiful mosques with
frescoes, both at their interior and their exterior have been demolished.
We only know of them on account of oral accounts
as well as a few old photographs. In the course of the communist regime,
communist regime was atheist and the Albanian
specific, let's say, you know, specificities made that
in 1967
Albania declared itself as an atheist
state worldwide and
it banned all religious activities.
But in the meantime before, from 1945 to 1967,
instigates the major campaign to denigrate
the clergy whatever, the clergy be Christian
or Muslim, and that
a number of monuments were destroyed in the course of that time.
And that was also the case because
there were very few scholars
who placed an argument about the national legacy,
the national character of the Muslim monuments,
thereby
Muslim monuments, projecting an image of something, being foreign,
something being implanted, thereby not bothering,
you know, to to knock it down.
Of course, the situation changed after the 90s
and the, you know, the transition to a multi-party democracy.
Currently, Albania, we brand ourselves as a
as a religious tolerant country that distinguishes itself
for religious harmony or religious toleration.
There is a religious council
composed of members of all religious groups who
come together, and pretty much the people are seeking to live
in peaceful coexistence.
Of course, Islamic heritage, let's see, you know, has multiple aspects.
For long, let's say,
you know, there was a debate whether Albania belongs to
the West
or it belongs to the Orient
At the beginnings of the so-called Albanian renaissance
or Albanian enlightenment.
in the end of the 19th century, in the process of national awakening,
considering that Albania had no single religion
to nationalize it and played in that
nation building process
it downplayed religion.
But these so to speak,
downplaying religion was also convenient
for different reasons for the communist regime as well.
The communist regime wanted to eradicate religion
and it also proclaimed that Albanians have always been indifferent
towards religion because all these were foreign implants.
To some extent,
this debate of whether these religions
belonged to the east or to the West, and what's the relation of Albania
towards, let's say,
these two Abrahamic religions continues to date.
Back in 2006, Albania was
there was a major debate
going on between a well known internationally renowned, writer
Ismail Kadaré, and the Kosovar Albanian
Academic Rexhep Qosja. Ismail Kadaré quoted
that Albania traditionally and historically belongs to the West,
and that all, let's say, sort of Islamic heritage and Muslim
let's say, prescence are some sort of
are foreing to Albanian culture. On the contrary,
a Rexhep Qosja claimed that
long centuries of tradition
of presence of Islam made Albania rather an oriental state.
So this is basically still now, currently Albania is aspiring
European integration,
and it has clearly positioned itself in particular to the West.
However, it's part of the Islamic Council
There are still elements
that indicate that Albania is really a land in between.
At Berat's külliye külliye is a complex, an Islamic complex.
there is the so-called King's mosque,
Hynqarit Xhamia.
This mosque was built in the 15th century, towards 1560s.
and it was the second mosque built in the city of of Berat.
In 200..
in 2019
in the course of conservation works,
led by the Turkish Foundation for Culture TIKA
there was an early Christian basilica that was discovered
at the foundations of this particular monument
and of course, you know, some proper documentation of that small
let's say you know plot was conducted We read the inscriptions.
It is a basilica that can be safely dated around
the fourth Ecumenical Council around, let's see, you know, 450 A.D.
And it
it certainly relates to the renaming of the city of Berat.
The oldest name of Berat was Antipatria.
The second name of Berat was Pulcheriopolis, in honor of Pulcheria,
Theodosius sister,
who named a few cities of the Byzantine
Empire of Eastern Roman Empire as Pulcheriopolis
So it is a church that is
that is linked to this. Of course,
this is a heritage that created some sort of uneasiness.
You know, this is a mosque but it is conserved with Turkish funds
and it is built on the foundations
of an old Christian church.
So the authorities, the local authorities,
let's say are somehow unease, how to
what to do with that
I think that this is an indication
of continuity of the
sacredness of the land, of the place.
So the Ottomans
did not pick any
Bayezid II himself did not pick any place
that had nothing to do with the sanctity of the very place.
But he picked up a place that was known, a church that had been
destroyed as as evidenced by the
signs of burn at its foundation.
So he picked up a place that was locally known as a good place.
And they you know he built the mosque.
I think this is an indication of respect
of the Ottoman
religion, of the of Islam towards Christianity,
although it creates an attitude of somehow of
some sort of uneasiness nowadays.