The Islamic League, which turned into the Albanian League

Happy Shpuza

The historical assembly of Prizren, in which the Albanian League was founded, held near Bajrakxhamia of this city, has remained unappreciated and even badly anathema as a gathering organized and manipulated by the sultanist elements. The charter, the only document approved in this assembly, was permeated by loyalty to the sultan and the Shariat. Even the newly created organization itself was called the Islamic League and later it was called the Albanian League!

The assembly was held near Bajrakxhamia. Although near an Islamic cult, not only 38 Muslim participants took part in it, but five Christian delegates (Orthodox and Catholic) lined up alongside them. There, contrary to what is being prejudged, historic decisions were made about the fate of the homeland and its future. This unimaginable position for that time was dictated by the historical moment, which laid before the parliamentarians the urgent task of unification without religious distinction to save the Albanian lands from the danger of fragmentation. This union of different religious elements naturally followed the centuries-old tradition of inter-religious coexistence between the bearers of different faiths.

For the author Sylejman Kylçe, originally from Tetova or Luma, who tells us the decisions of the work of this assembly, it is completely clear and indisputable that these delegates did not come there for the sake of narrow, special interests, but as he underlines, "for the protection of Albania's rights" well done.

The parliamentarians, although representing only a part of Albania, the vilayet of Kosovo and the former vilayet of Manastir, and after two weeks those of Shkodra shared the same opinions regarding the ways to save the homeland from the dangers that threatened it. As a first measure, they undertook the formation of a unified all-Albanian national organization, which has gone down in history under the name of the Albanian League of Prizren. This is evidenced by the decisions that were made there.

Immediately after the opening of the Congress of Berlin, these delegates, without waiting for the arrival of the representatives of the other countries, because time did not wait, immediately announced on June 15, 1878, the High Gate with a signed announcement, as S. Kylçe points out, jointly and with the Christian leaders, declared: all Albanians were determined to face any negative decision that would come out of that forum of great powers in the capital of Germany and any aggression that would come from the neighbors.

The newly assembled assemblymen in Prizren firmly declared: "Cursed be he who pursues selfish interests at this time when the motherland calls us to its service. We, in our League, decided to first of all prove that, without discussing religion, we are Albanians". As can be seen, there was no question of regional division. The participants of the Assembly were fully aware of their unified national identity. The unfolding of the supra-religious union of Albanians was appreciated from the beginning, as Sylejman Kulçe writes, naturally, "a great work of awakening".

The parliamentarians of Prizren approved on the same day the basic national political program, for the implementation of which the League would work. The autonomy of Albania was rightly considered for the conditions, as the best way to ensure not only the entirety of the Albanian lands, but also the future of the united homeland. Let's not forget that the powerful decision-makers of the Congress of Berlin agreed to maintain the status quo in the Balkans.

Although in the assembly, once in a while, only representatives of a part of the Albanian territories participated and discussed, they expressed themselves and took decisions in this historic gathering also on behalf of all their compatriots, as it pertained to the preservation of the whole of the Albanian lands as well as for the establishment of the national rights of all Albanians.

The representatives of the Prizren vilayet saw the task of saving the Albanian villages endangered by the Treaty of Saint Stephen and then by the Berlin Congress as inseparable from their goal of securing national rights even in the form of an Albanian administration. within the framework of "united provinces" with the widest possible autonomy.

In this constitution of the League, as Kylçe calls it, it is laid out clearly and emphatically since the first days of the Assembly of Prizren, before the representatives of the other vices have yet reached, the intention to spend without wasting time in the immediate realization of Albania's autonomy with the union of the Albanian vilayets with the center of Manastir. Likewise, the establishment of the administration of the League with the relevant bodies is required not only for the mobilization of Albanians in the fight against the fragmentation of Albanian lands, but also for the establishment of this autonomy. From the very beginning, it was foreseen that the administration of the League would take over the collection of taxes and the establishment of law enforcement bodies and military forces of the "United Provinces" for the protection of Albanian lands.

For the author S. Kylçe "it was clearly obvious that the first decisions of the League of Prizren did not match the being and interests of the Ottoman state". Therefore, the Ottoman authorities took immediate measures to oppose the implementation of these goals and demands.

Initially, the Albanians of the province of Kosovo, and after them also those of all the provinces of northeastern, northern, and eastern Albania, did not go to the Assembly of Prizren only and simply as representatives of the provinces or of the special sanjaks.

Until now, the names of the participants of the assembly who signed the founding documents of the League are not known. We have the names of those who approved the Decree of June 17, for the organization of forces for the protection of Albanian lands and the establishment of the Albanian administration. They were the representatives of the regions of Dukagjin Plain, Kosovo, Dibra Tetova, Mati, Luma, Novipazar, Gucia, Skopje, Manastir, Ohrid, Kirčova, etc., more than 50 people. Even though the most prominent representatives of the Albanian National Movement were absent from the Assembly of Prizren, its participants stood at the height of the understanding and the correct expression of the duties that were laid before the country at the national level for the time and for the future.

The first to support the decisions and protests issued by the Assembly of Prizren were the representatives of the countries threatened by the decisions of the Treaty of Saint Stephen.

The newly created League of Prizren, in fact, united the popular initiatives of self-defense committees and local, provincial and inter-provincial connections into a common national all-Albanian organization.

After the formation of the Albanian League as a pan-Albanian national organization with the commemoration of June 15 addressed to the Congress of Berlin and the High Gate and, especially, with the approval of the political program of the League, the will and determination of the Albanian nation for the creation of a common front was clearly expressed the well-being of Albanians in the face of foreign enemies who sought to cripple the territorial integrity of the homeland and deny Albania its national rights. This front, in the first days of its creation, was transformed, contrary to what is claimed, into a national political organization, with genuine Albanian physiognomy, unequivocally announced worldwide.

In the impossibility now to ignore them, as until now, the basic documents of the League dated June 15, 1878, are observed to somehow underestimate the historical Assembly of Prizren.

Now, in our historical literature devoted to the establishment of the Albanian League, there is no longer any question of the dominance of sultanist and even moderate elements in the Assembly of Prizren. Still, the radical elements are sought outside the walls of the mosque, where the delegates of the assembly gathered and, even, far from the hearth of the founding of the League. But, in fact, it is precisely these representatives of the Albanian people, of the northeastern parts of Albania, who took the historic decisions in the Assembly, who initiated the movement for the establishment and right orientation of the League of Prizren from the very first steps of her.

The representatives of the above-mentioned villages, mainly Muslims, gave the League, on June 15, 1878, the pan-Albanian platform, the patriotic program and the revolutionary tactic of the war for preserving the integrity of the native lands and, at the same time, the war for securing national rights. Adhering to this program until the end, the League of Prizren remained for nearly four consecutive years at the head of the Albanian National Movement. Around her, during the years 1878-1881, patriotic forces from other vilayets, from all four sides of the Albanian provinces, joined.

Contrary to the historical reality of those days of June 1878, even to this day they are displayed as the first documents of the Assembly of Prizren and, at the same time, the founding of the Albanian Kararnameja League, mistakenly termed unintentionally or intentionally Turkoman or pro-Turkish, Talimati and even the so-called New Canon of July 2, 1878. So, we still encounter attempts to return, through categorical or contradictory statements, to the former wholly or partially negative evaluations of the Charter and the founding Assembly of Prizren . There is still a deep gap between the overall positive evaluation of the League as a creation of the Albanians and the negative characterization of the documents considered as its founding acts.
The program of June 15, 1878 with the request for autonomy, even when it is mentioned, is immediately invalidated with the extremely simplified claim that its content was not included in the two subsequent documents that were approved by the Assembly, on June 17, 1878, in the Decree (Act of Decisions ) and in Talimatin (Instructions). In these circumstances, it is appropriate to stop once more to specify and emphasize what are, in fact, the founding acts of the Albanian League of 1878-1881. The analysis and re-evaluation of the work of the Assembly of Prizren is not dictated only by the commemoration of the anniversaries of the League.

Unlike the hundreds of previous protests sent until then from the northern, northeastern and eastern provinces, the act of June 15 was already signed in the name of the founders of the newly formed Albanian League. These protests were joined after nearly five and a half weeks by the protest of the Branch of the Albanian League in Ioannina on July 24, 1878, followed by other protests by South Albanians against the decisions of the Congress of Berlin regarding the borders of the South at the beginning of the year 1879 and after.
Sylejman Kylçe calls the autonomist program of the founding Assembly of the League of Prizren in Turkish, not without a right, anayasa, that is, the Constitution. It was actually a draft of the draft constitution of autonomous Albania.

S. Kylçe as an author, a good connoisseur of Ottoman sources for the history of Albania of those centuries, first of all, is interested in the political position of the delegates of the Assembly of Prizren expressed in it and not simply the organizational measures, especially in the military field, for the achievement his. Therefore, he does not refer at all to the Kararname or the Talimat, and even less to the so-called New Canon. Although the alleged Islamic or pro-Ottoman and pro-Sultanic content of the Charter would suit the highest imperial authorities, he does not mention this document at all, which should not have been unknown to the Ottoman authorities and to himself. Therefore, not by chance, Kylçe stops at publishing and evaluating only the acts of June 15.

The League program of June 15 was followed by a lot of submissions with the request for autonomy. The chronology, geography of the submission and their wording are of interest to judge the progress of the efforts of the League's bodies on a national and local scale towards the establishment of the autonomous Albanian state.

S. Kylçe is a serious and completely reliable author. For documents that he knows about their existence, but has not been able to get hold of, he does not once give himself the right to talk about their data, obtained from indirect sources. Therefore, it can be said with conviction that the source and the authenticity of the content of the documents of June 15, 1878, put into scientific circulation by him in 1944, can hardly be doubted and, therefore, in discussion.

As a basic document, the "Constitution" of the League was not included and there was no need to be included, as we see it being claimed to this day, in the acts compiled and approved after it, such as the Charter or the Order.

The founding acts of the League dated June 15 and the other acts that followed them were the work of politically clear patriotic circles from the first steps of the organizational activity of the Assembly of Prizren.

This historical reality is hard to deny. It cannot even be doubted by the attempts to characterize it completely or partially negatively, which continues to be unjustly done to Kararanmea as an Islamic or pro-Sultan document.

The expression of loyalty to the Ottoman Empire and the sovereign that was formulated in it, did not contradict the autonomist program approved two days ago in Prizren. We encounter it in many submissions to Istanbul and the Great Powers. Abdyl Frashëri himself will address the sultan, the padishah of 25 million Ottoman subjects and the caliph of 220 million Muslims with this language. Therefore, there is no need to prejudice the participants of the Assembly of Prizren and charge them with "guilts" that they do not have or carry if they can be called such, and all other personalities of the Renaissance from that time until November of 1912.

When we talk about the reference of the Charter in any case to the Islamic religion, we must bear in mind that the bodies of the League would refer to the Muslim religious law, as it is stated there expressly and without any doubt, only for the protection of life, property and honor of non-Muslim countrymen, and as pointed out there, as well as for himself, ie. for Muslims themselves. In this formulation compiled and approved in the Bajrakjamina of Prizren, we are dealing, as is clear, with an article that does great honor to its authors, the members of the League, among whom there were also representatives of Christians. . There we are dealing with a very emancipated attitude, not only for the time when it unfolded, but also later and up to our days. A very humane and tolerant attitude that is difficult to find among our neighbors not then but later and even today. This attitude contains a very current and valuable message even in our days, which Albanians, regardless of faith, should and it is believed that they will adhere to even to this day.

With the alleged resolution of July 2, which erroneously continues even in today's editions (see: History of the Albanian people, vol. II, Tirana, 2002, 159-160), to be opposed to one degree or another, The "Constitution" of June 15, 1878 of the League, nothing else was achieved than to confirm and realize the accession of the representatives of other vilayets in the national program of the Assembly of Prizren. Their arrival enabled the organizational extension of the League's network from its center in Prizren to every villa and sanjak and even through the kaza with a central committee at the head.

The Decree and the Instruction in relation to the Program of June 15 are, if we express ourselves in legal terms, by-laws that have been issued in implementation of the "Constitution". They deal, which is understandable, mainly with internal problems of the League, with organizational issues and, in the first place, with taking measures in the military field to face external aggression, which represented an immediate task.

So, the League of Prizren was conceived and born as a pan-Albanian national organization, from the first days of its foundation, and it did not become one, as is still claimed, neither on June 17 nor on July 2 of that year, when the representatives of the village of Shkodra arrive there, and on November 1, 1878, those of Ioannina.

Balkan authors, primarily Serbian ones, from Haxhivasiljevic to Bogdanovic, claim that the Albanian representatives in the Assembly of Prizren were faced with two currents according to the geographical and provincial division: that of the progressives of Southern and Central Albania and that of of the conservatives of Northern and Northeastern Albania. These views do not remain without echo in our days in any serious study dedicated to the League.

The analysis of the founding documents of the Assembly of Prizren rejects such negative political and social characterizations for the participants of the historic Assembly of Prizren on June 15, 1878. In this way of presenting the problem, the fact that moderate or conservative elements were not absent and were not they were less even outside the vilayet of Kosovo, Shkodra and Manasrtir.

Before we fear that the history of the League will be mystified, it remains an important task for us to demystify it from falsifications of any kind.

The path of the League of Prizren from its first steps clearly proves that the population of the northern, northeastern and eastern regions was not only a fighting reserve of the Albanian National Movement of all times, and specifically of the Albanian League of Prizren. It has produced not only outstanding warriors and commanders but also political leaders and statesmen. They have known throughout history, just like their compatriots in other Albanian territories, to fight not only with swords, as some of our authors say, but also with their minds.

It is precisely the representatives of the Albanian population of Kosovo, Shkodra and Manasir such as Ali Gucia, Iliaz Dibra, Daut Boriçi and many others with Pashko Vasë Shkodran at the head, initiators of the movement for the establishment and right orientation of the League of Prizren, as early as her first steps. It was precisely these who, speaking on behalf of the entire Albanian people, gave the League, from its very beginnings, the all-Albanian platform, the patriotic program and the revolutionary tactics of the war for the preservation of the integrity of the native lands and, at the same time, of the war for ensuring national rights at the level of a political-administrative autonomy within the Ottoman Empire. They performed this task, as time did not allow them, without waiting for the arrival of the representatives of other villages. Therefore, the delegates of the vilayets of Shkodra and even those of Ioannina united with full confidence around the initiators and founders of the League of Prizren, mainly from Kosovo, giving it a pan-Albanian character already in fact and not only on paper.

Attempts to document any assembly, such as the so-called Assembly of Frashëri, whose holding is not confirmed except in later undocumented memories, does not find support. Its supposed date has changed several times, bringing it to the eve of the Founding Assembly of the League in Prizren, to eclipse the importance of the historic decisions of June 15, 1878.

Even the efforts of a failed assembly like the Gjirokastra Assembly cannot cast a shadow over the historic Assembly of Prizren, despite the rather advanced views of one of its organizers who has remained anonymous. The Assembly in question was completely paralyzed, as it is claimed, by concern for the fate of the lands of the South and failed to come up with a joint resolution not only on the issue of autonomy but also on the protection of the lands from the risk of their annexation by Greece. /milosao/