By: Hasan Bello
How was one of the oldest and richest libraries in Albania confiscated: the Tabak Library in Shkodër?
In the 18th-19th century, Shkodra was one of the most developed cities in the Balkans. Apart from the economic and political aspect, it had become an oasis of knowledge and education. This was reflected a few decades later when the political and intellectual elite of this city will play an important role in increasing national consciousness and protecting the homeland from successive aggressions. For this, an important role was played by the clergy and religious institutions, which had become centers of knowledge and culture.
To illustrate this, we will take as an example Jusuf Efendi Tabak, who, starting from the second half of the 1863th century, for several years will serve as imam and in 2 as mufti of the city. According to the Shkodra intellectual Hamdi Bushati's book, "Shkodra and the weather" (vol. I), which provides more detailed information about this library and its founder, in the characteristic house of Jusuf Efendi Tabak there was a special room called " Room of chickens". This was one of the richest libraries in the city, with a fund of 000 books from various fields of science. Its owner had also drawn up an inventory of 45 sheets on the contents of these books. Among them was a work by Tahir Efendi Gjakova entitled "Emni Vehbije sherif", written in Albanian with Arabic letters in 1835; two astronomical tables compiled by Hoxha Hasan Tahsini, with his signature, printed in Paris in 1867, etc. Valuable work.
But what is of interest to us is how the institutions of the communist regime approached private libraries and specifically the Tabak Library, which was considered one of the most valuable libraries in the city of Shkodra and all of Albania. From archival research, we managed to find a document signed by Prime Minister Mehmet Shehu, who in 1964 ordered the Executive Committee in Shkodër to make an inventory of this library. According to him, "Since the "Biblioteka e Tabakëve" has a large amount of different books (around 2 volumes), in foreign languages and Albanian, important, especially for the study of problems of oriental studies and they are also valuable for history of our country, in order for them to be known, preserved better and put at the service of students, ordered:
1) The materials of the "Tabake Library" in Shkodër should be inventoried according to the relevant rules;
2) This work should be carried out by a special commission from the Executive Committee in Shkodër, with the participation of the State Library in Shkodër, which should have it under its guardianship;
3) A copy of the inventories should also be sent to this Prime Minister.
To the family that has this library, the importance and necessity of this inventory should be explained by the chairmanship of the Shkodër District Executive Committee, thanking them on this occasion for the care they have taken in creating and preserving this library.
Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People's Republic of Albania
Mehmet Shehu
For the inventory of the books and manuscripts that were found in the Library of Tabake, only the "contribution" of local officials was not enough. This is because of the specialists of oriental languages who were needed for the verification of the books. The General Directorate of State Archives was engaged for this. In a report of the head of the Organization-Inspection Branch of this directorate to the Prime Minister and the Central Committee of the PPSh, which is dated June 30, 1964, it is stated that from the field study of these materials it was established that they consisted of multiple titles. This library was the property of Hasan Tabaku (religious), inherited from his grandfather Jusuf Efendi Tabaku (the well-known mufti of the Tabakas) who, as it was said, had created this library 100 years ago. She had about 2 volumes, but from the information gathered it appeared that she had more. The books belonged to different genres, such as: theology, history, literature, philosophy, jurisprudence, etc. Arabic, Persian and Turkish languages prevailed. Among them was Tahir Efendi Gjakoha's manuscript written in Albanian with Arabic characters in 000 and two astronomical tables by Hoxha Hasan Tahsini published by Sorbonne University in 1835.
From the unverified information, there were also other manuscripts in Albanian in this library, which were taken and continued to be taken by different people to use them for their own interests. While, on the pages of the books (their margins), there were various notes about events and political personalities in Shkodër.
This library had been the focus not only of local intellectuals, but before 1944 it had been visited and frequented by foreign researchers as well. It was of immense value to orientalists and specialists in these fields. Starting from these considerations, the head of the Organization-Inspection Branch at the ACA, asked the Prime Minister's Office and the Central Committee of the PPSh that the "Library of Tabakë" be taken under "state control".
In our opinion, what constitutes culturocide is not the care and control of the state institutions of the communist regime over private libraries. But, breaking down these libraries, merging and storing them with the books of other libraries.
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