Albanians in Egypt

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Albanians in Egypt
الألبان في مصر
Shqiptarët e Egjiptit
[1]
Languages
Albanian, Egyptian Arabic
Religion
Predominantly : Sunni Islam
Minority : Bektashi Order
Related ethnic groups
Albanians, Albanian diaspora
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The

Egyptian Revolution of 1952
resulted in the Albanian community in Egypt largely abandoning the country and emigrating to Western countries. It is got estimated that recently were 18,000 Albanians in Egypt, but in the past were most numerous that today.

History

Ottoman Era

In 1517, Egypt became a province of the

Abdurrahman Abdi Arnavut Pasha, and Mere Hüseyin Pasha.[3]

During and after the

Omer Pasha Vrioni, Muharrem Bey Vrioni, Rustem Aga Shkodrani and so on.[4] Sarechesme Halil Agha, commanding the Kavala
Volunteer Contingent, would bring along his cousin, Muhammad (Mehmed) Ali, a young second rank commander.

Muhammad Ali Era

Main article: Muhammad Ali dynasty
Prayer in the house of an Arnaut chief, by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1857.
Egypt and Sudan under Muhammad Ali Dynasty

Muhammad Ali was an Albanian commander in the

Wāli, or Governor of Egypt in 1805. Demonstrating his grander ambitions, he took the title of Khedive; however, this was not sanctioned by the Sublime Porte
.

Muhammad Ali transformed Egypt into a regional power. He saw Egypt as the natural successor to the decaying Ottoman Empire, and subsequently constructed a military state with 4% of the populace serving in the army, which put Egypt on equal footing with the Ottoman Empire. His transformation of Egypt would be echoed by the later strategies used by the Soviet Union to establish itself as a modern industrial power.[5] Muhammad Ali summed up his vision for Egypt in this way:

I am well aware that the [Ottoman] Empire is heading by the day toward destruction. ... On her ruins I will build a vast kingdom ... up to the Euphrates and the Tigris.

— Georges Douin, ed., Une Mission militaire française auprès de Mohamed Aly, correspondance des Généraux Belliard et Boyer (Cairo: Société Royale de Géographie d'Égypte, 1923), p.50

At the height of his power, Muhammad Ali and his son

Isma'il I
.

The island of

Egyptian civil service. The island maintained this function until 1912, when it was annexed by Greece during the First Balkan War.[6]

Khedivate and British occupation

Khedive Isma'il
Further information: Khedivate of Egypt

Though Muhammad Ali and his descendants used the title of

Ahmed Orabi
's nationalist government. While the Khedive would continue to rule over Egypt and Sudan in name, in reality, ultimate power resided with the British High Commissioner.

Albanian Patrol in Cairo by Jean-Léon Gérôme, ca. 1870.

In defiance of the Egyptians, the British proclaimed Sudan to be an Anglo-Egyptian Condominium, a territory under joint British and Egyptian rule rather than an integral part of Egypt. This was continually rejected by Egyptians, both in government and in the public at large, who insisted on the "unity of the Nile Valley", and would remain an issue of controversy and enmity between Egypt and Britain until Sudan's independence in 1956.

Sultanate and Kingdom

Further information: Sultanate of Egypt and Kingdom of Egypt

In 1914, Khedive

King Farouk I
were "King of Egypt and Sudan".

Dissolution

The reign of Farouk was characterized by ever increasing nationalist discontent over the British occupation, royal corruption and incompetence, and the disastrous

Arnauts, presented the backbone of Ali's army and were known as elite and disciplined soldiers of the Ottoman Empire armies.[7][8][9][10] With the rise of Muhammad Ali in power, many of them would settle in Egypt and serve there. By 1815, the number of Albanian military was over 7000.[4] Albanian troops partook in the war against the Wahhabi movement in Arabia (1811–18) and in the conquest of the Sudan (1820–24).[11][12] The number of Albanian troops would diminish in 1823, when Ibrahim Pasha, Ali's son, would join the Ottoman armies in the Greek War of Independence along with circa 17,000 men, many of them Albanians.[13]
Ali's dynasty would continue to rule Egypt until 1952.

Albanian National Awakening and early 20th century

Albanian guards performing the sword-dance in front of local audience and musicians by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1885.

Orthodox community from south Albania who stationed in the vicinity of the Greek communities. Some of them published articles in the Greek community newspapers as well, frequently polemizing regarding Albanian identity.[14] The Albanian community in Egypt, with their patriotic societies and publishing activities, played an important role in the Albanian national awakening at the end of the 19th century.[15] The first Albanian society of Egypt was founded in 1875. It was named "Vëllazëria e Parë" (First Brotherhood) and was led by Thimi Mitko.[4]

The Albanian Sentinel in Cairo by Charles Bargue, 1877.

Nationalist figures and writers such as Thimi Mitko,

Beni-Suef, and "Bashkimi" (The union) which was found everywhere in Albanian populated areas and diaspora. It was an Albanian high official in Egypt, who sponsored the Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida in Khedivial Opera House in 1871.[19]

In 1907, with the initiative of Mihal Turtulli, Jani Vruho, and Thanas Tashko, the Albanian community send a promemorium to the

Isma'il Pasha, Princess Myzejen Zogolli, sister of King Zog I were some of the notables who were buried there.[4]

Up to the 1940s the Kingdom of Egypt continued to recruit ethnic Albanians from the Balkans in order to place them in key civil service positions. Recruitment criteria besides the appropriate qualification were exclusively Albanian language and ethnicity, and not religion.[6]

Discrimination

A few Albanians kept coming to Egypt throughout

King Farouk who reigned during 1936–1952, himself a descendant of Mehmed Ali Pasha. The presence of this Albanian community lasted in Egypt until Gamal Abdel Nasser
came to power. With the advent of Gamal Abdel Nasser and the Arab nationalization of Egypt, not only the royal family but also the entire Albanian community of around 4,000 families became the targets of hostility. They were forced to leave the country, thus closing the Albanian chapter in Egypt. Most of the Bektashi community moved to U.S. or Canada. Baba Rexheb established the first Albanian-American Bektashi monastery in the Detroit suburb of Taylor.[20] With the rise in power of Anwar Sadat, the stance toward Albanians changed, but just a few from the exiled families returned to Egypt.[4] In recent times the number of people estimated to be of Albanian heritage in Egypt is 18,000.[1]

Famous Albanians of Egypt

For a more comprehensive list, see List of Albanians in Egypt.

In art

In 1856, the

guards and the janissary troops settled on the banks of the Nile during the early rule of Mehmed Ali' dynasty, played a major role in Gérôme's paintings. He was fascinated by their swagger, their weapons and their costumes, particularly by the pleats of their typical white fustanellas.[21]
The following is a selection of some of his paintings:

  • Egyptian Recruits Crossing the Desert, 1857.
    Egyptian Recruits Crossing the Desert, 1857.
  • Albanian guards playing dice, 1859.
    Albanian guards playing dice, 1859.
  • Albanian Guard in Cairo, 1861.
    Albanian Guard in Cairo, 1861.
  • A Joke – An Albanian Blowing Smoke into his Dog's Nose, 1864.
    A Joke – An Albanian Blowing Smoke into his Dog's Nose, 1864.
  • Prayer in the Desert, 1864.
    Prayer in the Desert, 1864.
  • An Albanian on his donkey crossing the desert, unknown date.
    An Albanian on his donkey crossing the desert, unknown date.
  • An Albanian with his Dog, 1865.
    An Albanian with his Dog, 1865.
  • An Albanian with Two Whippets, 1867.
    An Albanian with Two Whippets, 1867.
  • An Albanian Smoking, 1868.
    An Albanian Smoking, 1868.
  • Bashi-Bazouk Singing, 1868.
    Bashi-Bazouk Singing, 1868.
  • An Albanian Bashi-Bazouk, 1896.
    An Albanian Bashi-Bazouk, 1896.
  • Bashi-Bazouk Chieftain, 1881
    Bashi-Bazouk Chieftain, 1881
  • An Albanian officer crossing the desert with Egyptian recruits, 1894.
    An Albanian officer crossing the desert with Egyptian recruits, 1894.

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Saunders 2011, p. 98. "Egypt also lays claim to some 18,000 Albanians, supposedly lingering remnants of Mohammad Ali's army."
  2. ^ Winter 2004, p. 35.
  3. ^ a b Öztuna 1979, p. 51.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Uran Asllani (2006-06-05), Shqiptarët e egjiptit dhe veprimtaria atdhetare e tyre [Albanians of Egypt and their patriotic activity] (in Albanian), Gazeta Metropol
  5. ISBN 9781107507180
    .
  6. ^
    ISSN 0288-3503
    .
  7. ^ a b c Norris 1993, pp. 209–210. "This was an age when Albanians and Bosnians were posted to garrisons within the Nile regions, and furthermore the bulk of the Albanian troops were uncultured, exceedingly unruly, and often hated. Yet the dynasty that Muhammad ‘Alī established, the affection it had for Albanians and received from them, and the haven it afforded to them as exiles from Ottoman control, victimisation by Greek neighbours, or the sheer misery of Balkan poverty, meant that in time Alexandria, Cairo, Beni Suef and other Egyptian towns would harbour Albanians who organised associations, published newspapers and above all wrote works in verse and prose that include significant masterpieces of modern Albanian literature. Within al-Azhar and the two Baktāshi tekkes in Cairo, Qaṣr al-’Aynī and Kajgusez Abdullah Megavriu, Albanians and Balkan contemporaries were to find inspiration for a mystical quest, and artistic and literary stimulus, that sent ripples, as on a pond, throughout Albanian and Egyptian circles in Cairo and distantly and remotely in towns of Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia. Some of the outstanding literary figures of modern Albanian literature — for example, Thimi Mitko (d. 1890), the author of collections of Albanian folksongs, folk-tales and sayings, in his The Albanian Bee (Bleta Shqypëtare), Spiro Dine (d. 1922) in his Waves of the Sea (Valët e detit) and Andon Zako Çajupi (1866-1930) in his Baba Tomorri (Cairo, 1902) and his Skanderbeg drama — although they lived in Egypt for much of their lives, were essentially nationalists and not much influenced by the Islamic way of life that they saw around them. If anything, the rural arid peasant life in Egypt acted as a spur to their absorption in popular traditions which, in their view, enshrined the soul of their people. The Albanians in Egypt were, without a doubt, influenced by the Egyptian theatre — but specifically by those elements not overtly infused with Islamic sentiments. Later writers became prominent figures among the Albanian community in Cairo. Milo Duçi (Duqi) (d. 1933) did so because of his office as president of the national ‘Brethren’ league (Villazëria/Ikhwa), and by his Albanian newspapers (al-‘Ahd, 1900, known in Egypt as al-Aḥādīth, 1925). He also wrote plays, especially ‘The Saying’ (E Thëna, 1922) and ‘The Bey's Son’ (1923), and a novel Midis dy grash (Between two women, 1923). More recently still, it has been secular and Arab nationalist causes such as Palestine and Algeria that have inspired Albanian Egyptian writers."
  8. ^ Fraser 2014, p. 92.
  9. ^ Carstens 2014, p. 753.
  10. ^ University of Wisconsin 2002, p. 130.
  11. ^ Fahmy 2002, p. 40, 89.
  12. ^ Fahmy 2012, p. 30.
  13. ^ Cummins 2009, p. 60.
  14. ^ Skoulidas 2013. para. 15, 22, 25, 28.
  15. ^ a b Elsie 2010, pp. 125–126.
  16. ^ Elsie 2010, p. 111.
  17. ^ a b Blumi 2012, pp. 131–132.
  18. ^ Blumi 2011, p. 205.
  19. ^ Trix 2009, p. 107.
  20. ^ Curtis 2010, p. 83.
  21. ^ Elsie, Robert. "Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904)". albanianart.net.

Sources

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