The Albanians (Arnaouts) of Syria

THE ALBANIANS (ARNAOUTS) OF SYRIA

Interview with Ermal Bega, Executive Director of ACFOS-Albania

(Albanian Center for Oriental Studies)

Full interview (published in some Albanian websites with reduction)

Ermal Bega

Question 1: What’s your name, where do you live, and what do you do?

Answer 1: My name is Ermal Bega from Tirana, and I am the Executive Director of ACFOS-Albania and the editor-in-chief of the scientific and cultural magazine for oriental studies “URA”, published by ACFOS.

Question 2: How long have you lived in Syria and where (what was your occupation there)?

Answer 2: I was in Syria twice within a year and I lived there for about one year all together, October 2003 - October 2004. I lived in Damascus, but I had the opportunity to visit a great part of Syria. During my stay there I was attending an Arabic language course, since I had studied for oriental studies and this language was one of my requirements, but at the same time I obtained a certificate of the Italian language from a private course there, using my evening time after my Arabic studies. I also visited many places, people, cultural institutions, castles, monuments, bazaars, mosques, old and new neighborhoods of Damascus and Syria, where every place you visited had much history and livelihood.

Question 3: What impression do you have from life over there? How about the Syrian people?

Answer 3: The time I spent in Damascus and Syria is the best time of my life, the happiest year of my life so far. The place itself, with a very long history (let’s not forget to mention that Damascus is known as the oldest city in the world), with a mix of historical influences, with a wonderful and peaceful mix of religions, ethnicities, cultures, and languages, gave me the impression that I was living among many civilizations in one place. A city blessed by Allah, Lord of the worlds, and prophet Muhammad a.s..

I can say the same words about the Syrian people. I was lucky, also because of my curiosity and desire to see many places and meet many people, to make many friends in Damascus and Syria. To this day I still remember almost every person I met there and with many of them I keep in touch. I had and still have a deep respect and longing for the inhabitants of Syria, especially the friends I met most often, be they Arabs, Kurds, Albanians (Arnaouts) etc.

Question 4: Did you get a chance to meet many Albanians there? How about the old generation Albanians (Arnaouts)? Is there a proper Albanian community in Syria?

Answer 4: For the Albanians of Syria, who are known as Arnaouts, a name many use as a family name, I can proudly say that I am one of the only Albanians from Tirana and Albania that have contributed the most in the last times to promote them and to make them known in different ways, through interviews, conversations, articles etc.

When I was living there, I had the occasion to meet many of the old Albanian personalities that live in Damascus. Here I can mention the great Albanian Muslim scholar Abdulkadr Arnaout, on whose life and works our center published a book in 2009. Then I met Imam Wahbi Sulaiman Gavoçi, whom I interviewed in 2004, then Dr. Abdulatif Arnaout, Dr. Muhammad Mufaku-Arnaout, Shawkat (Shefqet) Gavoçi (who was the first teacher of the Albanian language for Albanians there) etc.

In Damascus there used to be a well developed community of Albanians. From what prof. Shawkat (Shefqet) Gavoçi told me, the Albanians of Damascus and Syria used to be closer to one another, be it physically as neighbors, and also in the preservation of Albanian tradition, culture, and language.

In Damascus there are distinct neighborhoods of Albanians (Arnaouts) which exist since the beginning of the 20^th century. Here I can mention the Diwaniya neighborhood, which has been known as the Albanian Neighborhood since early on, where you can find the Arnaout Mosque, built by Sulaiman Gavoci from Shkodra. The Albanians there have become well integrated with the local population and have been well received. They have also done well in representing themselves in different areas of society, such as culture, religion, literature, economics, politics, the military etc., where many Albanian names have achieved the very top of success.

A small street in one of the old neighborhoods of Damascus, Rukn ad-din, bears the name of an Albanian who lived and died there, Haitham al-Arnaout.

It is a sad truth that the Albanian government has not contributed anything for the Albanians there either in the cultural or national aspect. There are very few writings about the Albanians who live in generally in the Orient, from Turkey to Tunisia, and especially Syria (or the Sham region.)

We should mention that the magazine for cultural-scientific oriental studies “Ura” in Tirana, dedicated its 5^th issue in 2010 exclusively to these Albanians, the Arnaouts.

The Albanians can be found in considerable numbers in the largest cities of Syria such as Damascus, Aleppo, Hama, Homs, Suwayda, Lattakia etc.

Meanwhile, from the newer Albanians in Damascus I have known a large number of them from different regions of Albania, as well as Kosova and Macedonia, who, like me, were there to attend studies.

Question 5: What do you think about the present situation in Syria? Do you think that the Asad regime will fall? How long can this crisis go on?

Answer 5: I am very troubled by the present situation in Syria. I think that the people of Syria has suffered a great deal after the colonization of the beginning of the 20^th century, with the brutal communist dictatorship, supported mainly by Russia, to oppress a large mass of people of different religion, ethnicity, or political views, for the sole purpose to preserve the political and military power of its leaders.

I am following the latest developments with anger and longing, with tears in my eyes and pain in my heart.

The Asad family regime, taken over unjustly from the beginning, with initial support from France, as the former colonial power of Syria (from which they have almost entirely copied and installed the political and education system), is ruling Syria for a very long time of about 40 years.

During my stay in Syria in 2004, I was very reserved in speaking out because it was a socialist country and you couldn’t speak everything you were thinking. I met old Arabs and Albanians who told me about the difficulties they were going thru, especially in the political aspect. There were people who felt discriminated by the government because they didn’t accept the ruling elite, and some of them would speak openly and angrily against the regime.

Syria, from the time Hafiz al-Asad took power and throughout his rule, has waged a brutal campaign against the ruling party’s adversaries, and I believe that many Syrian people, not just now that the “Arab spring” is passing thru, but throughout this rule have suffered in many ways, and now their suffering is visible for the entire world.

Such a regime that oppresses its own people for religious, political, or ethnic reasons is not acceptable for a place like Syria with such an ancient culture and civilization. Unfortunately, if this regime continues to stay in power, but which I feel will collapse soon, Syria could suffer great losses. I believe that this crisis, if we can call it thus, will come to an end very soon, and I believe that with God’s help, a people that believes in its strength and ability will triumph, and I hope that a new and better generation will lead Syria with justice.

Syria really deserves to be in peace with its people and other nations in the Middle East, as well as the world.

Question 6: In the Western media we often hear that the Alawi and Christian minorities in Syria fear a coming to power of the Sunni majority because then minorities might be persecuted. Do you think that such a fear is justifiable?

Answer 6: Wherever Muslims ruled throughout history, we can say that based on historical facts and arguments they always brought peace. From this aspect Christian minorities in Syria and elsewhere in the Islamic world have always lived in peace with the Islamic state.

The Alawi minority (which has the power in Syria), with some support from Iran, I think fears the coming to power of a Sunni-based government, which is the majority of the people. I personally believe that the majority should always rule over the minority, because this way the minority will also be at peace. Here I’ll draw a parallel with Albania, where even though the majority of the population is Sunni Muslim, the rulers are mostly from the Christian minority. I am not against the minorities participating in government, but only if they are able to provide justice for the majority of the population, which I don’t think is the case neither in Syria nor in Albania.

Meanwhile, as far as the Christians of Syria, they are about 23% of the population. I don’t think their fear is justifiable because history tells us otherwise, that the rights of all minorities have always been respected, and their persecution for religious reasons is not allowed in Islam.

I can also add that this type of fear that is being propagated in some Western media has existed even before, since the fall of the Ottoman Caliphate, but it never became reality.

Question 7: Do you think that between Albania and a democratic Syria in the future there could be greater economical, cultural, and diplomatic relations?

Answer 7: In Albania, since 2009, there is a Syrian consulate, which reports to the Syrian embassy in Athens, and Albania is covered by an honorary consul, the Syrian-Albanian businessman Yahia Farwati. In fact I would say that not only between Albania and a democratic Syria, but I believe that bilateral economical, cultural, and diplomatic relations should have existed for a long time now. Syria has a huge cultural treasure which should be “used”. I have seen very few interested Albanians when it comes to Syria, while I have met Syrians who are very interested in Albania and the possible relations between the two nations.

I think that the Albanian government should consider the opening of a consulate in Damascus, which can serve as a bridge for different relations with the entire region of the Middle East. This would be a particularly good occasion for the Albanians who live in Syria, Jordan, Palestine, and Lebanon, to establish stronger relations with Albania. But I think that the appointed Albanian representative to Syria should be someone who knows the country and the region well, in order to contribute the most to the relations between our two countries.

Interviewed and translated from Albanian by: Armir TARAJ

March 2012