The Arnaouts - The un (known), yet famous Albanians

Ermal BEGA*

THE ARNAOUTS

~ THE (UN) KNOWN, YET FAMOUS ALBANIANS** ~

Ermal Bega

Many of us have heard about the Arnaouts, or the Albanians who have lived in the Orient for many centuries. However, very few of us are well-informed about them, their lives and traditions, their social influence in the places where they live, their contributions to those places etc.

The term Arnaout was used for the first time during the Ottoman Empire, where Albanians were known as Arnaouts, and Albania as Arnautluk.

There exist different theories on the origin of the word أرناؤوط (Arnaout), but to go into this subject requires a whole separate article.

The use of the term Arnaout to reference the Albanian origin of a certain people living in Oriental countries increased during the weakening and then collapse of the Ottoman Empire, where with nationalism entering the scene, the different nations within this empire started forming their own states based on ethnical or religious affiliations. At this time, the Albanian Muslims who were living in these Oriental countries and who were not included in the newly formed Albanian nation-state, started appropriating the term Arnaout to indicate their Albanian origin.

It is interesting to note that, besides the Albanian Muslims (who made up the majority of the Albanian population), this name was also used by the Albanian Christians, many of them Catholics, to indicate their Albanian origin. For example, besides the Muslims of Albanian origin who are found in great numbers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Sudan, Yemen, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia etc., we can still find entire Christian families of Albanian origin, especially in Lebanon, where their history begins with the appointment of Albanian Catholic Vaso Pasha by the Ottomans as the governor of Lebanon, where he took with him several Albanian Catholic families who decided to live in Lebanon and who, to this day, proudly carry the last name Arnaout as an indication of their Albanian origin. According to the latest researchs, we have found several Albanian Orthodox families that live in Ukraine and carry the name Arnaout.

While the majority of the Arnaouts who live in the Orient carry the last name Arnaout to distinguish themselves as part of the Albanian nation, many other families in different Arab countries and in Turkey carry other last names, many of which are names of places or names of well-known families in Albania. Here we can note the Albani family in Jordan, from which the famous Muslim scholar Nasiruddin Albani (from Shkodra) came forth, the other famous Albanian Muslim scholar Wahbi Sulaiman Gavoçi (also from Shkodra), etc. Among the families whose last name indicates their place of origin is the large Shkodra family in Lebanon.

Among the most well-known Arnaouts (Albanians) in the oriental world we can mention: Muslim scholars Abdulkadr Arnaout and Shuaib Arnaout, the famous writers Ma’ruf Arnaout and Dr. Abdulatif Arnaout, the famous writer and historian Dr. Muhammad Mufaku (Arnaout), the poet and writer Aisha Arnaout, the famous Muslim scholar Nasiruddin Albani, the pioneer in the opening of schools for the lay people of Lebanon Nadim Arnaout, the famous actor from Damascus Yasin Arnaout, the writer and teacher Shawkat Gavoçi etc. In addition, the majority of Albanians who live in the Orient are well educated, most of whom have finished higher education and carry high positions in the societies where they live.

In this context, considering the importance and the great role that Albanians have played and continue to play in the Oriental countries, the editorial board of the cultural-scientific magazine for Oriental Studies “URA” (the Bridge) has decided to dedicate this exclusive issue to them, the Arnaouts.

Translated from Albanian: Armir TARAJ

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* Ermal Bega is the Executive Director of the Albanian Center for Oriental Studies, Tirana, Albania.

** This article is taken from the introduction of issue nr. 5 of “URA” magazine, which is published in Tirana - Exclusive issue for the Arnaouts (Albanian) who live in the Orient. The title has been chosen by the author of the article.