Haxhi Qamili: Difference between revisions
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'''Haxhi Qamili''' (died June 1915) was a leader of |
'''Haxhi Qamili''' (died June 1915) was a leader of an Albanian peasant rebellion in 1914-15 known for his [[egalitarianism|egalitarian]] views. |
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==Activities== |
==Activities== |
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Revision as of 08:50, 4 June 2012
Haxhi Qamili (died June 1915) was a leader of an Albanian peasant rebellion in 1914-15 known for his egalitarian views.
Activities
Qamili was a villager from Sharra (in Tirana) and is said to have also been the Sheikh of a tekke belonging to the Melami tariqa.[1][2] In May 1914 a Young Turks-incited Islamic uprising by the peasantry began in the districts around Tirana and Shijak against the reign of Prince Wied, the Western-backed Christian ruler of Albania.[3] After October that year the rebellion adopted an increasingly political and economic character as Wied had fled the country and the Muslim Essad Pasha Toptani, a supporter of the feudal lords, took power.[4] Qamili became one of the leaders of the renewed rebellion and was elected by the rebels as their commander-in-chief.[5] In January 1915 Qamili along with other rebel leaders convened a National Congress in Tirana, declaring on behalf of the whole Albanian people the illegitimacy of Essad's Durrës-based government while also affirming Albanian neutrality in World War I.[6]
Enver Hoxha has noted that the peasant movement under Qamili's direction was primarily one of the rural poor, which relied upon traditional forms of government such as village councils to organize and direct the struggle against feudalism.[7] Qamili preached that all property in excess of personal needs should be given to the impoverished, quoting the Quran and also expressing the sentiment of the Melami sect, which was against the concept of private property.[8] The peasant rebels under Qamili's command confiscated the estates of the large landowners, set fire to houses of the beys, and provided support for the poor, infirm and orphans.[5] The rebellion achieved rapid successes, confining Essad's government entirely to Durrës itself.[9]
In an effort to aid Essad's government and to further its own territorial aims, the Kingdom of Serbia launched an invasion of central Albania on June 2, 1915 but were promptly met by resistance led by Qamili at Qukës where, however, their outnumbered and outgunned forces were defeated by the Serbs.[10] Through Serbian intervention the "rebellion with [its] vague, unsettled political objectives, but which did, nevertheless, have both a popular and a social basis" was suppressed.[9] The Serbian forces arrested Qamili and other rebel leaders, sending them as prisoners to Durrës where they were tried in a court presided over by Xhelal Bey Zogu and sentenced to hanging.[11]
Hoxha summed up Qamili's movement as being "against the feudal lords, pashas, beys and aghas, landowners and privileges in general."[12]
References
- Notes
- Citations
- ^ Pearson 2004, p. 84.
- ^ Elsie 2001, p. 178.
- ^ Frashëri 1964, p. 192.
- ^ Pollo & Puto 1981, p. 164.
- ^ a b Frashëri 1964, p. 196.
- ^ Pearson 2004, p. 87.
- ^ Hoxha 1977, p. 142.
- ^ Pollo & Puto 1981, pp. 164–165.
- ^ a b Pollo & Puto 1981, p. 165.
- ^ Frashëri 1964, p. 198.
- ^ Pearson 2004, p. 90.
- ^ Hoxha 1977, p. 171.
- Sources
- Elsie, Robert (2001). A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology, and Folk Culture. London: I.B. Taurus & Co Ltd.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Frashëri, Kristo (1964). The History of Albania: A Brief Survey. Tirana.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Hoxha, Enver (1977). Vepra. Vol. 23. Tirana: Shtëpia Botuese "8 Nëntori".
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Pearson, Owen (2004). Albania and King Zog: Independence, Republic And Monarchy 1908-1939. New York: New York University Press.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Pollo, Stefanaq; Puto, Arben (1981). The History of Albania: From its Origins to the Present Day. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help)