First part
Memorie.al / Forgive me for my boldness: I wish to confront the most delicate issue in Albanian life. Who would have believed it?… Religious antagonism raised its head and cruelly inserted itself even among the atheists of the day. The brutalities we committed in the South, among Albanian youth, simply because they were Muslim or Christian, are facts that cannot be denied; they are terrible proofs of our religious, social and national life. As far as I know to this day, this issue has never been confronted clearly and properly; whenever it has flared up, it has immediately been covered like embers under ash. Let it remain in the memory of whomever it may, I want to state my opinion openly: By and large, the Albanian Muslim is fanatical, the Orthodox is fanatical, the Catholic is fanatical – and this not because of faith, but out of spite and partisanship. In the most difficult moments of our national life, we did indeed save the forms of social unity and peace among the elements, but in the end a leaven remained, a fund of currents and parties, enough to frighten and demoralize us.
Touching the wound with my hand, the question arises: Can the three religious elements among us live in peace? The atheists, along with all the skeptics, the indifferent, the naturalists, the adventurers and the opportunists, say no: We Albanians cannot live in peace, nor can we form a state, unless we abolish all religions, because the Albanian’s faith is Albanianism! I hope to confront these another time; for now I only say to them that Albania is not a godless place; and that Albanians are not, nor should they be, without a spark. This time I am addressing the believers of the three elements.
Without dispute, we are one nation, one state and one people with one spirit, one language and one history; and if we were also of one faith, we would be even more united, more homogeneous, and we would not waste effort and time trying to understand each other in many matters. But the fact is this: we are Muslims, Orthodox and Catholics, and as such we wish to live in brotherly harmony. I say that for this purpose there is no need to abolish the faiths, because if we wish, we can live as brothers, just as we have the example in many other civilized countries.
Thus, I put my thesis as follows: Albanians, if they are truly civilized and sincere nationalists, truly believing in one true God, cannot fail to live brotherly with one another; on the contrary, as long as they do not have human culture in their souls, national collective consciousness, and as long as they lack religious culture, they will be divided and fragmented – not because they are of three faiths, but because they lack the foundations of social, national and religious life.
THE GREAT OBSTACLE: FANATICISM
The great obstacle to social life, that is, to the peace of our brotherhood, is fanaticism, which is a shame for the person, a shame for the faith to which the person belongs, and a shame for Albanian life. Faith held as passion, that is, with fanaticism, is not reasonable faith, nor a factor of life; it does not elevate but degrades, and rather destroys than heals. Faith in one true God, the Father of all men, will not increase antagonism but will diminish it; faith will soften man in feeling, not make him savage; it will regulate the inclinations of instinct, among which is egoism, which seeks to justify itself by the cause of faith.
Here it is necessary to distinguish the fanatical man from the man of character: Both stand firm for their own conviction, both show the power of will to the utmost, but with this difference: the man of character stands firm for a reasonable principle, while the fanatic wants to stick to his own, whether reasonable or not; the man of character shows a moral ability, while the fanatic demonstrates a personal weakness, because he, even if he sees his own position as unreasonable, is not capable of overcoming passion and egoism; he may be brutally strong, but humanly he is weak; moral character has the limits of reason, fanaticism has no limit, it blinds you, drives you to vice and savagery. Fanaticism is anti-human, therefore also anti-religious and anti-social.
So, to live brotherly, we do not need to remove faith, but the first condition is to remove fanaticism from faith. The Albanian can be softened by taking true human culture, the culture of the spirit – that is, it is not enough to have good behavior, humane appearance, appropriate forms, graceful manners, while remaining savage in spirit; he must also be truly so in himself, as he behaves and appears outwardly; then he will become capable of living in harmony with his Albanian brothers of every social condition and every faith.
Along with human culture, the Albanian will acquire religious culture. The time has passed when we kept faith because our ancestors left it to us, because we found it so, because others believe, or for any other external reason. Today we must know what to believe and why to believe; we must justify, if only to ourselves, our faith. But that is not enough: We will not keep faith as a label or as something merely theoretical; faith must be a factor of life; the principles of faith must result in full conviction, living feelings, movement, expression, word and deed, directed into a system of life. That means religious culture.
TO LIVE SOCIALLY AND BROTHERLY
It is not required that Albanian Christians and Muslims all be Saints or Prophets, but if we want to be a nation and a state, we absolutely must be at that level of human and religious culture sufficient to live socially and brotherly. Without human culture, we are not mature enough to live as humans and as companions; without religious culture, faith does not shape us for life, but rather hinders us.
I have seen Muslims and Christians who, with self-denial, go as far as heroism to keep Ramadan and Lent, but because they lack religious culture, that deed, however heroic, does not manifest a spiritual greatness they do not possess, because their endurance, most of the time, is based simply on a habit, a tradition, a misunderstanding of religious life that devalues their motivation and their deed.
Another condition that flows from the culture of the spirit is respect for the beliefs of others. If we make a diagnosis of the Albanian spirit down to its deepest edge, we will find this strange phenomenon: He who does not think as I do, he says, is my opponent. This anti-social attitude appears not only in the religious, political and social fields, but even in the scholarly field.
For years and years I have had occasion to take part in societies, meetings, initiatives and discussions of issues among Albanians, and I will say that, with small differences and in forms more or less egoistic, even among educated people, I have found and touched with my hand that it is enough to show someone a contrary or even different thought or principle, to be looked at askance and to become a sign of antagonism and combat. The cause of this unreasonable phenomenon we again find in the hereditary error: the Albanian, even if he believes he has culture, thinks that following another’s reason is weakness. Yesterday’s history and today’s pressure confirm this monster of egoistic individualism.
To live brotherly, we do not all need to think with one head, nor are we required to have the same principles or to be infallible, but we absolutely must recognize for others the right to reason and conviction, in the same way that we ask others to respect our opinions. We must know that every person, even unwillingly, may follow a wrong path or principle; therefore, just as we do not want anyone to despise us even if we are wrong, so we should despise no one.
The foundation of socialization, and therefore of social harmony among Albanians, even if we are of different faiths, lies in the sincere observance of the principle: Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you; do to others as you would have them do to you. Even in this point, faiths do not hinder, but have a duty to help.
THE CAUSES OF THE DISEASE
Having set the conditions without which social and religious life cannot be maintained, we come to principles: In principle, each faith has its own dogmas, and dogmas do not change; therefore, just as faiths are impenetrable to each other because of dogmas, so believers, on the basis of dogmas, cannot approach and agree with one another.
And so the disease is inevitable, the distress necessary. Brotherly life cannot go on! That is how those who have a grudge against faiths reason! The problem is indeed difficult, but it finds its full development in three principles: 1. Dogmatic intolerance, 2. Social-civic tolerance, 3. Social-political tolerance.
We do not have an Albanian word for tolerance, but it approaches the meaning of bearing, enduring; for example, we endure and bear (we have tolerance) when children insult us, the drunk, the mad, the mistaken; but we do not bear, nor do we endure at all (we are intolerant) when someone with full reason takes away our honor.
In principle, we must have and maintain theoretical-dogmatic intolerance – that is, in matters of faith, each must hold his conviction for that dogma which his conscience tells him is true, and must not endure that a principle which he holds as a first ideal be called now black, now white.
Intolerance! A strong word, a word that is not borne or endured, because it does not bear or endure even as much as the dirt under a fingernail. A word that at first impression suggests fanaticism, narrow-mindedness, regression, no approach whatsoever. But also a sincere and reasonable, just word: The only word and way to develop the social-religious problem.
Here is the reason for my saying: A believer who boasts that his faith is true, if he does not wish to deny himself and his faith in the face of any other creed, will answer with a categorical, sharp “no”.
The religious indifferent, because he himself holds no true faith, says that faiths are all the same, as if faiths were labels or different costumes, which are all equally valid to fulfill a need of life. But if one dogma is the same as another, even if they are contrary, then truth and falsehood are the same, then God is the “designer” of error, of lies, and of division.
It is said that this dogmatic intolerance is not bearable, not endurable in a state, in a people, because it is too refractory, narrow and fanatical. Let it be, and for once let us assume so, even if we put the opposite as a basis, i.e., dogmatic tolerance. On that basis, for example, Christ is or is not God, Muhammad is or is not the Prophet of God – in that case for me it would be all the same; I bear and tolerate it being said either way: that Christ and Muhammad had to do with God, or with the devil, or that they were hypocrites and deceivers, or that they were honest and just.
Who does not see this mental or moral weakness? A man who has human dignity never shows disobedience as conviction, and that which he is convinced is error, he never accepts as truth. This is not only a duty of the believer, but a duty of every honest and reasonable person. In the name of truth, therefore, and for the sake of sincerity: War against every error, wherever we find it, whether in scientific research or in interpretations of dogmas.
For this ideal, spiritual, theoretical intransigence we believers are accused, especially us Catholics, yet we find this in-tolerance also among people of learning, art and politics, regarding their principles. We all know that they do not yield even as much as a fly’s wing in their own system as a basis. We say this in the field of principles and ideals, because later practice is another matter for scientists and for believers.
A FORM OF INTOLERANCE: POLEMICS
A form of intolerance is polemics, which, if serious, scholarly, impartial, and shared in high spheres, truly enlightens, elevates and heals. Rarely have I seen among Albanians a passionless polemic. With the level of human and religious culture we have, I say that polemics are not for us. Even if we have reason and right in a matter, we never have reason and right to overstep the bounds of humanity, to insult one another, to use lies, to falsify history, to employ low motives, to polemicize with passion.
Another thing entirely is social, civic, practical tolerance. By this principle, we distinguish clearly that error is one thing, the erring person another; the person is one thing, the deed another: We forgive the person, we condemn the mistaken deed; we hate the deed; we bear the person, we do not endure the deed. This is a basic principle that accompanies us: With no error do we make compromise or society, but with all patriots, even if they are mistaken, we seek approach, love, and brotherhood.
Nature teaches us this principle: With all its differences and contrasts, unshakably it maintains a wondrous harmony; human life imposes on us: For example, among us who have taken up arms, honor, hospitality, we have often defended the guilty as much as the innocent.
This society that nature teaches us, life imposes on us; and this same thing our faith commands us, whichever it may be. The Albanian spirit, with all the different faiths, feels strongly that one and the same true God is the God of Muslims, the God of Orthodox and the God of Catholics. By virtue of one God, a good Father, just to all, we are brothers, because we are all children of one God who has given us life. So, the God of all of us, and we all belong to God. On the basis of this imperative, we are one. See, then, that nothing strengthens brotherhood more than God.
God is the common treasure of all Albanians without distinction. From this principle flows religious tolerance, which is supported by the clear understanding: The Muslim is a child of God, the Christian is a child of God, therefore brother; it is supported by sincere feelings: That we feel for one another as brother for brother; it is supported by mutual respect for each other’s religious beliefs: For no reason do we have the right to despise anyone; just as we rightfully ask to be understood, so we have a duty to understand others.
This religious tolerance, thus elevated to nobility, is as beautiful as it is difficult. Whoever practices it is truly great. Civic-social tolerance finds its fulfillment and implementation in state-political tolerance. The fundamental Statute recognizes and respects all three faiths equally in Albania; the state is indeed a-faithed, i.e., neutral, but not anti-faith, not atheist, not indifferent; the Albanian state recognizes God, but does not lean toward any one faith more than another; the drafters of the Statute went to the highest degree of freedom and rights of faith:
They accepted the three faiths on the basis of full equality; before the state and its officials there is neither difference nor obstacle in the rights of any element; all laws, measures, decisions and official procedures aim at this: to strengthen and secure religious peace in Albania as best as possible. The whole matter remains with the officials, whether they work or not in the spirit of this principle and with justice.
So, to maintain peace among the religious elements: 1. We must have truth as the basis with respect to principles. Truth does not err: Theoretical-dogmatic intolerance; 2. We must have sincere love among persons: Social-civic tolerance; 3. Justice must be maintained conscientiously in laws and among officials: State-political tolerance.
The reason for these guidelines is this: We need to live together, not as forced, but voluntarily; this will be told by our mind, willed by our will, felt by our soul; truth will speak to the mind, justice will set the will, love will move the feelings. Civic tolerance is a virtue, for the practice of which the whole person, with all his main faculties, will be engaged and drawn. The whole matter is here: To know how to bear the Albanian not as a stranger, but as a brother.
Thus, it is not the faiths that disturb brotherly life in Albania, but the mistakes, passions and injustices of Albanian believers are what create the religious issue in our country. / Memorie.al
Korçë, July 1944.
To be continued in the next issue
