Dashnor Kaloçi
Memorie.al publishes the unknown story of the famous cleric and intellectual from the city of Shkodra, Hafiz Ali Tari, who after graduating in Islamic Philosophy and Jurisprudence at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, for many years served in the birthplace of in Shkodra, where during the occupation of the country, he gave a speech at the Cinema “Rozafat” on the danger posed by communist ideology. Hafiz Ali’s unknown speech at the funeral of Padre Gjergj Fishta on December 31, 1940 and the testimonies of Nexhmi Bushati, Caf Jonuz and Konrad Gjolaj regarding the life and persecution of Hafiz Ali by the communist regime of Enver Hoxha where he suffered 20 years in prison
To talk about the life and activity of Hafiz Ali Kraja, takes hours and days, just as it takes volumes to describe the activity of that great man of the city of Shkodra. Hafiz Ali was a great figure, endowed with knowledge and culture, clear in thought and very clear in his noble mission that he had set for himself. He was a mouth-honeymooner, radiating a deep kindness and quite loving and respected to all people regardless of religion, province and political conviction. “But in addition to these extremely high virtues enjoyed by Hafiz Ali, he was also an irreconcilable enemy and eternally confronted with evil, and in particular what distinguished him from the others was a sworn enemy of communist doctrine.” The man who speaks and testifies exclusively for Memorie.al, is the Shkodra scholar, Nexhmi Bushati, who comes from a well-known and persecuted family during the communist regime of Enver Hoxha, who tells the story of the famous Muslim cleric and intellectual from the city of Shkodra, Hafiz Ali Tari who, among other things, is very famous for his brilliant speech on the tomb of Padre Gjergj Fishta on December 31, 1940.
Hafiz Aliu, student in Cairo
Hafiz Aliu was born in 1900 in the city of Shkodra in a family well known for patriotic traditions and devotion to the Islamic faith. Regarding the education of Hafiz Ali and then his return to the city of Shkodra, Nexhmi Bushati testifies: “The first lessons of primary school and then those of high school, Hafiz Ali Tari received in his hometown, in the city of Shkodra and at that time he was under the care of Hafiz Ismail Hakiu. From this famous Muslim cleric who was well known not only in the city of Shkodra, but also throughout Albania, Hafiz Aliu received the first lessons of the Islamic faith. In addition to Hafiz Ismail Haki, from whom he learned and benefited greatly, Ali Tari had constant contacts with other well-known clerics of the Islamic faith who served in that city, such as Sali Efendi Mufti, Sheh Ali Kruja, Hafiz Musa Dërguti, Haxhi Muhamet Begteshi etc. Since Ali Tari at that age had a special worship for the Islamic religion, which went as far as veneration, Hafiz Ismail Hakiu helped and paved the way for him to study at one of the most famous universities of theology, in Al-Azhar in Cairo, Egypt. Hafiz Aliu completed his studies at that renowned university with hundreds of students of the Islamic faith from all over the world with excellent results in 1924, graduating with a degree in Islamic Philosophy. Also, during that period, he attended theological studies, Hafiz Aliu in parallel studied and graduated in Islamic Jurisprudence. After graduating from that university, he became even more acquainted not only with the knowledge of the Islamic religion, but also with a general culture and especially in the acquisition of several foreign languages. Thus, during those years, he was able to master six foreign languages, three of which were Oriental: Arabic, Turkish and Persian, which he spoke and wrote in the same way as his language, Albanian. The acquisition of these languages perfectly, harmonized with the great will he had and gave the opportunity and paved the way for Hafiz Ali, that in the future he would study even more in the field of theological studies, to which he had dedicated his life. of him “, recalls Nexhmi Bushati regarding the education of the Shkodra cleric of the Muslim faith, Hafiz Ali Tari
Hafiz Aliu in Shkodra
After graduating in Cairo, in 1924 Hafiz Ali Tari returned to Albania and was appointed in his hometown of Shkodra. During all the time he served in that city, Hafiz Aliu put all his energies in the service of the inhabitants not only of the city, but also of the villages of the Muslim faith throughout the county. Regarding the first beginnings of Hafiz Ali Tari’s religious career, Nexhmi Bushati testifies: managed to penetrate into the depths of their souls, such as the mosque of Plumbi, Fushë-Çelë, the old mosque of Parruca, etc., as well as some villages such as Grizhë, Grudë-field, Gruemirë, etc., were planned according to a schedule by the Chief Mufti of Shkodra. Hafiz Ali often accompanied Hafiz Sali Efendi the Mufti in the religious services performed by Hafiz Ali in different parts of the Islamic faith, and they both followed not only the believers from the poor strata of the population of those areas, but also those of the strata of rich and mostly intellectuals. In those social strata, Hafiz Ali enjoyed great popularity with respect and sympathy, because they saw in him the imam a personality very capable of serving Islam and his homeland with all his capacities. This is confirmed by the very significant fact, which has to do with the proposal made to Hafiz Ali from the Muslim Community of Albania based in Tirana, who asked to appoint him to the post of Mufti of Durrës and also to run the magazine “Zani i Naltë “. But despite the kindness of the Muslim Community, Hafiz Ali Tari refused to serve in the duties assigned to him, as he had set himself the goal of serving and giving his maximum contribution where religion and homeland were most need “, says the researcher Bushati, regarding the first beginnings of Hafiz Ali in the religious services he held in the city and villages of Shkodra as well as his dedication and determination to serve those simple people and devout believers. “After making accurate analyzes of the great catastrophes brought by the communist doctrine, he gave the conclusions and the ways to be saved to escape from that plague”, says the researcher Bushati regarding the fight that Hafiz Ali Tari waged against the communist ideology. In addition to many well-known clerics, Hafiz Aliu had close friendships with many other intellectuals outside the religious sphere such as Hamdi Bushati, Sheuqet Muka, Hamit Gjylbegu, etc., with whom he spent hours in conversations with intellectuals who left nothing to them. lacking those of the European elite. Thus, in the pamphlet “Kunora e lumnis, caku i filozofis” (Shkodër 1931) Hamit Gjylbegu dedicated to Hafiz Ali, the short poem entitled: “The sound of the morda”, with the dedication: “To the new theologian and old friend, the enlightened Hafiz Ali Krajës”.
In communist prisons
Even after the communists came to power, Hafiz Ali Tari did not stop the propaganda war against them. Thus, the communists did not forget Hafiz Ali’s speeches that he had given at the “Rozafat” Cinema against the danger that came from the communist ideology and especially what he had given in the Covenant of the leaders of Northern Albania. Due to this fact, in the first years after the war, he was arrested by the State Security and ended up in the infamous Burrel prison. Regarding the great respect that Hafiz Aliu enjoyed from the political prisoners during his imprisonment, Caf Jonuzi, one of his accomplices from Shkodra, testifies: “I had the opportunity or luck to live with the enlightened Hafiz Ali Kraja as an accomplice in prison No. .5 in Tirana in the years 1955-’56 that for me more than a prison, I consider those years as a university. Associated in that hellish prison, there was a large contingent of intellectuals who had graduated from the most prestigious universities in the West, such as Cambridge, Oxford, etc. In those prison environments, Hafiz Ali Kraja not only enjoyed an absolute honor and respect, but was considered one of the most prominent figures of Albanian patriotism, religion, and culture “, recalls Caf Jonuzi regarding the great respect that Hafiz Aliu enjoyed when he died sentence in communist prisons. One of the other political prisoners, Padre Konrad Gjolaj, in his book “Çinarët” about Hafiz Ali, wrote, among other things: “Hafiz Ali Tari was a great man for the time… he was undoubtedly one of the most cultured imams that I had the opportunity to know, so as not to tell me you know. He had completed his theological studies in Cairo, Egypt, and his speech on the occasion of Fishta’s death was often remembered. “A good religious like Ali Tari can never be a fanatic.” After his release from the first prison, Hafiz Ali Tari continued his old passion of studying and kept in touch with his close circle friends, such as Hamit Bushati and Sheuqet Muka. But he did not stay out of jail for long, because in the context of the war waged by the communists against religion, in February 1967, he was arrested again. In this regard, Nexhmi Bushati testifies: “February 6, 1967 caused the second trauma and destruction to Hafiz Ali Tari, after the entire library was seized from him, where he had the treasure of divine, philosophical and scientific knowledge. The library he owned was bought in Cairo for 700 napoleons of gold, so much so that when he was in the first prison, he often ordered his wife, Zenepen, to keep it tight so that it would not be damaged by his absence. “. After being released from prison where he suffered for 20 years, Hafiz Aliu was not fortunate enough to live very long and passed away in 1974, but his name, life and work have remained alive in the memory of the city of Shkodra.
Hafiz Ali Kraja’s speech on Fishta’s grave
“National Poet, Father Gjergj! When an orator wants to talk about your works, he is stunned, confused, why they are so many, they are so big and magnificent, that it is difficult to determine which of those works should be talked about. Your work o Poet, will form an excellent page in the political history of the Albanian nation, because with the activity, which you have held among the international political conferences, you have nothing but to provide our nation with the rights that it has vital and as the oldest nation in the Balkans. Future writers of Albanian history will judge your political life on the basis of “Lahuta e Malcisë” Your monumental masterpiece. To be convinced, O Great Poet, that the Albanian with the “Lahuta of Malcija” will always be as arrogant as the Hellenes with the Iliad and the Persians with the Shahnameh, after You, with that high deed you have introduced to the civilized world the psyche and characteristics the most sensitive of the Albanian people. Today, the intellectual boyhood with your Lahuta in the hands of the Albanian faith, I swear to you that we will preserve your high ideal that you express for the Albanian nation, and they will keep it as a precious moral thing. Also, the whole people, of the fields and the mountains, come to Shqypni today to believe that your lahuta in their soul will rule as long as the season is over. Brave men, women, boys and girls with the Albanian word to believe, that the national brotherhood, which You showed in Lahuta, will be held with the greatest force. The Imperial King and Duchess of Fascism valued your great value, naming you a member of the highest Academy of the Roman Empire. On this occasion, you met a world-famous personality, became friends with the Marquis and other vestments of the cultural world, especially of Occidental Europe. With you, Patër Gjergj, the Albanian nation is proud, exalted and glorified in front of other peoples, therefore today all the Albanian people bow down, the intellectual boy mourns your loss and with tears between the pages follows with cursing and pain in the afterlife “.
Opponent of communist ideology
The famous cleric of the Islamic faith, Hafiz Ali Tari has been well known as one of the most irreconcilable opponents of communist ideology. In this regard, Bushati testifies: “Hafiz Aliu knew quite well the communist ideology, which was, among other things, the greatest enemy of the Islamic faith. He knew well enough to anticipate the consequences and dangers that came to humanity from that ideology, not only as a faith, but also for the whole nation. Therefore, in order to defend the religion and the high ideals of the homeland, Hafiz Aliu openly opposed the communist ideology and the essence of that philosophy, stating out loud that all those who followed that ideology imported from the steppes of the Urals, were anti-religious and anti-national. He did not fight that ideology with insults and insults, but by explaining Islam as a divine religion that brought goodness, love, respect, progress and prosperity to humanity. And all this had nothing to do with inhuman ideologies such as the communist one, invented and fabricated by various people who were against the belief in the great god. This propaganda and persuasive activity, he did not only during contacts with the people in various religious services, but also in free conversations in the mosque, at home, etc., where his word penetrated into all social circles. In 1934, Hafiz Aliu published his study “Should religion, does it hinder national unity”, which he published in the printing house “Ora e Shkodrës”. In the preface to that book, among other things, Hafiz Ali Tari wrote: victories that are not based as we said above on science and philosophy and concludes by saying: ‘I am closing this short preface by praying to the Great God to protect the Albanian people from atheism which is a dangerous abyss for the nation and homeland “. In addition to that book, he published a series of other religious articles in the Islamic press of that time, such as “Zani i Naltë” etc. Given the time and moments of the publication of that book, we note that it has been presented in both theological and philosophical ways. In that book he convincingly argues the necessity of religion, belief in the great god, and defines the absolute role of religion for national unity. “After making accurate analyzes of the great catastrophes brought by the communist doctrine, he gave the conclusions and the ways to be saved to escape from that plague”, says the researcher Bushati regarding the fight that Hafiz Ali Tari waged against the communist ideology. In addition to many well-known clerics, Hafiz Aliu had close friendships with many other intellectuals outside the religious sphere such as Hamdi Bushati, Sheuqet Muka, Hamit Gjylbegu, etc., with whom he spent hours in conversations with intellectuals who left nothing to them. lacking those of the European elite. Thus, in the pamphlet “Kunora e lumnis, caku i filozofis” (Shkodër 1931) Hamit Gjylbegu dedicated to Hafiz Ali, the short poem entitled: “The sound of the morda”, with the dedication: “To the new theologian and old friend, the enlightened Hafiz Ali Krajës”.
In communist prisons
Even after the communists came to power, Hafiz Ali Tari did not stop the propaganda war against them. Thus, the communists did not forget Hafiz Ali’s speeches that he had given at the “Rozafat” Cinema against the danger that came from the communist ideology and especially what he had given in the Covenant of the leaders of Northern Albania. Due to this fact, in the first years after the war, he was arrested by the State Security and ended up in the infamous Burrel prison. Regarding the great respect that Hafiz Aliu enjoyed from the political prisoners during his imprisonment, Caf Jonuzi, one of his accomplices from Shkodra, testifies: “I had the opportunity or luck to live with the enlightened Hafiz Ali Kraja as an accomplice in prison No. .5 in Tirana in the years 1955-’56 that for me more than a prison, I consider those years as a university. Associated in that hellish prison, there was a large contingent of intellectuals who had graduated from the most prestigious universities in the West, such as Cambridge, Oxford, etc. In those prison environments, Hafiz Ali Kraja not only enjoyed an absolute honor and respect, but was considered one of the most prominent figures of Albanian patriotism, religion, and culture “, recalls Caf Jonuzi regarding the great respect that Hafiz Aliu enjoyed when he died sentence in communist prisons. One of the other political prisoners, Padre Konrad Gjolaj, in his book “Çinarët” about Hafiz Ali, wrote, among other things: “Hafiz Ali Tari was a great man for the time… he was undoubtedly one of the most cultured imams that I had the opportunity to know, so as not to tell me you know. He had completed his theological studies in Cairo, Egypt, and his speech on the occasion of Fishta’s death was often remembered. “A good religious like Ali Tari can never be a fanatic.” After his release from the first prison, Hafiz Ali Tari continued his old passion of studying and kept in touch with his close circle friends, such as Hamit Bushati and Sheuqet Muka. But he did not stay out of jail for long, because in the context of the war waged by the communists against religion, in February 1967, he was arrested again. In this regard, Nexhmi Bushati testifies: “February 6, 1967 caused the second trauma and destruction to Hafiz Ali Tari, after the entire library was seized from him, where he had the treasure of divine, philosophical and scientific knowledge. The library he owned was bought in Cairo for 700 napoleons of gold, so much so that when he was in the first prison, he often ordered his wife, Zenepen, to keep it tight so that it would not be damaged by his absence. “. After being released from prison where he suffered for 20 years, Hafiz Aliu was not fortunate enough to live very long and passed away in 1974, but his name, life and work have remained alive in the memory of the city of Shkodra.
Hafiz Ali Kraja’s speech on Fishta’s grave
“National Poet, Father Gjergj! When an orator wants to talk about your works, he is stunned, confused, why they are so many, they are so big and magnificent, that it is difficult to determine which of those works should be talked about. Your work o Poet, will form an excellent page in the political history of the Albanian nation, because with the activity, which you have held among the international political conferences, you have nothing but to provide our nation with the rights that it has vital and as the oldest nation in the Balkans. Future writers of Albanian history will judge your political life on the basis of “Lahuta e Malcisë” Your monumental masterpiece. To be convinced, O Great Poet, that the Albanian with the “Lahuta of Malcija” will always be as arrogant as the Hellenes with the Iliad and the Persians with the Shahnameh, after You, with that high deed you have introduced to the civilized world the psyche and characteristics the most sensitive of the Albanian people. Today, the intellectual boyhood with your Lahuta in the hands of the Albanian faith, I swear to you that we will preserve your high ideal that you express for the Albanian nation, and they will keep it as a precious moral thing. Also, the whole people, of the fields and the mountains, come to Shqypni today to believe that your lahuta in their soul will rule as long as the season is over. Brave men, women, boys and girls with the Albanian word to believe, that the national brotherhood, which You showed in Lahuta, will be held with the greatest force. The Imperial King and Duchess of Fascism valued your great value, naming you a member of the highest Academy of the Roman Empire. On this occasion, you met a world-famous personality, became friends with the Marquis and other vestments of the cultural world, especially of Occidental Europe. With you, Patër Gjergj, the Albanian nation is proud, exalted and glorified in front of other peoples, therefore today all the Albanian people bow down, the intellectual boy mourns your loss and with tears between the pages follows with cursing and pain in the afterlife “. / Memorie.al
