Abstracts no. 38

Jul 02, 2024 Zani i Nalte English 0

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Editorial

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Madrasah of Tirana
Ndriçim Gjimi, Director of Tirana Madrasa

Despite the challenges and changes in its 100-year path, the Madrasa of Tirana has remained a center of higher education and conscious of the needs of its society. Today it functions as a general high school, currently with 329 students, of which 75 are in lower secondary education and the rest are in upper secondary education. Since accommodation is offered as a service, students come from all over Albania, making it a hotbed where different cultures merge to create an amalgamated culture that characterizes every student who acquires it. The school has a modern infrastructure, with digital classrooms, all relevant laboratories, sports halls, multimedia halls and a conference hall. Students who graduate from this school, at the end of their education, are able to compete in all institutions of higher education, inside and outside the country… The success of this school has become a tradition; making it among the most special schools, both in terms of teaching quality and student achievement.
This 100th anniversary marks an important moment to reflect on the great contribution of the Madrasah of Tirana to Albanian history and education, as well as to express respect and appreciation for all those who have worked and contributed to this institution over the decades.

Philosophy

In the Beginning was Consciousness
Seyyed Hossein Nasr

How we view the nature of reality has a direct bearing upon how we live as human beings. For millennia human beings lived in a universe dominated by the idea of the primacy of consciousness over all that is corporeal and material. They fought wars and there was disease but they lived in a world of meaning and beauty. They created traditional arts of surpassing beauty and lived, to a large extent, in harmony and peace with their natural environment. They knew who they were, where they came from and where they were going. The denial of the supremacy and primacy of consciousness and the substitution of a materialistic reductionism in its place, has given human beings greater domination over nature and certain earthly comforts while, needless to say, creating new discomforts. It has cured many diseases while opening the door to diseases unknown before. And it has been defended as being a way to peace while making possible wars with a degree of violence and lethal effects not imagined in days of old. But most of all it has destroyed the harmonious relation not only between man and God and the spiritual world but also between man and nature by permitting the creation of a science based not on wisdom but on power and its applications as a new technology which has the capability of destroying the very order of life on earth. On the individual level, it has taken away from human beings the ultimate meaning of life and destroyed the home which they considered the universe to be, making human beings aliens within a world view constructed by human minds.
By denying the primacy of consciousness, modern materialism has also cast doubt on the reality of the immortality of the human soul and the afterlife… Besides the most tragic consequences for the human soul who denies such realities, the weakening of belief in eternal life also has a direct consequence on how we live in this world and more particularly, upon the destruction of the natural environment. If life on this earth is the only life we have, then we should do everything possible to live a worldly life as fully as possible.
Were we to accept the truth that “in the beginning was consciousness” and that “it is now as it was at the beginning,” we would no longer feel as aliens in a dead and forbidding cosmos, as accidents in a lifeless universe… Our rapport with animals, plants and even the inanimate world would change from one of strife and need for control and domination to one of harmony and equilibrium with a much greater possibility of intimacy with more human beings than the current mind-set makes possible.

Studies

100 years Madrasa of Tirana (1924 – 2024)
Dorian Demetja

The idea of opening a madrasah posed the need to review methods, design teaching programs and define objectives for the education of students with religious and national feelings. The madrasah wasn’t opened in a day; it took a lot of effort, many talks, many issues had to be resolved, including financial issues, pedagogical personnel, the learning environment, didactic teaching literature, etc. had to be provided. The initiators, the flag bearers and then the initiators of this movement to advance the problem, became those who had studied in advanced schools of the Islamic world or who had given lectures in these schools as teachers and pedagogues. Special authors presented the personal experience of how a madrasa could be founded in the service of Islam, in the service of the Motherland.
The High Madrasah in Tirana was opened on 01.03.1924 by the decision of the First Congress of Albanian Muslims and with the permission of the Ministry of Education N. 105/1, dated 25.02.1924, to meet the needs for religious staff. This Islamic school was opened with an all-Albanian staff and the expenses for its progress were covered by the income of the Muslim Community of Albania.
Within a few years, the General Madrasah of Tirana formed its physiognomy as a serious institution, where a sound religious and national formation was received. From the beginning, she worked on the basis of a contemporary level curriculum.
From the communist regime, like religion and faith in general, the Madrasa of Tirana was hit with increasing severity, starting with the educational reform of 1946, which significantly limited religious subjects. The communist government imposed with a special decision a curriculum, which deeply affected its physiognomy and content. The Ministry of Education gradually tried to move the school curriculum towards secularism.
According to decision no. 1 dt. 22.08.1964 of the General Council, the Madrasah of Tirana is permanently closed for strong budgetary reasons and that for now there are plenty of staff. A strong blow was given to the Muslim Community, when on December 27, 1965, the building of the Tirana Madrasa was confiscated by the state without any explanation, being handed over to the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry branch, a situation which continued even after the country transitioned to a democratic regime . This atheistic spirit continued until 1990.
In the letter of the Muslim Community of Albania dated 10.10.1991, number 1 of the protocol, addressed to the Mufti of Tirana, H. Sabri Koçi quotes: “With the decision taken by this Community, it has been decided that the school of secondary MADRASA named ‘Haxhi Mahmud Dashi’. The personnel who will teach general culture will be provided with a salary by this Community based on the hours and norms in force for general education.”

The role of schools in the development of Albanian education
Mr. Habib Ebibi

Mektebs (various teachings given in mosques), during historical periods, had a very important role, they were in the category or level of today’s primary schools. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and the formation of states in republics, public schools of the lower cycle, in many Islamic countries, replaced the mektebs. In mektebs, Muslim children have learned to read the Qur’an, they have learned the basic principles of the Islamic religion; the conditions of the Islamic religion, the conditions of faith, the way of performing ablution, the way of praying, etc.
These educational institutions, usually, were built near mosques. In them, the religious teacher was engaged in teaching the children the reading of the Qur’an and the most basic things of the Islamic religion.

Sociology

The treatment of family issues in the newspaper “Drita Islame” (1992-2011) in the educational aspect
MSc. Migena Jani

In recent years, an increase in the number of divorces, abandoned children, an increase in family violence, an increase in the level of conflicts between family members, a weakening of the socializing role of the family, a lack of education of values and virtues in children has been observed. We see a shaking of the foundations of the ‘small state’, which continues to lose its purpose and main functions.
This destruction and damage to the family is influenced by two main factors: the lack of education of children in the family with moral and religious values in the family institution and by the great influence of the social environment on the family.
The purpose of the research is to prove that we will deal with influence, which has a precious treasure such as the newspaper and magazine “Drita Islame”, which has played and is playing an enlightening missionary role in dealing with family issues. The questions raised about how religious education strengthens the family and how big the role of the family remains in the education of children received the right answers. The hypothesis that the periodical “Drita Islame” has played a very important role in dealing with family issues in terms of education, psychology, sociology etc., was proven very accurately.
The scientific-research work has used qualitative methodology, based on the treatment of family issues in the light of Quranic verses, the prophetic tradition treated in “Islamic Light” (1992-2017), columns which are guides for a family of strong, which is based on traditional moral and religious values and virtues, which are reinforced even now.

Key words: Albanian family, parenting, moral-religious, Quranic verses, prophetic tradition, “small state”

The influence of the language of religion on social change
Prof. dr. Muhammad Mustafi, Faculty of Islamic Sciences in Skopje

Social changes are the result of different factors, which influence directly or indirectly in different directions.
One of the important factors that change opinions and worldviews is religion, through its language.
The language of religion can form a convenient and suitable space for people, regardless of their affiliation, or it can negatively affect and create the opinion of mutual hatred between different people, ethnicities or peoples.
The language of religion is considered an important part of the formation of close social ties, if it is practiced with special wisdom and care, if it does not offend anyone and if it does not rely on the principle of overvaluation.
Thus, the positive language of religion opens the doors to a wider social communication at various local and global levels. Using negative language will narrow life and offer difficult and limited cooperation.
This type of language affects vital social changes, which can lead to social freedom and general understanding in all spheres of life, regardless of the political spirit that exists in society, because these connections will be the result of a more broad and universal.

Key words: Language, religion, influence, society, changes.

Jurisprudence

Albanian legislation regarding the Muslim Community, in the years 1944-1967
Dr. Denald Prifti, Historian, author in the field of publications on religions and propaganda

The Communist Party created a completely different situation for religious communities, and in the first years of government gave the impression of a regime that respected and guaranteed the implementation of democratic standards in the field of faith and freedom of conscience. “He – the government – created this impression by relying on two factors: First, it was based on two important legal documents, the Declaration of Human and Citizen’s Rights, approved at the II Meeting of the KANÇ in Berat (October 1944) and, most importantly, in the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Albania of 1946…”.
The legal policies followed by the Albanian state in the years 1944-1990 were not the same as the previous policies followed by Ahmet Zogu in the period 1925-1939. The state power aimed at the realization of the objectives set by itself. It is known that at that time the freedom of religion and belief was not at the right levels. The relationship between religious institutions and those of the state began to be dominated by political power. Relations were getting more and more difficult, both ‘de jure’ and ‘de facto’. Power, more and more, extended its influence and dominance, leaving no separation of religion from the influence of power. In terms of freedom of conscience and belief, as well as the exercise of religion, serious violations are observed in many cases.
In actual practice, however, the new Albanian regime sought to destroy the role and influence of religion and national religious organizations. During 1945 and 1946 the state outlawed religious education and closed down the remaining private religious schools; religious institutions lost their right to hold land by the Agrarian Reform Law of 1946; all religious publications and communications, including sermons, had to be reviewed and approved by state authorities before they were given to the public; as well as the youth of the nation were encouraged not to participate in religious services and activities.

Islamic jurisprudence

Polygamy in history and Islamic perspective
Prof. dr. Bekir Topaloglu

Marrying more than one wife, two, three or four, in Islam, is not a fard obligation or a wajib command, but it is a permission for people to get away from immorality. However, even this permission is conditional on opportunities and justice. The Qur’anic verse (Nisa’, 4:3) explains to us that in marriage it is important to be satisfied with one woman, emphasizing that marriage with one woman is closer to the fulfillment of rights.
Let us remind you that in Islamic law, a woman has the right to ask her husband not to marry another woman, as long as she is married to him. After the act that will be performed legally, the agreement that will be made will be active, and if it prevents the man from remarrying, and in the meantime he marries, the first wife has the right to divorce. In a hadith it is said: “The condition you most deserve to fulfill is the one you accepted during the coronation.”
In this case, the woman in polygamy will have the right to vote. The spiritual damages due to them will be eliminated. In many countries of the world polygamy does not officially exist. But, in fact, it continues to spread. For this reason, different laws are introduced from time to time to determine the origin of children according to the legal system.
In the end, it can be said that Islam has approved polygamy due to some necessity. If humanity still does not know the benefit of polygamy and does not approve of it, it cannot be said that one day, after various experiences, it will not approve of it.

History

The influence of reformism and enlightenment on Hafiz Ali Korça
Dr. Azmir Yusufi

Certain circumstances are a decisive factor in the formation of outstanding personalities, whose role and importance is undeniable and their work is universal. Such elements are found in the history books of all nations, whose pages are full of important figures who mark a certain era, such as patriots, heroes, giants and reformers.
The reformist spirit and the change of consciousness begins with the mental revolution of an individual or a group that tries to raise the consciousness of its society. The same thought must be inspired, because inspiration is the spiritual driver of man, while the reforming spirit is nourished by ideological, artistic and religious convictions.
Hafiz Ali Korça expanded his intellectual activity, apart from that in the field of the Albanian alphabet, also in another field, when he was appointed a member of the “Literary Committee” where together with the veterans: Gjergj Fishta, Luigj Gurakuqi, Mati Logoreci and Sali Nivica , worked with dedication in the field of linguistics. In this Commission, Hafiz Ali’s contribution to the purity of the Albanian language from foreign words is undeniable.
His political and educational views are a natural result of the National Movement, which was felt from the middle of the XIX century, and which took on greater proportions in the 20-30s of the XX century.

Personality

Haki Sharofi, Director of Tirana Madrasah and “Zani i Naltë” Magazine

Haki Sharofi was born in Dibër i Madhe, but he developed his activity as a teacher, publicist and translator far from his birth. After the 1930s, he finally settled in Tirana where he developed a dense activity, as the director of the Tirana Madrasah, as the director of the magazine “Zani i Naltë” (organ of the Albanian Muslim Community), at the head of which he remained from 1930 until 1939.
During his work in the field of publications, he was distinguished for his serious treatment of religious, social, ethical and philosophical topics. He also wrote many poems. In particular, he has the merit for drafting the series of books “Religious and Moral Education”, textbooks that were used for the teaching of faith in state schools, where religion was also taught. In the books “Religious and moral education”, some requirements of Islamic morality stand out in our conditions, where some basic principles of this morality take place, explained simply and for the masses of all ages of that period with a limited scope of secular education. These texts have a subtle construction and structure very appropriate for the time they were published. Based on these values, the Muslim Albanian Library of Michigan (USA) has recently republished them.
In the last years of his life, Haki Sharofi collaborated with the Central State Archive and the Archive of the Institute of History, making a significant contribution to the translation of documents of historical importance, which were in the Eastern languages: Arabic, Turkish and Persian. He has left a rich heritage with translations, such as “Albanian Tafsir”, “High Principles of Islam”, “Verses of the Qur’an”, etc.

Retrospective

The importance of marriage
Ferit Vokopola

What is marriage? Is it only a natural or human and social duty? After all, man, with the conscience he has, is charged with some duties that also belong to others. Of course, marriage is a human and social duty; the love of Parents towards their offspring in the most painful way has been rooted in the soul of man since the day of creation. This love and compassion has created the basis of coexistence and protection against the savagery of Nature. Animals, since they do not have such marked compassion and love as man, are not bound by established laws to keep their lives in order.
Society can never live without the existence of family life, but this has its basis raised with the conditions of marriage… and really, if we think a little impartially, we come to the conclusion that it is not possible for us to not assert that true and lasting happiness can never be found for man except in Family Life, which is mainly due to marriage.

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