Albanians in Egypt
The Albanians in Egypt ( Albanian Shqiptarët në Egjipt , Arabic الألبان في مصر al'alban fi misr ) are a partially assimilated ethnic minority and part of the Albanian diaspora . The originally relatively large Albanian community has almost completely disappeared today.
Albanians first came to Egypt as mercenaries in the second half of the 18th century . They quickly gained a high reputation, they earned their respect in the fight against French troops in the years 1798–1801. They played an important role in the Albanian national movement Rilindja at the end of the 19th century. From 1875 onwards, several patriotic Albanian homeland associations were established in Egypt . Well-known writers and personalities of the Rilindja, including Fan Noli and Andon Zako Çajupi , worked in Egypt for a certain time. In 1922, Milo Duçi founded an Albanian publishing company ( Shoqeria botonjesé shqipetaré ) in Cairo ; Furthermore, a local Albanian Bektashi community had its own Tekke on the outskirts of Cairo.
From 1946 to 1955 the king of Albania Ahmet Zogu spent his exile in Egypt. Immediately afterwards - with the takeover of power by Gamal Abdel Nasser and the ensuing nationalist policy of Arabization in Egypt - the Albanian community of around 4,000 families was forced to leave the country.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Robert Elsie : Albanians . In: Encyclopedia of Modern Asia . 2002 (English, online [PDF]).
- ^ A b Robert Elsie : Historical Dictionary of Albania . Scarecrow Press, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8108-7380-3 , pp. 125 ( excerpt from Google book search).
