After the triumph of the Islamic Revolt in 1914 he left Albania together with Wied. He settled in Bari, Italy, and after a couple of months returned to Albania, settling in Shkodër since going back to Elbasan was impossible. In 1915 he joined a secret nationalist committee founded by Hoxha Kadri Prishtina in Shkodër, together with other patriots as Sotir Peçi, Eshref Frashëri, Ali Shefqet Shkupi, etc. The committee was a precursor of the later Committee for the National Defence of Kosovo.