page_title: Ibrahim Temo
section_title: Biography
hierarchical_section_title: Ibrahim Temo / Biography
caption_attribution_description: English: Bust of Ibrahim Temo, located at the Albanian high school in Struga
context_page_description: Ibrahim Starova, also Ibrahim Bërzeshta, better known as Ibrahim Temo, was an Ottoman-Albanian politician, revolutionary, intellectual, and a medical doctor by profession. Temo was the original founder of the Committee of Union and Progress.
context_section_description: Temo was born in Struga to a family with origins from Starovë (now Buçimas), Albania, with ancestors that served as soldiers for the Ottoman Empire and later migrated to his birthplace. He was married to a sister of the Frashëri brothers (Abdyl, Naim and Sami). In 1879 during the League of Prizren period, Temo was a founder of the Society for the Publication of Albanian Writings (Albanian: Shoqëri e të shtypurit shkronjavet shqip). Temo, along with Mehmed Reshid, İshak Sükuti and Abdullah Cevdet where students enrolled at the Military Medical School and in 1889 they founded a progressive secret society called Ittihad-ı Osmani Cemiyeti. The goals of the group were devoted toward overthrowing the absolute rule of Ottoman sultan Abdul Hamid II. In its early years the group was organised in small cells and individuals received a number with Temo being 1/1 indicating that he was the first cell and member of the movement. 
  Early on Temo recruited Albanians into the group such as Nexhip Draga and other Kosovars along with fellow nationals from Toskëria (Southern Albania). Temo became acquainted with Ahmet Rıza, the leader of the Paris cell and both established a working relationship. Rıza, drawing on ideas of positivist philosophy encouraged Temo's group to adopt the name Nizam ve Terakki which was a translation of Auguste Comte's motto "Order and Progress". The founders of the group including Temo were strongly insistent on using the term "Ittihad" (unity). During 1894–1895, a compromise was reached between both factions and they united under a new name Osmanli Ittihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti (Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress) or CUP.
  Ottoman authorities uncovered the CUP group in 1895 resulting in the arrest and exile of its members and to avoid imprisonment Temo fled during November to Romania. He with the assistance of Kırımîzâde Ali Rıza, a former Ottoman naval officer founded a branch of the CUP in Romania. Temo published a Young Turk newspaper spreading CUP ideas among the Muslim population of Dobruja. He also founded CUP branches in the cities of Kazanlak, Vidin, Shumen, Ruse, Sofia and Plovdiv in neighbouring Bulgaria whose members included fellow Albanians and two branches in Shkodër and Tiranë in Albania. 
  Temo was also active in the Albanian national movement present in Romania. He became vice president of the local branch of the Bashkimi (Union) Society in Constanța and prominently partook in its congresses held in Bucharest.  Appeals issued by the Albanian Drita committee that asked for Albanian autonomy were initiated and prepared by Temo. While abroad Temo's thinking on the Albanian question was in national terms and expressed concerns about the Albanian community. He advocated for close cooperation between Orthodox Albanians and Orthodox Aromanians viewing both as having a common interest, due to opposition from the Greek Patriarchate and Bulgarian Exarchate in establishing schools and conducting church liturgy in their native languages. Temo viewed the Rum (Orthodox) district of Istanbul which represented Greek wealth and power in the Ottoman state as "the den of intrigue". In Romania Temo maintained close ties with the leadership of an Aromanian (Kutzo-Vlach) organisation and Romanian authorities supported those connections. Temo stated that he also worked for an understanding to be reached between Romanians and the Turkish minority of Romania against Slavism. Due to his activities his reputation was enhanced within the Balkans.
   
  During this period of exile Temo remained busy with CUP circles while his personal views became more liberal, such as advocating for a modified Latin alphabet to write the Turkish language. Other CUP members like Ahmet Rıza received Temo's recommendations coldly and nicknamed him "Latinist". Temo compiled an educational program that called for universal schooling of children and for foreign schools in Ottoman lands to have half their instruction in Turkish. In his memorandum, with thoughts on the Albanian language, Temo also advocated for the ethnic rights of minorities to have n
caption: Bust of Ibrahim Temo at the Albanian high school named after him in Struga
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