page_title: Albanians in Egypt
section_title: Albanian National Awakening and early 20th century
hierarchical_section_title: Albanians in Egypt / Albanian National Awakening and early 20th century
caption_attribution_description: English: Albanian bashi-bazouks (Arnauts) performing the sword dance in Cairo, Egypt.
context_page_description: The Albanian community in Egypt started by Ottoman rulers and military personnel appointed in the Egyptian province. A substantial community would grow up later by soldiers and mercenaries who settled in the second half of the 18th century and made a name for themselves in the Ottoman struggle to expel French troops in 1798–1801. Muhammad Ali who was of Albanian descent, was the ruler who had founded the New Kingdom of Egypt which lasted there until 1952. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many other Albanians settled into Egypt for economical and political reasons. With the fedayeen, Muslim Brotherhood, and the culminating Egyptian Revolution of 1952 the Albanian community in Egypt totally diminished and they settled in Western countries.
context_section_description: Albanian immigration to Egypt continued throughout the 19th century, and indeed into the first three decades of the 20th century. By that time Egypt experienced a massive economic development and prosperity, French and British investments (i.e. the Suez Canal), modernization, and opportunity for entrepreneurship. The economical prosperity attracted many emigrants from the Albanian lands, mainly from Korçë and Kolonjë regions. With some exceptions, most of the figures were educated members of the Orthodox community from south Albania who stationed in the vicinity of the Greek communities. Some of them published articles in the Greek community newspapers as well, frequently polemizing regarding Albanian identity. The Albanian community in Egypt, with their patriotic societies and publishing activities, played an important role in the Albanian national awakening at the end of the 19th century. The first Albanian society of Egypt was founded in 1875. It was named "Vëllazëria e Parë" (First Brotherhood) and was led by Thimi Mitko.
  Nationalist figures and writers such as Thimi Mitko, Spiro Dine, Filip Shiroka, Jani Vruho, Nikolla Naço, Anastas Avramidhi, Thoma Kreini, Thoma Avrami, Thanas Tashko, Stefan Zurani, Andon Zako Çajupi, Mihal Zallari, Milo Duçi, Loni Logori, Fan Noli, Aleksandër Xhuvani, Gaqo Adhamidhi and many others were all active in Egypt at some point in their careers. Some of them used it as temporary solution before moving to US or elsewhere, while some other settled permanently. Spiro Dine founded in 1881 the local branch of Society for the Publication of Albanian Writings in Shibin Al Kawm, a precursor and lobbyist for the Albanian education which started with the Albanian School of Korçë. Many newspapers and collections would come out, including the successful Shkopi ("The stick"), Rrufeja ("The lightning"), Belietta Sskiypetare ("The Albanian Bee") and so on. Many others would come out for a shorter time: Milo Duçi would publish the magazines Toska (The Tosk) during 1901–02, Besa-Besë (Pledge for a pledge) during 1904-05 together with Thoma Avrami, Besa (Besa) of 1905 which lasted for 6 issues and was printed by Al-Tawfik in Cairo, and newspapers Shqipëria (Albania) from October 1906 to February 1907, a daily of Cairo with the last two issues coming out in Maghagha, and the weekly Bisedimet (The discussions) of 1925–26 with 60 issues in total, which would be the last Albanian-language newspaper in Egypt. Aleksander Xhuvani published the newspaper Shkreptima (The lightning) in 1912 in Cairo. In 1922, Duçi established also the publishing company Shtëpia botonjëse shqiptare/Société Albanaise d'édition (Albanian Publishing House). Prominent Albanian organizations were: "Vëllazëria Shqiptare" (Albanian Fraternity) founded on 1 My 1894 in Beni-Suef, and "Bashkimi" (The union) which was found everywhere in Albanian populated areas and diaspora. It was an Albanian high official in Egypt, who sponsored the Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida in Khedivial Opera House in 1871.
  In 1907, with the initiative of Mihal Turtulli, Jani Vruho, and Thanas Tashko, the Albanian community send a promemorium to the Second Hague Conference for Peace, demanding support for the civic rights of the Albanian population under the oppression of Abdul Hamid II. Thanas Tashko would represent the community in the Congress of Manastir of 1908, while Loni Logori in the Congress of Elbasan of 1909. Another prominent Albanian, Fan Noli, would settle shortly in Egypt. Vruho and Tashko convinced him to move to US, and supported him financially. Another memorandum was signed with the initiative of Andon Zako and was sent to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. In 1924, a regrouping of the Albanian clubs and societies was done in Cairo, under a unique society named "Lidhja e Shqiptarve te Egjiptit" (The League of the Albanians of Egypt), with Jani Vruho as chairman. More societies would follow; "Shoqerija Mireberse" (Benefactor Society) of Hipokrat Goda from Korçë established in 1926, and "Shoqeria e Miqeve" (Friends' Club) of Andon Zako in 1927. Thoma Kre
caption: Albanian guards performing the sword-dance in front of local audience and musicians by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1885.
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