At the end of the twentieth century, “Skenderbey” Square held two opposite objects: neither could tolerate the presence of the other, but they would do as they would for a short time together: one closed but defiant with the determination not to be defeated, the other overseeing with the arrogance of the ruler.

Expressing the light of the sacred, the Et’hem Bey Mosque made the pillar of the dictator’s statue, the conduit of darkness and dictates under which innocent blood flowed.

The object of the cult resisted time, remained there as evidence that nothing can uproot and erase faith in God. The dictator cast in bronze did not have a long life in that square where he would have liked to stay and watch forever. The extermination came quickly, much earlier than anyone could have thought.

The battle between them had started since 1967, continued in silence and in voice. From the mosque, it was as if the Qur’anic verse was heard that after difficulty comes relief, while the devil in the cloak of man and leader, sometimes alive and sometimes frozen, uttered the dirty black words: “Religion is the opium of the people. We must do our best so that this great truth is understood by every person… We must not leave this great war to spontaneity… Are we allowed to… sit around and observe Ramadan in vain?”

The future held reserved for the gigantic sign of his physical and ideological existence an exemplary humiliation before they knocked him down and dragged him away: when the Mosque of Et’hem Bey resumed receiving believers on a day when they were in thousands, on January 18, 1991, death must have seemed like a golden cap to the dictator who capitulated after only 23 years of his atheistic folly. The humiliation could well be seen as divine!

Just a few months before the capital’s central square witnessed a flood of people to the mosque, the notorious ruling party had called a rally to tighten the ranks.

The influx of people into the embassies had shaken the system, but not as much as the seismic tremors caused by the fall of the Berlin Wall and the execution of Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu in Romania. towards the end of the precursor year.

The events of 1989 and the middle of 1990 would kill the fear of the oppressed, economically impoverished and spiritually empty people.

The Student City became the vanguard of the great upheaval, the event of which would finally be announced on January 18, 1991! Almost a month before February 20, Tirana and the whole country saw for the first time a large mass of people pouring into “Skğnderbej” square, not directed by power, but by the thirst for the much-missed freedom of belief.

The first step was taken with the opening of the Lead Mosque in Shkodër, where young and old flocked. Just two months later, it was the turn of Et’hem Bey Mosque. That multitude of people on that January day spoke with presence, showed rebellion, non-kneeling, triumph! And how significant: upon arriving in Tirana in June of that year, the American Secretary of State would step into the same reopened gate of the renewed shrine!

The believers had started the organization long before, adding day after day and meeting after meeting. Faik Kasollja, Ibrahim Balla, Ramazan Rusheku, Xhavid Alimehmeti, Selim Stafa, Mehmet Sinella, dr. Shefqet Ndroqi, dr. Qazim Bakalli, Bardhyl Fico, and others, were committed to taking over the mosque. The task would be assigned to Islam Kadesha, Ibrahim Balla, Ramazan Rushek and Iljaz Alimehmet. The mosque of Et’hem Bey was taken over on January 15, and a day later it was decided by the provisional commission that on January 18 religious activities would be reopened. A speech would be given by Ibrahim Balla, the mavlud would be led by Ramazan Rushek and the Friday prayer would be offered. Few, however, would have expected that unprecedented participation for the time in a cult object.

Everything that follows is the story of the re-establishment of the structure for the direction of religious life. The committee gathered at the house of dr. Shefqet Ndroqi decided to call Hafiz Sabri Koçi to wear the clerical robe. The delegation sent to Shkodër consisted of Ramazan Rusheku, Bardhyl Fico and dr. Shefqet Ndroqi. On February 14, the First Islamic Assembly was convened, the status of the Muslim Community and the relevant bodies of the Community were approved.

Allah, with His mercy, rewarded the patience of the believers; they suffered without falling, endured and experienced again the freedom of fearlessly worshiping the One God! A generation of believers resurrected the legacy of the first, to leave the baton to the younger ones in the preservation and flourishing of the faith and the Islamic ummah.

After three and a half decades, the Muslims of this country are increasing and no longer occupying the square, they prosper and become an example of piety and citizenship, beautify the environment with their behavior and convey vitality, while the Et’hem Bey Mosque continues to grace Tirana, to receive worshipers and visitors, to remain an identifier of the triumph of God’s word and a symbol of Albanian Muslims.

Source: prizrenpost