Arif Hiqmeti, born Arif Neziri (1870s–1916), was one of the leaders of the

Peasant Revolt in Albania A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasant ...

Early life

Arif Hiqmeti was born in 1870s in Lojane, a small village near

Kumanovo Kumanovo ( ; , sq-definite, Kumanova; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is the second-largest city in North Macedonia after the capital Skopje and the seat of Kumanovo Municipality, the List of municipalities in the Republic ...

in what is now

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

, to an Albanian family. His father was a tradesman. Hiqmeti received the first lessons from a Muslim clergyman in the village. Since at a young age he showed intelligence and good communication skills. His family's powerful friends enabled him to study

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. After finishing studies, Hiqmeti was given a job as an agent of Hilmi Pasha.

Ottoman service

Due to his skills and knowledge of several languages, he later became a secret agent of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. During that time Hiqmeti showed a staunch support for the religious policies and nature of the empire, and a disapproval of nationalist ideals that were emerging among Balkan populations. In early 20th century he was sent to the

Malësia Malësia e Madhe ("Great Highlands"), known simply as Malësia (, ), is a historical and ethnographic region in northern Albania and eastern central Montenegro corresponding to the highlands of the geographical subdivision of the Malësi e Madhe ...

region to persuade leaders of Albanian revolts for independence to accept official Ottoman posts and stop revolting. After failing to find an agreement with leaders of Malësia, Hiqmeti began to visit many Muslim religious buildings and families across area with Albanian populations, spreading pro-Ottoman propaganda. In 1910 Hiqmeti with some collaborators of him organized at the center of

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

a meeting where he spoke against the

Congress of Manastir The Congress of Manastir () was an academic conference held in the city of Manastir (now Bitola) from November 14 to 22, 1908, with the goal of standardizing the Albanian alphabet. November 22 is now a commemorative day in Albania, Kosovo and ...

and its adoption of a

Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet, also known as the Roman alphabet, is the collection of letters originally used by the Ancient Rome, ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered except several letters splitting—i.e. from , and from � ...

for writing in

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

. For the same reason meetings were held in the coming weeks in other settlements with Albanian populations. According to contemporary documents, the meetings did find very few supporters among ordinary people.

Haxhi Qamili Revolt

After Albania declared independence, in 1914 Hiqmeti was involved in the Peasant Revolt led by

Haxhi Qamili Haxhi Qamili, born Qamil Zyber Xhameta, (1876 – 16 August 1915) was an Albanian rebel who was a leader of two pro-Ottoman revolts by Muslims in Albania from 1914 to 1915. He was popularly known by his religious name Haxhi Qamili, though he was ...

and which had as its goal the removal of Prince Wilhelm Wied from power. The revolt gathered support from some pro-Ottoman peasants who believed that the new regime of the

Principality of Albania The Principality of Albania () was a monarchy from 1914 to 1925. It was headed by Wilhelm, Prince of Albania, and located in modern Albania in the Balkans, Balkan region of Europe. The Ottoman Empire owned the land until the First Balkan Wa ...

was a tool of the six Christian

Great Power A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power ...

s and the landowners that owned half of the arable land. However the revolt did not have success and soon it was suppressed. In 1916 Hiqmeti was shot dead by Albanian patriots from Dibra.

Legacy

Hiqmeti is regarded by Albanians nowadays as a symbol of anti-democratic movements and misusage of religious ideals for personal profit.

References

{{Authority control People from Kumanovo People from Kosovo vilayet Albanian people from the Ottoman Empire 1916 deaths Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni