Mulla Daut Efendi Boriçi (, (7 cemazi-ül evvel 1242 H./7 December 1826 – 2 November 1896), was an Albanian

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

, müderris and nationalist figure of the Albanian National Awakening. For most of his life he was involved in the Ottoman educational system and is remembered for his Albanian primer in the

Arabic alphabet The Arabic alphabet, or the Arabic abjad, is the Arabic script as specifically codified for writing the Arabic language. It is a unicase, unicameral script written from right-to-left in a cursive style, and includes 28 letters, of which most ...

of 1861, and his leadership during the League of Prizren.

Life

Boriçi was born in

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...

, back then center of the Pashalik of Scutari 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 ...

. His family originates from Boriç village near Antivari, today's

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

, having settled in Shkodër around 1650. His father was Hadji Mustafa Refiki efendi. At 8 years old he started his elementary education together with his brother Salih in the local school located in the "Old Bazaar"

neighbourhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

. There he was taught by Mulla Ferhati (1773-1844). During his youth, Boriçi also attended the Greek high school Zosimea in

Ioannina Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...

for his education. In 1839 he started learning the

Arabic language Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and studying theology with the '' müderrises'' of the Qafa

medrese Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

, founded by Mehmet Pasha Plaku and administered by Mustafa Pasha Bushatli. In 1848 he was appointed as

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

in the Draçin Mosque (known as Mulla Dauti Mosque) where he took the name Mulla Dauti. He was influenced by other Muslim scholars such as Salih Efendi, Mullah Ahmet Hadri, and Mulla Sylo Fakoja, and became a member of the

ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

. In 1850, he left for

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 ...

and on 21 October of that year registered in the Çifte Baş Kurşun madrasa, one of the many founded by

Mehmed II Mehmed II (; , ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (; ), was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. In Mehmed II's first reign, ...

, followed by the Normal School. There he gave theology lessons to Riza Bey Bushati, son of Mustafa Pasha. The exact date when he finished his studies is unknown. He was first appointed somewhere in

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

but luckily managed to return to his hometown due to an exchange with another Çifte Baş Kurşun alumni. Returning in 1858 to Shkodër, he started teaching in the ''Ruzhdie'' (middle) school. Also, Riza Bey appointed him in charge of his family estates and income, with a payment of 5 Ottoman liras a month. In 1869 he was also elevated to inspector of the Ottoman Ministry of Education Inspectorate, responsible for elementary education in the area. On 15 June 1878, right on the eve of the

Congress of Berlin At the Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878), the major European powers revised the territorial and political terms imposed by the Russian Empire on the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of San Stefano (March 1878), which had ended the Rus ...

, a massive manifestation of the Shkodër population took place at the Old Bazaar. The manifestation came out with a petition which was sent to the Berlin Congress, protesting against any potential annexation of Albanian-populated territories by

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

. Daut's name was on the top list out of 380 signatures. His name would stand out as the leader of the League of Prizren branch of Shkodër, a committee of 20 people founded on 11 July 1878. The Committee played an important role in mobilizing Albanians, protesting transfers to Montenegro of Albanian land and assisting the resistance in Plav- Gusinje, Hoti, Gruda, Antivari, and Ulcinj.
With the suppression of the League by the Ottomans, Daut was recalled in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

and later exiled in Anatolia where he would work as a teacher. After the accidental death of his wife, a petition from Shkodra leadership convinced the Ottoman authorities to give him amnesty. Daut returned to his hometown and was involved again in the education system. During 1882, Boriçi was Inspector of Education for the Scutari Vilayet and asked the Ottoman government for permission to allow the introduction of the Albanian language in state schools of Shkodër. In 1888 he still was in the position of inspector for schools in the Shkodër region. In 1892 he applied for retirement, which was approved only in 1894. Daut Boriçi died in Shkodër in November 1896 and was buried in the Luguçesma Mosque.

Work

His main work was the Arabic Alphabet Turkish-Albanian primer, published in 1861 in Istanbul under a pen name and no date, in order to avoid any possible persecution due to Albanian writings being prohibited by that time. A second edition came out in 1869.
Another Albanian primer, different from the first, dates in 1881. Also, two unfinished works of his, an Albanian language grammar and a Turkish-Albanian dictionary, are preserved in the Albanian National Archives. In addition, Molla Daut wrote an autobiography and two diaries, one of 1884-1850, and the other of 1893-1895 period.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borici, Daut 19th-century Albanian writers 19th-century Albanian educators Educators from the Ottoman Empire People from Shkodër 1825 births 1896 deaths Sanjak of Scutari Albanian Muslims Activists of the Albanian National Awakening Albanian imams 19th-century civil servants from the Ottoman Empire Religious leaders from Shkodër Albanian Sunni Muslims Albanian Islamic religious leaders Albanian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam