Abstract:

With the creation of the Albanian national state, Turkey and Islam have become two major enemies of the secular Albanian nationalist tradition, from which the Albanians have to divorce in order to “modernize” and please Europe. This tendency which started after the creation of the national state in 1920, continued during the era of King Zog, communism and even today. This paper analyzes state approved school textbooks which were used in High Schools (Gymnasiums) of Albania during the academic year 2007/2008. We analyze history and literature textbooks. The texts present Albanian students with images of Ottoman Turks who are depicted as violent, Asians, barbarians and uncivilized. They are shown as ruthless enemies of the Albanians who forcefully invade Albania and Islamize her brave and resisting Christians. The authors of the texts teach the students that their culture is Catholic and European, while Islam is depicted as a foreign religion, imposed violently upon them. The era of the Ottoman Empire is shown as barbaric and dark period of the Albanian history. Albanians who supported the Ottomans are depicted as traitors, while the era of Scanderbeg’s resistance against the Ottomans is depicted as the golden era of the nation.

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