The first teacher of Albanian school in Scandinavian dies

Today in Malmö you were given the latest farewell, one of the most devout exiles of the Albanian diaspora in Scandinavian Bayzat Beqiri, who was the leader of the largest Islamic centre in Europé, as well as the school director who founded it. He was, in addition to his devotion to religion, a teacher, a humanist, and unmistakable charity. It helped all activity of the Albanian exile wherever it was needed.

It is noteworthy that he contributed large sums of money to all types of funds that organised Albanian exiles, but he never wanted his name to become public. Begzat Beqiri in Sweden came from the Jablqisht municipality of Veles Macedonia. It was raised in a home family that had repeatedly raised its voice against the inequality and oppression of Albanians. Viewing the many injustices, he decides in 1962 to migrate to Sweden, thus becoming one of the first Albanian intellectuals.

By that time he had just completed high school in Kicevo, to continue a series of professional further training courses in Sweden, as well as two years of study near Malma High School. Since it came from a country where injustice was prevalent against Albanians, as well as from seeing Albanian children and young people coming from different parts of Yugoslavia (who by then could only be taught in Serbochonate) that they could not learn in Albanian, in cooperation and with the support of many other natives, in 1968 became the first native - language teacher in Swedish school. So he was the first to put Albanian in Swedish school.

However, Beijing's activism does not stop only in spreading native language to Albanian students. He, together with Albanian collaborators in 1983, establishes and then inaugurates the first and largest mosque not only in Malma but also in Scandinavian. The goal was to gather all Albanians not only to carry out their religious rituals but also to serve as the meeting point and announcement of fellow countrymen. Today, this mosque within it has the school as well as the library rich in books of different profiles.

And indeed, this centre has served many countrymen, especially during the time when there have been dramatic developments both in the case of the Kosovo war and in many other events. Numerous meetings have been held in this country, major decisions have been made, and initiatives have often been initiated to help the country, but also to help Albanian organisations/organisations in Sweden. But many joint Albanian-Swede activities and projects also develop here, aimed at facilitating integration into local society.

The mosque is also open to all regardless of cultural background or religious orientation. To illustrate, the members of this center speak over a hundred and thirty languages. The mosque has become a joint meeting point for people of different cultures and a bridge between them and Swedish culture. The Swedish government and the Saudi people considered Mr. Bayzat Beqiri to be a person among the influential persons for the intervention of foreigners on the Scandinavian peninsula. It is noteworthy that no government member from Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, in view of the contribution this great humanist made to the nation, did not attend the funeral ceremony.