Academician Rexhep Qosja is remembered as a timeless erudite

The Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Albanological Institute have honored the work of academician Rexhep Qosje, who died on Thursday at the age of 89 and was buried the same day in a private ceremony. At the Academy, where Qosje was a regular member, he was praised for his role in shaping national consciousness, while at the Albanological Institute it was proposed that his office be declared a museum space. At the two memorial meetings it was appreciated that his work remains in the texts that are read, in the debates that continue and in the collective consciousness. As a silent but permanent presence in Albanian history and culture. Treasure of a timeless erudite

In institutions such as the Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Albanological Institute where the work of academic Rexhep Qosje spoke, on Friday their halls became a reminder of the multidimensional weight of his contribution. His commemoration was a moment of reflection on one of the most important figures of Albanian thought, literature and criticism. He was more than a writer and scholar – he was a living national conscience, an articulate voice of truth and a figure who challenged the times with his intellectual courage.

Qosje's works remain a testament to the power of critical thinking. His profile as a literary scholar extends beyond the Academy and Institute. Even into public debates, politics, and cultural discourse.

In both commemorative meetings, first at the Academy, and then at the Institute, it was considered that figures like Qosja do not only belong to the time in which they lived. But that they become a point of reference for current and future generations.

Academic Qosja was considered a figure who for decades embodied the Albanian critical consciousness and intellectual identity.

The two scientific institutions honored the researcher, writer and artist with a minute of silence for his life dedicated to knowledge and truth.  to the late essayist who died on Thursday and was buried in the presence of close family.

also EVENING NEWS 2 months ago The Assembly values ​​Qosje as one of the most important figures of the Albanian nation.

He had requested that the news be made public only after a private farewell ceremony. He was 89 years old.

The President of the Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts, Justina Shiroka-Pula, said that academician Qosja was more than a writer. That he was an institution in his own right.

"A powerful voice of critical reason and a steadfast defender of truth. His loss is not only a loss to our literature and culture, it constitutes a great national loss, a void that affects the intellectual consciousness of all Albanians wherever they are," she said.

Academician Shiroka-Pula said that Qosje's work will continue to be an important reference of knowledge and a source of inspiration for those who believe in the power of free thought.

"He built a vast and enduring opus that not only enriched our scientific and literary fund, but also contributed to shaping our national consciousness in crucial historical periods. His legacy remains a precious guide, a wealth of thought, creativity and integrity that will continue to inspire generations to come," she said.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has emphasized the crucial role of Qosje in shaping national consciousness and preparing generations for the historical challenges of the 80s and 90s. He said that his studies of Albanian language, literature, history and folklore prepared generations for political and social confrontation.

"When the dissolution of Yugoslavia began and the oppression of Albanians increased, Rexhep Qosja became the most prominent Albanian academic and intellectual voice. He denounced in the Yugoslav and international press the lies and propaganda of those Serbian intellectuals who would write and support the infamous 1986 Serbian Academy memorandum and who prepared the ground for the genocide that Serbia would undertake in the 90s," said Prime Minister Kurti.

It has been said that Qosja became the spokesperson for the forbidden people. That he gave voice and courage to the justice of student protests.

"He was a warrior of the pen, a tireless articulator of ideas and a persistent advocate of his own thoughts. He wrote and spoke about political developments in Albanian lands, such as the peaceful resistance in Kosovo, as well as democratic developments in Albania and North Macedonia. He argued that the democratic rebirth of Albanians after the fall of communist regimes and the dissolution of Yugoslavia had many points of contact with our National Renaissance."  "and that now, as then, both the right Albanian solution and the direction towards Western civilization should be aimed at," Kurti said at the memorial meeting at the Academy.

Academic Ali Aliu, a close friend of Rexhep Qosja, said that he had created and recreated modern national ideas which were represented in his major scholarly, literary, cultural and political work.

"Academician Rexhep Qosja, undoubtedly, with his life and work, occupies a special place in national history, as one of the central figures of thought, creation and intellectual reaction, a figure transformed into a symbol of modern national identity," he said.

also Arberi 2 months ago Qosja is honored as one of the most important figures of the Albanian nation.

According to Academician Ali, "the biography of Academician Rexhep Qosje itself significantly reflects the individual fate and at the same time the Albanian misfortune, of the division, crises and divisions of the ethnic trunk..." According to him, they strengthen Qosje's convictions for the unification of the nation based on emancipatory, linguistic, spiritual-literary and political development.

The honor for Qosje at the memorial meeting at the Academy also came from the Albanian Academy of Sciences. Academician Anila Hoda praised Qosje as one of the most powerful voices in public debates on the issue of identity, history, culture and political developments in Kosovo and Albania. She said that he addressed these issues with courage and responsibility.

"Academician Rexhep Qosja was a rare erudite, an extraordinary personality of the pan-Albanian culture, a dedicated researcher and a well-known writer. His life and work are inextricably linked to the history of scientific, literary and political thought of the Albanian world. For more than half a century he was a powerful voice in intellectual and public life, becoming one of the most representative figures of our national consciousness," she said.

Linguist Hysen Matoshi has said that after Qosje, his multifaceted legacy remains alive, as he has said,  constitutes one of the most precious national treasures.

"He belongs to all of us. In particular, he belongs to endless generations of Albanians as a guiding sign for a safer journey into the future. There are more than 50 works and more than 20 thousand pages written and published, many of them translated into other languages, which make academician Rexhep Qosje an author without a second in Albanian history and culture," said Matoshi, former director of the Albanological Institute.

Qosje's work has been referred to as original and unrepeatable.

"Such original and unrepeatable works as a manifestation of free authorial consciousness, unique as comprehensive creativity, have an organic structural content connection as values ​​of spiritual creativity and mental rationality. All of this together makes academic Qosje a cultural phenomenon," he continued.

The acting director of the Albanological Institute, Fadil Grajçevci, recalled that truth was the highest form of love for the people and their culture.

"Rexhep Qosja's literary and scientific work, as well as his life's work in general, has always been based on a moral norm that for him was no other alternative -  "The defense of the truth, that is, in all the political and social circumstances that the Albanian people have gone through in recent decades in Kosovo, in Albania and beyond, has often brought short-term and long-term misunderstandings of various natures," said Grajçevci.

While saying that Rexhep Qosja was convinced of the love of truth for his people, he quoted the deceased's expression: "Truth is the way of my love for my people and for their culture."

also Culture Supplement 2 months ago Rexhep Qosja – phenomenon of Albanian culture

Qosja was a regular member of the Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts. He was elected scientific advisor at the Albanological Institute, while also holding the position of director of the institution. At the meeting, it was publicly proposed that his office be declared a museum space.

In the two commemorative meetings, it was appreciated that the work of academician Rexhep Qosje remains in the texts that are read, in the debates that continue, and in the collective consciousness. As a silent but permanent presence in Albanian history and culture. A treasure of a timeless erudition.