The student's remarks on the Shkodra region and the orphanage there

The student: Of course, we went to the Shkodra region. Shkodra, of course, has a main street, just like in Tirana.

The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: And it is also a junction of roads, and it seems to me that this is a Soviet or communist pattern in the matter of urban planning for the streets.

The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: So you always find it like this, meaning ...

The Shaykh: ... before the ruling, it was he who made Tirana the capital of Albania, otherwise before that, Shkodra was the capital in the time of the Turks.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh: Yes.
The student: Shkodra, of course, has a large percentage of Christians.

The Shaykh: Yes.
The student: And as I told you previously, the mayor is a Christian, and the country is also beautiful because it is located on the area of a very large lake that separates it from Montenegro.

The Shaykh: Yes.
The student: And the Montenegro region, and of course, what is there in our time is the orphanage.

The Shaykh: There was a river in my time that flowed into the Adriatic Sea, called the Buna River. Have you heard of the river?
The student: The Buna River, from where?

The Shaykh: From Shkodra. It passes through Shkodra and flows into the Adriatic Sea.
The student: I saw the river, but the river is weak, it is not strong, it is not strong. I found a river, but a very weak river.

The Shaykh: Okay, did you reach the port at the edge of Shkodra?

The questioner: I visited Shkodra, meaning most of Shkodra, but I came from the lake side, yes, but I found the public square and the market, I found the house ...

The Shaykh: Of course, the landmarks have changed since we were there, but it remains in my mind that there is this river and it flows into the sea. Okay ...
The student: You ask, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh: Yes.
The student: So Shkodra, of course, we visited it, and there is an orphanage that used to be under the government, and the Relief Agency took it over according to the agreement with the Ministry of Higher Education. But of course, we conducted a study of the house, and there is the American Hope Foundation that took over ... in Shkodra, and we sat with the director of the house, glory be to Allah, and a legal issue faced us. When the director of the Relief Agency was asked, these orphans go out to the sea for recreation, so the director of the Relief Agency prevented them. Of course, it became known among the people that these people want to prevent the religious, and the rumor spread inside Shkodra and the problem grew because of that. I went to Albania, this was the original reason.

The Shaykh: Yes.
The student: So when they felt a religious movement, the municipal government initially intervened in the matter and said that this house is under the local administration and religion must not be taught inside this house, because Albania is a secular state. So, glory be to Allah, of course, the construction in the house was halted. Then a very large delegation from Britain visited and visited the house. The condition of the house was very deplorable ... a report to the General Supervisor, so the General Supervisor, of course, read the report, tasked me to go to Shkodra. I went there, and the reason was that the director of the Relief Agency there mentioned that there were disagreements between him and the Albanian government over this issue. He said he teaches religion, and they said no, no, he does not teach religion. So the matters became entangled after that. I visited the director of the house, glory be to Allah, and the director of the house is a person, glory be to Allah, with a lot of good in him. He is an Albanian Muslim, and there are also Christian teachers. So I asked the director of the house, he says, "My brother, you Arabs, do what the Americans do. We know the Americans in their work. They came and worked for a full year ... the house. They did not say we teach religion, but they will teach religion, no doubt, because the people knew, came, and saw the kindergarten was well-organized, beautiful, and clean, and it had many services. So the people were quiet. So I knew that the presence of Hope is good for the Muslims, or good for the people, so ..."

The Shaykh: There is no power nor strength except with Allah.
The student: As for us, we started with prayer with whom? With the orphans, or with the orphans directly, and we started teaching them religion, and we started getting into conflicts, besides that, we did not provide material things, and we prevented them from visiting the sea, and this raised the world and sat it down. So the people of Shkodra pass by the house and find the house miserable, and also there is tyranny, may Allah reward him with good, from the director of the office, that he does not allow them to go out to the sea, and he says that there are some ...

The Shaykh: No problem, yes.
The student: The girls' ages are between fourteen and fifteen years old, so of course, he says how can these girls be exposed at the sea? He prevented this matter. So of course, I intervened in the matter, and we took a budget and contracted with Italy. There were contracts with Italy for the furnishing of the house. Now, I requested in the minutes that the teaching of religion be stopped now inside the house, and the salaries of all employees be raised, starting from now, so that we can be quiet, because the American Christian Hope exploited this incident and demanded the Shkodra house and its support, unfortunately, the municipality, being Christian.

The Shaykh: Demanded what?
The student: For the house, that they take the house, because the Muslims are not capable of managing the house, and they restrict the orphans, and their appearances are not correct and not good, and so on. So initially, of course, I stopped the teaching of religion in the house, except, of course, teaching them the oneness of Allah, without calling to prayer, for example, and so on. And also raising the salaries of all employees, and furnishing the house, and painting it, and so on. Then we said, maybe after about six months, when the people see this beautiful fruit in their material view, they look at material matters.

The Shaykh: Yes.
The student: Yes, and then after that, you teach them religion.