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“Hamitology: The Pseudotheories, Crooked Concepts and Plagiarism of Sabri Hamiti” is the title of Sali Bytyçi’s book. Its launch in Tirana was attended by the author, archaeologist, writer and literary scholar Moikom Zeqo, scholar Behar Gjoka, Kosovo’s deputy culture minister Rexhep Hoti, and other writers and literature enthusiasts. The book criticizes how Prof. Sabri Hamiti has approached many works, portions of whose treatment also appear in secondary-school textbooks.
The author alleges that Hamiti plagiarized in several works and says he substantiates this thoroughly. Some of the speakers who presented the book share that view.
“Sali Bytyçi’s book is one of the few of its kind published in Albania, and it is sui generis,” was how Moikom Zeqo described Bytyçi’s book about Sabri Hamiti’s alleged plagiarism. “This book should reach a broader public, because plagiarism is a catastrophic issue, and it is not only about Albania.
“For example, I can say that I have seen many of my archaeological studies online under someone else’s name. This is shameful, and this shameful practice is extraordinarily widespread and must be stopped.”
In his remarks at the launch, Zeqo said he admired Sali Bytyçi’s courage and contribution in this area. He said that “a book like this could be written not only about Hamiti, but about others who practice and act as he does.”
Moikom Zeqo also addressed the recognition given to this phenomenon. “The history of this activity, which at times takes on an official and academic character, presents a grave condition, a great sickness.
“Combating it requires establishing the kind of standing that ethics demands. I would call this an excellent book, but ‘Hamitology’ should have been in quotation marks, because…
“Dantology, the study of Dante, was not ironic, whereas Hamitology is highly ironic. This kind of criticism has been rare here over the centuries.
“Perhaps the great critic comes along less often than the great writer. This book touches a raw nerve in the grave condition of Albanian criticism.
“Pioneering work!” Zeqo said. Earlier, Deputy Minister Hoti had said, among other things, that “Albanians are not the only ones who steal, but for Albanians, theft is treated as if it were an authorial merit, as intellectual property; you can even be decorated for it.” Scholar Behar Gjoka said: “The book Hamitology is, above all, a work of examination and verification, continually tracing plagiarism by Sabri Hamiti, a hypothesis that Bytyçi’s approach argues for.
“For the general reader who reads books beyond their extraliterary baggage, what matters is the interpretation of the phenomenon, rather than declaring people guilty. The interest of literary scholarship, especially Albanian academia with its titles and books, is to uncover the truth and avoid the consequences this syndrome brings to literary studies and beyond.”
In his presentation at the launch, Gjoka said: “The reader or scholar of literature, including Albanian letters, has long confronted Hamiti’s literary and scholarly texts, and now Bytyçi’s text, which claims, analyzes and concludes that plagiarism is present in some of Hamiti’s texts.” According to Gjoka, Bytyçi’s book, among other things, places Sabri Hamiti’s plagiarism at the center of attention, on the basis of scholarly and comparative examination, identifying and verifying it in the book Tematologjia (Thematology). It also highlights the idea that Hamiti recycled his own discussion of Father Zef Pllumi.
“Of course, plagiarism, as an infringement of copyright, is neither new nor Albanian. It was not invented now; indeed, it has generally accompanied the writing of literature and its scholarly examination everywhere in the world. But elsewhere, institutions and people of letters take a stand on this phenomenon, while we hesitate even to discuss it in constructive, scholarly debate,” said Gjoka, who went on to address more specific matters in his lengthy presentation.
“In much of the book, the method used is to compare primary texts, various dictionaries, with the author’s scholarly texts. We have before us a book that, despite the light and shade of our public and behind-the-scenes affairs, opens another path for literary and scholarly verification, even taking the risk of a critical endeavor that perhaps will not be pursued further. We are comparing different primary and secondary texts and analyzing the phenomenon, not simply to find a culprit, but in an undertaking that engages with the reality of literary studies and the possibility of distortion of copyright.
“Only arguments, factual logic and time will establish the need to open a debate about the condition in which literary scholarship is struggling to survive.”
“Nothing personal against Hamiti, but against the phenomenon he represents”
Author Sali Bytyçi did not speak at length about the book. He stressed that he had nothing personal against Professor Sabri Hamiti, only against the phenomenon he represents. In closing, Bytyçi said that literary critics and specialists in the field would judge everything, while giving examples of where the alleged plagiarism lay.
“The book is the fruit of my dedication to scholarship, not of resentment. Here I deal with the phenomenon, not the individual, not the author.
“Some friends have even criticized me for being lukewarm and not truly critical. I have confronted the arguments and have not gone beyond them.
“I must stress that I have never had a personal relationship with the author mentioned, or any grudge… He belongs to another generation as well.
“But I encountered his works during a period when I worked as a secondary-school teacher, and we used his books in our work. I continually encountered inaccuracies in his books, especially concerning early literature, information that was not correct.
“I compared the information in his books, especially on early literature, with other books or the authors’ own accounts. Pjetër Budi, for example, says he never undertook regular studies, whereas Sabri Hamiti says Budi completed regular studies in Rome. Now, whom should we believe: the author, or Pjetër Budi himself?
“This is how the first articles arose, and I continued with his theories. In his theoretical books, we often encounter paragraphs of brilliant, sound ideas, followed by paragraphs that are completely absurd. Here I wondered whether the same author had written both.
“Later, I realized that the logical paragraphs had been taken from the books he (Sabri Hamiti) used,” Bytyçi said, recalling an article he had written several years earlier. In that article, he challenged readers to identify a sound idea or a partially accurate reference in Hamiti’s books, saying he could trace its source, supply the missing context and distinguish Hamiti’s additions.
“After identifying plagiarism on several occasions, I returned to an earlier theory of Hamiti’s, published in the late ’80s, on the great codes of Albanian literature. I compared this theory with Northrop Frye’s theory and found that it had been taken from him. This is Hamiti’s greatest plagiarism, taking an entire theory.
“This is my work. Whether what I say is correct is for others to judge, not me.
“This book is being launched in Tirana because it was precisely here in Tirana that the cult of Sabri Hamiti as a great literary scholar was created, and therefore it must be discussed here. My work is a rational effort to remove the irrationality that keeps this cult standing.”
“Someone recognized Hamiti’s value; he cannot be dismissed so easily”
When the floor was opened to those present, one of the more distinctive voices was Adem Rama, a teacher who had already tried twice to intervene during the invited speakers’ remarks. Rama was somewhat more measured and raised the concern that, although it might be true that Hamiti had plagiarized in his works, someone had valued him, since he was also taught in schools. The elderly man went on, in a patriotic vein, to say that conflict and division among academics should somehow be avoided, mentioning particularly the clash between Qosja and Kadare.
“I came as soon as I heard that Sali Bytyçi was the author,” said Adem Rama, a language and literature teacher, who wanted to stress a somewhat more moderate point than many of the others present.
“I myself belong to the Bytyçi clan, so there is more or less a shared origin. I finished my studies in 1968 and taught in Durrës. I cannot really say anything about the book, because I need to read it first.
“But I also taught in secondary school, and Sabri Hamiti was present in our textbooks… Yet someone compiled those textbooks; a committee reviewed them, and we cannot dismiss him so easily.
“I am not defending him; I am not trying to do that. I cannot discuss this man’s (Sali Bytyçi’s) work without comparing it with Sabri Hamiti’s books.
“Now academic Rexhep Qosja and Ismail Kadare have fallen out, or Qosja and Dr. Berisha. Our scholars are quarreling.
“Under the Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini, it was said that when men sat down at the table, 70 percent of the problem was solved. But we cannot even sit down. What are we to do about this, when we are not sitting down to discuss things?
“One speaks about the other, and the other about someone else.” Shekulli tried to contact Sabri Hamiti by telephone for a statement about the book. On the first occasion, he asked for time, saying, “I am busy at the moment,” and on the second he did not answer.
Published in “Shekulli” on 29/03/2015