29 Facts About Ibrahim Temo

Ibrahim Temo was born in Struga to a family with origins from Starove, Albania, with ancestors that served as soldiers for the Ottoman Empire and later migrated to his birthplace.

Ibrahim Temo was married to a sister of the Frasheri brothers.

In 1879 during the League of Prizren period, Ibrahim Temo was a founder of the Society for the Publication of Albanian Letters.

Early on Ibrahim Temo recruited Albanians into the group such as Nexhip Draga and other Kosovars along with fellow nationals from Toskeria.

The founders of the group including Ibrahim Temo were strongly insistent on using the term "Ittihad".

Ottoman authorities uncovered the CUP group in 1895 resulting in the arrest and exile of its members and to avoid imprisonment Ibrahim Temo fled during November to Romania.

Ibrahim Temo published a Young Turk newspaper spreading CUP ideas among the Muslim population of Dobruja.

Ibrahim Temo founded CUP branches in the cities of Kazanlak, Vidin, Shumen, Ruse, Sofia and Plovdiv in neighbouring Bulgaria whose members included fellow Albanians and two branches in Shkoder and Tirana in Albania.

Ibrahim Temo was active in the Albanian national movement present in Romania.

Ibrahim Temo became vice president of the local branch of the Bashkimi Society in Constanta and prominently partook in its congresses held in Bucharest.

Ibrahim Temo advocated for close cooperation between Orthodox Albanians and Orthodox Aromanians viewing both as having a common interest, due to opposition from the Greek Patriarchate and Bulgarian Exarchate in establishing schools and conducting church liturgy in their native languages.

Ibrahim Temo viewed the Rum district of Istanbul which represented Greek wealth and power in the Ottoman state as "the den of intrigue".

In Romania Ibrahim Temo maintained close ties with the leadership of an Aromanian organisation and Romanian authorities supported those connections.

Ibrahim Temo stated that he worked for an understanding to be reached between Romanians and the Turkish minority of Romania against Slavism.

Ibrahim Temo compiled an educational program that called for universal schooling of children and for foreign schools in Ottoman lands to have half their instruction in Turkish.

In Paris, Ibrahim Temo participated in the Congress of Ottoman Opposition organised by Prince Sabahaddin calling for reforms, minority rights, revolution and European intervention in the empire.

Ibrahim Temo feared that European involvement in Ottoman affairs could radicalise some ethnic groups to call for intervention in the empire.

Ibrahim Temo assisted Mustafa Ragib, a Turkish language secondary teacher in Dobruja to distribute Young Turk propaganda on behalf of the local CUP branch.

The directives from the central committee sought the assistance of Ibrahim Temo to hinder the activities of Ismail Qemali and his associates in Albania and for him to communicate with Albanian notables in an attempt to get help for an agent coming from Paris to Albania and Macedonia.

Ibrahim Temo replied that an agent had been found by the local CUP branch who might be able work together with the CUP Istanbul branch.

Ibrahim Temo stated that for further troubles in Albania to cease the only way was for the Ottoman government to officially recognise the Albanian language "like that of the Greek, Bulgarian, Romanian, and Jewish [Ladino] languages".

The CUP central committee in December 1907, sent an invitation to Ibrahim Temo asking him to partake in the Congress of Ottoman Opposition Parties as a delegate.

Ibrahim Temo was unable to go and in his place went Veliyullah Celebizade Mahmud Celebi, the only delegate from any CUP branch which highlighted the importance that the central committee attached toward the Romanian branch and its director.

Later Ibrahim Temo sent an agent to Izmir as requested by the CUP centre yet after meeting with Armenians in the city the Young Turk operative was arrested by Ottoman authorities.

Ibrahim Temo made frequent visits to Bulgaria and encouraged fellow CUP members.

Ibrahim Temo instructed one of his followers Dervish Hima to write in CUP journals with the aim of achieving reconciliation between the Young Turks and Albanian opponents of the sultan.

The local CUP branch attempted to get support from Muslims in Constanta and Ibrahim Temo organised lectures in towns like Babadag to inform the public with some talks given by him being about medical topics.

Ibrahim Temo returned from exile and was informed by Djemal Pasha that much had changed in the CUP, as it had become the product of internal Ottoman branches and not the one advocated for by Temo and others while abroad.

In 1909 Ibrahim Temo became leader of the Ottoman Democratic Party which advocated for democratic government, minority rights and upholding constitutional liberties that was in opposition to the CUP.