Outside of his native land Veqilharxhi in Romania was a figure that thrived within the security of the Albanian diaspora where both worlds became linked together, a dynamic that led thereafter to the development of Albanianism by other Albanians.

Veqilharxhi lamented the "backwardness" of his homeland and attributed it to centuries of Ottoman rule, and argued that a new unifying Albanian alphabet was necessary to overcome the stagnation and unify the country.
He was concerned by the lack of Albanian schools, and saw the development of written Albanian as a necessary precursor to cultural and political development.
Veqilharxhi felt that education in one's mother tongue was important toward acquiring knowledge and "culture".
In one preface written to Albanian schoolboys, he berates Albanian children who did "not know their own heritage; not only are they unable to write in their own language, they cannot even pray to the Lord in the language each of them tasted with his mother’s milk", and for learning only the languages of foreigners and not their own.
He urged Albanian boys to study their own language in order to "join the civilized world, prove that our land is idle no longer and show ourselves as men of great honor", and compared the Albanian nation to a "larva" that may one day become a butterfly.

It has been argued that, in his formative earlier years, Veqilharxhi was influenced by Greek nationalism and was a member of the Filiki Eteria.
In 1821, he took part in the Romanian uprising in Wallachia during his stay there.
In his later years, he warned that "Greek schools are organized to illuminate Greek youth and not to illuminate the Albanian people", and felt that native language education was necessary to prevent Hellenisation.

Veqilharxhi is considered to be the first written ideologue of Albanian nationalism and the first to formulate its ideals, as well as the first enlightener of the Albanian National Awakening.
Attached to his Evëtor was a primer addressed to Orthodox Albanians, which became the first programme document of the Albanian national movement.

Veqilharxhi conceived of Albania as a nation with its own language, customs and history, and its own territory.
His conception of Albania included a harmony between the different faiths practiced by Albanians, with each faith being practiced by Albanians a little bit differently than it would be by non-Albanians, which would evolve into the Albanian national ideal of religious harmony.
He also helped Albanian nationalism take its ultimate course of using language, rather than religion as other Balkan nationalisms did, as its primary unifier.
Outside of his native land Veqilharxhi in Romania was a figure that thrived within the security of the Albanian diaspora where both worlds became linked together, a dynamic that led thereafter to the development of Albanianism by other Albanians.
Veqilharxhi lamented the "backwardness" of his homeland and attributed it to centuries of Ottoman rule, and argued that a new unifying Albanian alphabet was necessary to overcome the stagnation and unify the country. He was concerned by the lack of Albanian schools, and saw the development of written Albanian as a necessary precursor to cultural and political development. Veqilharxhi felt that education in one's mother tongue was important toward acquiring knowledge and "culture". In one preface written to Albanian schoolboys, he berates Albanian children who did "not know their own heritage; not only are they unable to write in their own language, they cannot even pray to the Lord in the language each of them tasted with his mother’s milk", and for learning only the languages of foreigners and not their own. He urged Albanian boys to study their own language in order to "join the civilized world, prove that our land is idle no longer and show ourselves as men of great honor", and compared the Albanian nation to a "larva" that may one day become a butterfly.
It has been argued that, in his formative earlier years, Veqilharxhi was influenced by Greek nationalism and was a member of the Filiki Eteria. In 1821, he took part in the Romanian uprising in Wallachia during his stay there. In his later years, he warned that "Greek schools are organized to illuminate Greek youth and not to illuminate the Albanian people", and felt that native language education was necessary to prevent Hellenisation.
Veqilharxhi is considered to be the first written ideologue of Albanian nationalism and the first to formulate its ideals, as well as the first enlightener of the Albanian National Awakening. Attached to his Evëtor was a primer addressed to Orthodox Albanians, which became the first programme document of the Albanian national movement.
Veqilharxhi conceived of Albania as a nation with its own language, customs and history, and its own territory. His conception of Albania included a harmony between the different faiths practiced by Albanians, with each faith being practiced by Albanians a little bit differently than it would be by non-Albanians, which would evolve into the Albanian national ideal of religious harmony. He also helped Albanian nationalism take its ultimate course of using language, rather than religion as other Balkan nationalisms did, as its primary unifier.
Naum Veqilharxhi