Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama announced that a Muslim-majority state modeled after the Vatican would be established in the capital of his country, Tirana. Its idea is to promote religious tolerance. However, this plan has caused concern among the Muslim community of the country.
The authorities of Albania intend to establish a “Vatican of Muslims” in the capital of the country – Tirana. This sovereign state was established in the religious center of the Bektashis, i.e. followers of the syncretic religion that was influenced by the ruling Islam. It occupied several streets (10 hectares in total), has its own administration, passport and borders. If all goes according to plan, it will be the world's smallest country, four times smaller than the Vatican.
According to this idea, the new state would not impose any restrictions on lifestyle and clothing, reflecting the tolerant practices of the Bektoshi movement.
The idea of establishing the Bektoshi state is another element of promoting Albania as the most tolerant country in the world. As Prime Minister Rama assured, a group of lawyers appointed by the government is currently working to implement the concept of establishing an independent state of the Bektoshi Brotherhood.
Tirana Shutterstock
Ilir Kula, the former secretary general of religious affairs in the Albanian government, told Al Jazeera that “religious communities and the state can agree to establish an independent and sovereign entity under the Albanian constitution.” The Bektoshis themselves, as the television emphasized, believe that the establishment of the state will help the development of their centuries-old tradition and that this small country will become a world symbol of moderate Islam.
Dervish Baba Mondi, the spiritual leader of the Bektoshi movement, which is the head of the independent state of the Bektoshi brotherhood, said that all decisions are made with “love and kindness”. He expressed hope that the US and other Western powers would recognize the sovereignty of his country. “We deserve a state,” he said in an interview with the New York Times reporter in September. “We are the only people in the world who speak the truth about Islam and do not mix it with politics,” he claimed.
Bektashi Temple in Tirana Shutterstock
“Concern” of the Muslim community
However, this project has caused concern among the authorities of the Muslim community in Albania. Its representative said in a television interview that “such ideas can be dangerously destabilizing.” – They break the precedent of peaceful coexistence of Albanian religious communities, which have been living together peacefully without similar privileges, Loren Luli noted.
– The use of divisive expressions such as “moderate Islam” is also harmful, which the Albanian Muslim community strongly condemns – he added.
History of the Bektoshis
The Bektoshi movement, also known as the Bektoshi, is a religious brotherhood with roots in Sufism. This is one of the most liberal branches of Islam.
The movement originated in Anatolia, Turkey, where it soon became the official order of the Janissaries – elite Turkish infantry units. Over time, the Bektoshis were criticized for their liberal approach to religion and increased political influence.
The activity of this brotherhood was banned for the first time in the 17th century by Sultan Mahmud II. Then in 1925, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish secular state, after banning all sects of Islam, which were not recognized by the Directorate of Religious Affairs, closed all Bektoshi temples and residences in Turkey.
Later, the Bektoshis moved their center from Turkey, where the religion was based, to Albania. In this highly religious country, today they make up about 15 percent. society
Main image source: Shutterstock
