Thewesternbalkans
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama announced on September 21 that his country would transform the Tirana-based Muslim Bektashi into a sovereign state that would “promote a tolerant version of Islam that Albania is proud of” – the Bektashi Order. The Sufi Shiʿah Islamic community is known for its promotion of peace, tolerance and spiritual moderation. If this plan is implemented, the “Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order” in the Albanian capital of Tirana will be the smallest European state, with a status similar to the Vatican. Edi Rama emphasizes that the goal of the project is the promotion of a tolerant view of Islam.
A statement from the Bektashi Order said that “such a historic step aims to recognize the Bektashi Order as a sovereign, self-governing state committed to maintaining its centuries-old culture of moderation and spiritual participation”. Representatives of the order consider this move the beginning of a new era promoting global religious tolerance, moderation and peaceful coexistence. An international team of lawyers is already preparing the necessary legislation for the microstate. It is envisaged that citizenship will be granted only to the highest religious members and persons involved in the administration of the religious state. The World Head (Dedebaba) of the Shiʿah Sufi order of the Bektashi, Edmond Brahimaj, or Baba Mondi, will head the 0.11 km2 state on the outskirts of Tirana. According to him, the new state would have its own borders and passports and would need a small intelligence service (“we have enemies”), but no army, border guards or courts. In the Muslim enclave of Tirana, alcohol will be allowed, women will be able to wear whatever they want and there will be no prescriptions for the rules of life. “God forbids nothing, that’s why he gave us a mind. All decisions will be made with love and kindness,” said Baba Mondi, who rejects Islamic radicalism.
The creation of the microstate would require the approval of the Albanian parliament and a change to the constitution in Albania, which would require a national referendum.
About 50% of Albania’s population of 2.4 million is Muslim, with the remainder Catholics, Orthodox Christians and other smaller religious communities. The Bektashi make up about 10% of the country’s Muslims according to the latest census (or 5% of the country’s population). In Turkey, the Bektashi are part of the larger Alevi community, which together make up about 15% of the total population.
The Bektashi order arose in the Ottoman Empire in the 13th century. Originally one of many Sufi orders within orthodox Sunni Islam, the Bektashi order in the 16th century adopted tenets of the Shiʿah. The Bektashi gained political importance in the 15th century, when the order dominated the Janissary corps. After the founding of the Republic of Turkey, its leader Kemal Atatürk banned religious sects, and the Bektashi community moved to Albania, where it was politically active.
In the multifaceted Muslim world, the Bektashis do not play a special role and very little is known about them. Bektashism is appreciated by experts as a mirror of Islamic diversity. It is originally one of the Sufi orders of Sunni Islam, but is closely related to Shiism, and also contains elements of Christianity, even Judaism.
Edmond Brahimaj (65) graduated from a military academy in Tirana and served as an officer on the border with Yugoslavia for eight years. After 1990 he officially dedicated to the Bektashi and in 1996 became a dervish. He defines himself as a supporter of the “progressive” vision of Islam.
Although Edmond Brahimai may see himself as a Muslim “pope”, it is likely that his endeavor will be appreciated and supported mainly by countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, in view of the Sufi Shiʿah tradition. Among the international partners from which the initiative received “strong support”, Baba Mondi pointed out the USA and the EU, as well as countries from the Middle East, in the first place. Countries that oppose religious extremism will also pay attention to the initiative, but in general, moderate Islam dominates the Balkans. The attitude of China, which is generally an opponent of militant Islamism, will be restrained, insofar as the initiative has undoubtedly been previously consulted by Tirana with its powerful patron the United States. The Bektashi leader’s preaching of non-interference, interreligious and cultural dialogue, tolerance and peaceful coexistence will no doubt appeal to Beijing, but it will judge the Bektashi’s actions only through the lens of its own problem with Muslim Uyghur separatists. At this stage, Edmond Brahimaj (Baba Mondi) talks about “rising militant Islamist threat in Xiangjiang”, but it remains to be seen what his relations will be with the World Uyghur Congress – the outspoken enemy of China.
Although Baba Mondi explains that his focus is entirely spiritual and not political, Edi Rama’s proposed platform for the initiative is entirely politically motivated, as the declaration of the sovereign state of the Bektashi Order is an opportunity for him to personally position himself as a creator of global stability, harmony and religious tolerance.
When talking about a state, a budget must also be planned. It is not clear how the future microstate will be financed, but drawing global attention to Albania’s Bektashi will certainly facilitate foreign assistance to restore their heritage.
In greater depth, the initiative with the Bektashi is important to Edi Rama in terms of their key importance to Albanian national identity. The Bektashi have a close connection with Albanian nationalism, as they were prominent in the struggle for national independence and are a central element of Albanian national identity. Some experts assess Bektashism as the foundation of Albanian national self-awareness. The considered founder of the Albanian state, Ismail Kemali, who declared Albania’s independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, as well as the leading figures of Albanian nationalism in the 20th century, such as Mithat Frasheri or his cousin Mehdi Frasheri, were Bektashis.
The consolidation of the Tirana-centered Bektashi gave Rama an advantage in his competition for Albanian leadership in the Balkans with Kosovo leader Albin Kurti. Officially, the Bektashi in Kosovo are a relatively small community and recognize the leadership of Tirana. Although not much is known about Bektashi in Kosovo, they are even more influential than in Albania, and many of the Muslim religious rituals practiced by Kosovo Albanians are entirely Bektashi. According to some media reports, almost all contemporary Kosovo politicians, headed by the first president of the then still unrecognized Kosovo, Ibrahim Rugova, are Bektashis.
In the long term, „The Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order” can contribute to strengthening the Bektashi voice in moderate Islam and to the global efforts to counter religious extremism and militant Islam. The Muslim enclave in Tirana can also become a convenient place for fostering interfaith dialogue and international negotiations to smooth out contradictions. The heterodoxy of the Bektashi Sufi order enables them to negotiate with both the Muslims in the East, who consider them co-religionists, and the Catholics in the West, who regard them as “comfortable” Muslims because of their tolerance.
