For as long as I can remember, the Vatican City state has been the world’s smallest country. Surrounded by Rome, the Pope-led country has less population than what Dhaka’s New Market experiences on a Friday afternoon. But that could all change with a new Muslim country the size of 27 acres, less than half of Ramna Park.
The Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order have their headquarters in Albania’s capital Tirana and the country’s Prime Minister Edi Rama is working towards granting them independence. But why? And who are the Bektashi Order?
Ottoman Sufis
The Bektashi are a Sunni Sufi order that formed in the 13th Century from the heritage of Haji Bektash Veli, a descendant of Ali. The order became widespread during the Ottoman Empire’s reign over Anatolia and even became the official order of the Janissary Corps. But this association with the Ottoman military would come back to haunt them. During the reign of Sultan Mahmud II, the Bektashi Order was banned and many of their leaders were exiled, some were even executed. The situation got a bit better as the Ottoman reformation age came about, known as the Tanzimat, but the advent of the World Wars and the subsequent dissolution of the Ottoman Empire would be the final blow for the Bektashis in their homeland.
Persecuted by Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, the Bektashi Order would be forced to move their headquarters to Tirana, the Capital of Albania. Salih Nijazi would be the first Dedebaba of the Order in Albania on 30 March 1930.
Tolerance in Tirana
Jumping forward in time to the current day, the current Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama is a socialist painter who has been in office since 11 September 2023. A leftist center politician, Rama’s electoral agendas focused on European integration, economic revitalisation, restoration of public order and democratization of the state institutions.
A former mayor of Tirana, Rama won a landslide victory against the 32 nd Prime Minister of the country, Sali Berisha and has worked to modernise Albania ever since. Heavily invested in the Defense and Energy sectors while revamping the Administrative and Judicial systems.
A huge fan of modernisation, a give away given his electoral platform was nicknamed Renaissance, Rama announced on 21 September 2024 that he planned to create
“The Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order” to promote positive views of Islam around the country and the World. In the UN General Assembly in September 2024, he said, “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love and a reference to Albanian Nobel laureate Mother Teresa.
The announcement has come with its fair share of supporters and adversaries. Baba Mondi, the current Dedebaba of the Bektashi Order has hailed Edi Rama and an official statement by the order said, “The Bektashi Order, which is known for its message of peace, tolerance and religious harmony, will gain Vatican-like sovereignty, allowing us to govern autonomously from a religious and administrative point of view.” Speaking to DW, Besnik Sinani a Muslim theology research fellow at Tubingen University called the move ‘a case of religious engineering.’
Other criticisers include the Muslim Community in Albania who fear that creating such a state could jeopardize the religious harmony in the country and considers it ‘a dangerous precedent for the future of the country.’
All in all, PM Edi Rama would need to change the constitution of Albania as well to facilitate the creation of the Bektashi Order. Almost 5 months on from his announcement at the UN General Assembly, we have yet to hear any new news regarding this matter.
But one thing is for sure, the country of Albania is in for a fascinating time.