TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Sunday that his country would transform the Tirana-based Bektashi Muslims, an Islamic Sufi order, into a sovereign state to promote moderation, tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
Speaking at the United Nations, Rama pointed out that Albania, a small country in the Western Balkans, rescued Jewish refugees from the Nazis during World War II and took in Afghans after the Taliban came to power three years ago.
Albanians are also proud to have given the world Mother Teresa, who “embodied love for humanity,” he said.
“She told us that not all of us can do great things, but we can all do small things with great love,” he said. “That is our inspiration to support the transformation of the World Bektashi Order into a sovereign state in our capital, Tirana, as a new center of moderation, tolerance and peaceful coexistence.”
Albania’s 2.4 million people are about 50% Muslim, with the rest of the population made up of Catholics, Orthodox Christians and other smaller communities. The country is known for its religious harmony and coexistence.
According to the latest census, Bektashi Muslims make up about 10% of the country’s Muslims.
It was not immediately clear how the order would gain legal sovereignty. But the Bektashi Order said it sees the move as the beginning of a new era promoting religious tolerance worldwide.
“Such a historic step is aimed at recognizing the Beltashi Order as a sovereign, self-governing state, committed to upholding its age-old culture of moderation and spiritual commitment,” the statement said.
The Bektashi Order will have the same sovereignty as the Vatican and will manage religious and administrative affairs independently from Albania, the Order said.
Citizenship would be granted only to the highest religious members and to those involved in the administration of the state. Leadership would be provided by the Bektashi leader, Baba Mondi, and a council that would oversee religious and administrative activities.
“The new state will focus on nothing but spiritual leadership,” the statement said.
The Bektashi Order originated in the Ottoman Empire in the 13th century. The Bektashis rose to political prominence in the 15th century, when the order dominated the Janissary Corps, the elite infantry units that formed the household troops of the Ottoman sultan. After the establishment of the Turkish Republic, leader Kemal Ataturk banned religious institutions that were not part of the Directorate of Religious Affairs and moved the Bektashi community’s headquarters to Albania, where it became involved in politics. One of its members, Ismail Qemali, declared Albania’s independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912.
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