Baba Mondi on Edi Rama's plan: We want a status like the Vatican in Italy

The Bektashi Community, whose global center is located in Tirana, is requesting a special status from Albania similar to that of the Vatican in Italy. This news would have remained out of the public eye if Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama hadn't addressed the issue in The New York Times, stating that he would soon announce plans regarding this request.

According to Rama, the Bektashi Order would become a sovereign state aimed at promoting a tolerant version of Islam, which Albania takes pride in. His statement, as reported by local media, sparked yet another debate within Albanian society and surprised the leader of the global Bektashi community, Hajji Dede Baba Edmond Brahimaj.

In a statement to Kosovo Online, he confirmed that they were requesting a special status from the state, noting that the Bektashis in Albania were registered as a non-governmental, non-profit organization.

"We want the Albanian state to grant us a special status like the Vatican in Italy. We deserve it, and our community deserves it. As Pope John Paul II once said, without the Bektashis, there would be no Albania. Imagine how important Bektashism has been for this country. Here, in our center, we have 35 hectares of land. This is the global center of the Bektashis. We want special status. There is nothing wrong with that. We must resolve this as Albanians and not wait for foreigners to come and solve it for us," Baba Mondi said.

According to him, more than fifty percent of Albania’s population are Bektashis, which is confirmed by a study conducted by their community.

"We have written a book on the geographic distribution of our believers in Albania, which we will publish and present to international institutions and our believers so that people know who the Bektashis are. It will show the areas where the Bektashis reside. We had 113 tekkes and 1,100 tombs. These were sacred places for us. All of them have been verified and will be marked on a map for all of Albania and the world to see. We Bektashis strive to be a factor of peace, just as we have always been and will continue to be," Baba Mondi added.

He believes that proclaiming the Bektashi center as a state, akin to the Vatican, has no obstacles, not even territorial ones, since they own large properties in Albania. He also emphasized that much of the property that was confiscated during communism is still being sought through Albania's restitution agency.

"Of course, our property has not been returned. Property in the country was divided according to Law 7501, and that was the end of it. We got a very small portion – some pastures in the mountains. We own a lot of land, even up to the coast. We are continuing the legal process, and it has already been thirty years without a decision. There has been no willingness to resolve this issue. We will keep fighting. As the global center of the Bektashis, we will publish another book about our properties in Albania, with accurate records and documents. Maybe this will be useful to our descendants. You know how it goes: a father leaves his property to his son," Baba Mondi said.

The Bektashi community moved to Albania a century ago after being banned in Turkey by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. It was officially recognized in 1920 at the Congress of Lushnja, which established the Albanian state. Later, in 1930, Ahmet Zogu issued a decree allowing the establishment of the global Bektashi center in Tirana. Its members have included prominent figures like writer Ismail Kemali, as well as former president Ilir Meta. Albania declared Novruz, the most important Bektashi holiday, a national holiday in 1992.

The Bektashis are an Islamic dervish order, a brotherhood that follows the teachings of Hajji Bektash Veli, a 13th-century Anatolian mystic and dervish. During the Ottoman period, the movement was highly influential among the Janissaries and spread to the Balkans, particularly in Albania. Conservative Sunni and Shia Muslims regard them as heretics and a sect. Bektashis are also present in Kosovo, North Macedonia, and 31 other countries.