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Rama's idea to build the Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order, how it can work and the rules to be followed
2024-09-23 16:19:08 / POLITIKË
Prime Minister Edi Rama plans to build a small state in Albania, the same as the one of the Vatican, for the Bektashis.
The new state is expected to cover an area of five residential blocks of New York City, and within it alcohol will be allowed, women will be allowed to wear what they want and no lifestyle rules will be imposed.
In an interview with the NYT, Prime Minister Rama said that the goal of the new state is to promote a tolerant version of Islam that Albania is proud of. "We must take care of this treasure, which is religious tolerance, and which we must never take for granted," he said.
The territory of the proposed new Islamic state is a compound in a low-rent residential neighborhood in eastern Tirana. It is only a quarter of the size of Vatican City, currently the smallest country in the world governed by the Pope, an absolute monarch, the NYT reports.
Prime Minister Rama did not only tell the New York Times about his idea, but revealed it the day before at the UN, where he gave a speech at the Summit for the Future.
"Albania also gave the world the youngest saint, Mother Teresa, whose life embodied love for humanity. It reminded us that not all of us can do big things, but we can do small things with great love. This is the principle on which Albania stands and this is what we intend to act with and this is the source of our inspiration, to support the transformation of the center of the Bektashi World Order into a sovereign state within our capital, Tirana, as a center of of moderation, tolerance and peaceful coexistence", said Rama.
The Bektashi, a Sui Shiite sect founded in the 13th century in Turkey, but until 1925 are based in Albania.
Combining a loose interpretation of the Koran with mysticism, elements of Turkey's pre-Islamic beliefs, and devotion to their wise men, known as dervishes, the Bektashi moved their headquarters to Tirana from Turkey nearly a century ago after we the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, came to power.
Viewed as heretics by many conservative Shiites and Sunnis and persecuted in Muslim lands, the Bektashis have been a force in Albania and neighboring countries such as Kosovo and Macedonia since the Ottoman Empire's conquest of the Balkans in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Members of the sect played an important role in the nationalist awakening of Albania at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century against the Turkish rule. Many personalities of the Albanian National Renaissance were Bektash believers.
The Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order is expected to function according to the Vatican model. But does the Vatican work?
Vatican politics takes place within a framework of an absolute elective theocratic monarchy in which the Pope, religiously the head of the Catholic Church and Bishop of Rome, exercises ex officio supreme legislative, executive and judicial power over the Vatican. The city is governed by the Holy See, a rare case of non-hereditary monarchy.
The Pope is elected in conclave, consisting of all cardinal electors, who are bishops and archbishops appointed by the Pope (now limited to all cardinals under the age of 80), upon the death or resignation of the previous Pope. The conclave is held in the Sistine Chapel, where all voters are closed until the elections for which a two-thirds majority is required./ TCH
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