Created primarily to promote religious peace, this "Vatican of the Balkans" will have its own administration, its own borders and passports, and will not impose any rules on people's lifestyles, not even on the consumption of alcohol or the way women dress.
"God forbids nothing, that's why he gave us lies," said the religious leader of the Muslim order, Edmond Brahimaj, known as Baba Mondi.
As the Balkan country does not enter the radar of international news very often, we wanted to understand what are the movements behind this decision taken by Albania, a country with "an extremely turbulent history".
Religiously divided after the Great Schism of 1054, which will lead to a Catholic north and an Orthodox south, then disputed by the Serbs and the Venetians and divided in the 14th century by the formation of a number of small independent principalities, Albania will became fairly easy prey for the Ottoman Empire, which would occupy it almost entirely, despite a quarter-century of guerilla warfare led by Skanderbeg (Gerge Kastrioti, known as Skanderbeg, is the national hero of Albania - no).
Although conquered in the 15th century, the Albanians will be Islamized on a large scale only in the 17th and 18th centuries, the conversion of the majority of the population to Islam having various motivations, the most common being, it seems, social advantages and economic, provided by the Turks, for whom Albania was of particular strategic importance. This will result in the accession of many Albanian converts to important positions in the Ottoman administrative and military apparatus.
The Bektaşi order promotes spiritual and thought freedom
Overview: The country's prime minister, Edi Rama, announced plans to establish this state-within-a-state for members of the Bektaşi Sufi Shiite order.
Originally a Sufi brotherhood similar to many other brotherhoods of this kind within Sunni Islam, the Bektašiyya will approach doctrinally, in the 16th century, Duodecimal Shi'ism, through the veneration of Imam 'Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet, and of the twelve imams (this is a branch of Shia Islam, which recognizes a line of twelve imams, spiritual and religious leaders, considered the legitimate successors of the Prophet Muhammad - no)
Characterized like other Sufi brotherhoods by laxity in observing "orthodox" religious practices and precepts, the brotherhood named after Ḥājī Bektāš, considered its founder, will spread mainly in Anatolia and the Balkans, but also in other regions of Islam.
