The reaction of the representatives of the Bektasi sect (or Bektasi) in Turkey is caused by the plan of the Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama, to establish on the territory of his country a Bektashi dominant Muslim state on the Vatican model.
According to the New York Times, the new state will be called “the sovereign state of the Bektashi order (sect).
“It will have a separate government, passports and borders. It will include 270 acres in the eastern part of Tirana and will thus constitute, according to the American newspaper, the smallest state in the world. It will be characterized by the laxity of alcohol consumption by men and the freedom of dress by women. The spiritual leader of the Bektasids of Albania, Edmond Brahimai, known in his community as Baba Modi, is destined to lead this small state.”
Representatives of the Alevi-Bektashi organizations in Turkey, in their statements published on the Azeri-owned Turkish network Haber Global, say that Bektazim and “religious state” are incompatible concepts.
Specifically, the president of the Alevi Federation of Türkiye, Zeynel Abedin Kocs, said: “As Alevis living in Türkiye, We maintain our position in favor of secularism. Bektasism is a belief system that originated in Turkey. However, about 115,000 Bektashis also live in Albania. And this represents 5% of the population of Albania. I do not quite understand why there is a need for such a state. Does Bektazism in Turkey fit into this or is it an Albanian issue? We do not at all we do not endorse a state based on faith.”
But former president of the Alevi Bektashi Federation and writer Ali Bakiz believes that the Bektashi faith cannot create a religious state. “The path of the Alevi Bektashis has been living in these lands for centuries. Later, with the Ottoman Empire, it spread throughout the Balkans, reaching Hungary. And Albania is the most important country among them. The Alevi Bektashi philosophy considers the 72 nations as one, advises everyone to be sovereign in their actions, passions and words, and to stand on the side of the oppressed. A religious state is not right. Each state has power, while in the faith of the Alevi Bektashis there is freedom,” Ali Bakiz said.
In turn, the current president of the Alevi Federation Bektasidon in Turkey, Hüseyin Güzelgül is reported to have stated that while he considers the various steps taken by states to recognize the Alevi Bektashi faith around the world to be positive, he also supports the view that the Bektashi faith and the religious state cannot go together. “We do not consider a state based on religion to be right. Such a thing cannot exist where there is tolerance, peace and love,” Güzelgül stressed.