Albania's new religious enclave: A Sufi state in Tirana
23 September 2024 15:57
Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama announced that a Muslim state modelled on the Vatican will be established in Tirana, the capital of his country, reported the American daily New York Times. The idea is to promote religious tolerance.
Rama stated that he wants to create an enclave for the Bektashi, a Sufi order founded in the 13th century in Anatolia, Turkey. At the beginning of the last century, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic, shut down the Bektashi's activities and moved their centre from Turkey to Albania.
Smaller than the Vatican
The Prime Minister of Albania has announced that the Independent State of the Bektashi Order is to be established in the capital city of Tirana. If the plan succeeds, it will be the smallest state in the world. Officially, Rama has not yet announced the plan for the state's creation.
The NYT wrote that drinking alcohol will be allowed in the enclave, and women will be able to dress freely. The state will not impose any rules regarding daily life.
"God forbids nothing; that’s why He gave us reason," said 65-year-old cleric Edmond Brahimaj, known as Baba Mondi, the leader of the Bektashi. He is to head the state, which will cover an area of 0.04 square miles, equivalent to one-fourth the size of the Vatican.
The state will have its administration, passports - in the green colour significant to Islam - and borders. Baba Mondi, a critic of extremism and terrorism, added that the state might also need small intelligence services, "because it also has enemies." However, it will not have courts, an army, or border guards.
Within the enclave, there will be a meeting and prayer hall, a museum showing the history of the order, a clinic, an archive, and administrative offices.
A group of lawyers is working on regulations defining the sovereign status of the new state. Subsequently, the Albanian parliament, controlled by Prime Minister Rama's Socialist Party of Albania, will discuss the resolution.
It is unknown whether any countries will recognize the independence of the new state.
Rama, who is a non-practising Catholic, noted that so far, only a few closest allies know about his plan, and there have been no consultations with NATO countries on the matter.
