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'{{Short description|Proposed independent city-state}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}} {{Infobox country | conventional_long_name = Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order | native_name = {{nativename|sq|Shteti Sovran i Urdhrit Bektashi}} | image_coat = | symbol_type = | image_map = | map_caption = | capital = Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order ([[city-state]]) | coordinates = {{Wikidatacoord|Q130340667||type:country:AL-11|display=inline,title}} | area_km2 = 0.11 | status = Proposed | religion = [[Bektashism]] | today = [[Albania]] }} {{Bektashi Order}} The '''Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order''' ({{lang-sq|Shteti Sovran i Urdhrit Bektashi}}) is a planned [[European microstate]] and [[city-state]] that would be [[enclave and exclave|enclaved]] entirely within [[Tirana]], Albania, at the current [[World Headquarters of the Bektashi]]. If established, it will be smaller than the [[Vatican City]] and become the nation with the [[List of countries and dependencies by area|smallest land area]] in the world, with a total land area of {{convert|27|acre|km2}}.<ref name="nyt_article">{{Cite news |last=Higgens |first=Andrew |date=21 September 2024 |title=Albania Is Planning a New Muslim State Inside Its Capital |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/21/world/europe/albania-tirana-muslim-state-bektashi.html |url-status=live |access-date=21 September 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]] |archive-date=21 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240921090757/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/21/world/europe/albania-tirana-muslim-state-bektashi.html }}</ref> Plans for the creation of the state have been discussed by Albanian prime minister [[Edi Rama]] and supported by the leader of the [[Bektashi Order]], [[Baba Mondi]], with the former stating that more details for the creation of the state will be revealed in the near future.<ref>{{Cite news |date=21 September 2024 |title="A Vatican inside Tirana"/ Rama, for "New York Times": It will be called the Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order |url=https://www.cna.al/english/aktualitet/nje-vatikan-brenda-tiranes-rama-per-new-york-times-do-quhet-shteti-so-i409076 |access-date=21 September 2024 |work=CNA }}</ref> Following the Vatican model, the prospective state would grant citizenship solely to Bektashi clerics and government officials.<ref name="shqiptarja.com">{{Cite web |title=Exclusive Interview with the Head Father of the Bektashi Order: A New Sovereign State for Peace and Tolerance (English version) |url=https://shqiptarja.com/lajm/exclusive-interview-with-the-head-father-of-the-bektashi-order-a-new-sovereign-state-for-peace-and-tolerance-english-version |access-date=22 September 2024 |website=Shqiptarja.com |language=sq }}</ref> Legal experts are presently drafting the legislation to create the new state within Albania. The legislation will need approval from the [[Albanian Parliament]].<ref name="nyt_article" /> == History == The [[Bektashi Order]] is an [[Islam]]ic [[Sufism|Sufi]] [[Shia Islam|Shia]] [[Tariqa|mystic order]] originating in the 13th-century [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Adamec |first1=Ludwig W. |title=The A to Z of Islam |date=2009 |publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |isbn=978-0-8108-7160-1 |page=60 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fCYuLWs3ZIEC&pg=PA60 |language=en }}</ref> Origins of the community point towards the [[Qizilbash|Kızılbaş]] and [[Alevism]]. As the [[Janissary|Janissaries]] became a dominant force in Ottoman politics, they adopted Bektashism as the corps' religion, while [[Hanafi school|Hanefite]] [[Sunni Islam|Sunnism]] dominated the Muslim [[Millet (Ottoman Empire)|Millet]]. The Bektashis have faced persecution from conservative [[Shiites]] and Sunnis who consider the Bektashis as [[Bid'ah|heretics]] rather than [[People of the Book]]. In 1826 Sultan [[Mahmud II]] abolished the Janissaries after the [[Auspicious Incident]], and subsequently passed a [[fatwa]] prohibiting the Bektashi order. [[Tanzimat]] reformers refused to consider granting Alevis or Bektashis their own millet. Alevis and Bektashis continued to practice their religion without state sanction and with harassment from authorities. Many stuck to rural regions with minimal government control, such as the Eastern Anatolian and Albanian highlands. Following the [[dissolution of the Ottoman Empire]] and the formation of the [[Turkey|Republic of Turkey]], President [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] shut down all [[Sufi lodge|tekkes]], including the Bektashi Order in 1925. Consequently, the Bektashi leadership moved their headquarters from Turkey to [[Tirana]].<ref name="Elsie 2001" /> Till this day, Bektashis and Alevis are unrecognized as religious minorities by the [[Constitution of Turkey|Turkish Constitution]] and the [[Directorate of Religious Affairs]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yonucu |first=Deniz |date=3 November 2023 |title=Sectarianism as racism: the collective punishment of Alevi communities in Turkey |url=https://journals-sagepub-com.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/doi/10.1177/03063968231205144 |journal=Institute of Race Relations |volume=65 |issue=3 |via=Sage Publications}}</ref> The Bektashi Order's popularity diminished under former Albanian communist leader [[Enver Hoxha]], who banned religion in 1967.<ref name="Elsie 2001">{{cite book |last1=Elsie |first1=Robert |title=A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology, and Folk Culture |date=2001 |publisher=[[NYU Press]] |isbn=978-0-8147-2214-5 |page=29 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aAtQZ0vjf5gC&dq=bektashi+order+ban+1967&pg=PA29 |access-date=21 September 2024 |language=en }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hargitai |first1=Quinn |title=The country that's famous for tolerance |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20161024-the-worlds-most-tolerant-country |access-date=21 September 2024 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=24 February 2022 }}</ref> Under Hoxha, the government built warehouses on portions of land belonging to the World Headquarters of the Bektashi. After the [[fall of communism in Albania]], the Bektashis lost further land when private developers built homes on the edge of their property without permission.<ref name="nyt_article" /> Today, estimates say Bektashis make up about 5% of Albania's population.<ref>[https://shqiptarja.com/uploads/ckeditor/667eb96647c4bcens-2023.pdf Census 2023]</ref> Turkish Bektashi populations are harder to estimate due to their conflation with the Alevi community, which makes up around 15% of the population.<ref>''Structure and Function in Turkish Society.'' Isis Press, 2006, p. 81.</ref> In 2024, Albanian prime minister [[Edi Rama]] announced plans to create the Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order as a gesture of [[religious tolerance]] and to promote more positive views of Islam in Albania and the rest of the world.<ref name="nyt_article" /> == Government and recognition == [[File:Kryegjyshata_(centre_mondial_Bektashi).jpg|thumb|The [[World Headquarters of the Bektashi|Bektashi headquarters]] that are planned to serve as the country's capital]] The creation of the government will need approval from the [[Albanian Parliament]].<ref name="nyt_article" /> [[Baba Mondi]], the [[Bektashi Dedebabate]], stated that he will serve as the head of the country in his role as spiritual leader, while emphasizing that the state will not maintain an army, border guards, or courts.<ref name="nyt_article" /> The state plans to allow the [[Khamr|consumption of alcohol]] and to allow women to dress however they please, in contrast to more conservative [[Islamic state|Islamic theocracies]].<ref name="nyt_article" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=De Ruiter |first=Emma |title=Albania announces plan to create a Muslim version of the Vatican City |url=https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/09/21/albania-plans-to-create-sovereign-micro-state-for-sufi-muslim-order |access-date=2024-09-22 |website=[[Euronews]]}}</ref> In an interview after the announcement, Baba Mondi stated that citizenship in the new state would be limited to clerics and those engaged in the administration of the state, akin to how citizenship is structured in the Vatican.<ref name="shqiptarja.com" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=21 September 2024 |title="Exclusive Interview with the Head Father of the Bektashi Order: A New Sovereign State for Peace and Tolerance (English version)" |url=https://shqiptarja.com/lajm/exclusive-interview-with-the-head-father-of-the-bektashi-order-a-new-sovereign-state-for-peace-and-tolerance-english-version |access-date=21 September 2024 |work=Shqiptarja }}</ref> He also expressed his belief that securing sovereign status would uplift the Bektashi Order and enhance its ability to fight radical ideologies that have affected the Muslim world and the international community.<ref name="shqiptarja.com" />The passport will be green, a color [[Green in Islam|deeply symbolic in Islam]].<ref name="nyt_article" /> Baba Mondi stated in an interview not long after the announcement that many countries, especially those confronting religious extremism or tensions, have a vested interest in backing peaceful and moderate religious movements like the Bektashi Order.<ref name="shqiptarja.com"/> He suggested that countries such as [[Saudi Arabia]], the [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]], and [[Qatar]] may see value in supporting the Order's peaceful Sufi Shia tradition to reinforce moderate interpretations of Islam.<ref name="shqiptarja.com"/> Additionally, he suggested that states facing internal challenges with [[Mujahideen|militant Islam]], such as [[China]], could align with the Bektashi Order as a means of countering extremism without fueling division.<ref name="shqiptarja.com"/> The Order believes that over time, the international community will recognize the benefits of amplifying moderate voices and view the Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order as a valuable contributor to global efforts promoting peace, tolerance, and dialogue.<ref name="shqiptarja.com"/> == References == {{Reflist}} {{Islamic theology}} [[Category:Proposed countries]] [[Category:City-states]] [[Category:Bektashi Order]] [[Category:History of Tirana]] [[Category:Balkan countries]] [[Category:Religion in Tirana]] [[Category:Muslim enclaves]] [[Category:Enclaved countries]] [[Category:Shia Islam and politics]] [[Category:Sufism in Albania]]'