Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama is working on the creation of a Muslim mini-state within an enclave of the capital, Tirana, modeled after Vatican City in Rome.
According to reports from Albanian media and the New York Times, Rama has agreed with Baba Mondi, the 65-year-old leader of the Shia Bektashi order, on the realization of such a project. Baba Mondi is set to become the head of a small state with defined borders, its own administration, and its own passports – similar to how the Pope governs Vatican City. For this “Muslim Vatican,” the socialist politician, who has been the prime minister of the Balkan country for 11 years, plans to allocate several streets surrounding the headquarters of the Bektashi order.
The territory of the future “Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order” in eastern Tirana is expected to cover about 11 hectares, roughly a quarter of the size of Vatican City. Currently, the Bektashi world center consists of a gathering and prayer hall, a museum of the order’s history, a polyclinic, an archive, and administrative buildings. Prime Minister Rama likely hopes that this symbolic gesture will enhance his image as a liberal and open-minded ruler of a country that is on the verge of joining the European Union, despite the increasingly authoritarian nature of his rule. Rama acknowledged that creating a sovereign Muslim mini-state in Tirana will take time. However, he said that local and international experts are already drafting a law to establish the new state within Albania, which is likely to pass in the parliament controlled by Rama’s Socialist Party.
It remains unclear how many countries would recognize the Bektashi state. In an interview with the New York Times, Rama said of the endeavor, “Maybe everyone will say, ‘This guy is crazy.’ But they’ve said that about me many times before, and I don’t care. The most important thing, crazy or not, is to fight for the good.” Speaking to an Albanian newspaper on Saturday, Baba Mondi explained the necessity of a sovereign state for the Bektashi by saying that in times of religious intolerance, extremism, and radicalism, “voices that promote peace and understanding must be heard.” The Bektashi order has long stood for these values, and granting sovereignty ensures that “the Bektashi can continue to spread this message effectively.” The Albanian government understands the need to protect moderate religious voices, Baba Mondi said.
The Bektashi are considered liberal Muslims, who blend a free interpretation of the Quran with mysticism, elements of pre-Islamic Turkish religions, and the veneration of their deceased wise men, the dervishes. There are no lifestyle regulations such as the prohibition of alcohol or pork, nor are there dress codes or separate sacred spaces for women. Prayer is not bound to specific times of the day but takes place in the evening when work ceases, allowing believers to open themselves up in a contemplative, mystical way.
After Turkish founder Kemal Atatürk banned all dervish orders in 1925, the Bektashi moved their center to Albania. There, they, like clergy of other religions, were persecuted after Albania was declared the first atheist state in the world by communist dictator Enver Hoxha in 1967. Most Bektashi shrines, known as Tekke, were destroyed under Hoxha, and by the collapse of the communist dictatorship in 1990, only six remained in the entire country. After the lifting of the ban on religion, the Bektashi in Albania experienced a revival, with dozens of Tekke being rebuilt or newly established. Besides the world center in Tirana, there is now a large Bektashi education center in Vlora, southern Albania, built in 2005. Conservative Sunnis and Shias regard the Bektashi as heretics.
The founder of the Bektashi community is believed to be the Muslim mystic and Sufi Haji Bektash (c. 1209–1271) from Khorasan, who worked primarily in Anatolia. The Bektashi community today includes between seven and twenty million believers worldwide, according to widely varying estimates. Most of them live in Turkey and the Balkans. In Albania, the Bektashi make up about five percent of the 2.4 million population, and about nine percent of the Muslim majority, which constitutes 57 percent of the population. Around ten percent of Albanians are Catholic, and about seven percent are Orthodox Christians.
Religiously mixed Albania sees itself as a religiously neutral state. Among the population, religion and denominational affiliation play little role, and interfaith marriages are common. For example, Edi Rama identifies as a non-practicing Catholic, his wife is Muslim, and his children from his first marriage are Orthodox. Under these circumstances, the prominent emphasis on the Bektashi, to whom only around 3 percent of the population currently belongs, raises questions.
There is also criticism of how the project was launched. “Rama presented the idea on the international stage without any prior debate in the country,” said a spokesman for the think tank AIPS in Tirana. Rama gives the impression that the state belongs to him and he can do whatever he wants. In the past, the local population had also learned about other high-profile plans, such as the migration agreement with Italy or the destruction of Syrian chemical weapons in Albania, through the international press.
There are also speculations about the motives behind Rama’s announcement: Does he want to further boost the country’s already booming tourism industry? Is the mini-state intended to become a tax haven to attract financial investors? Or are the USA, as a close ally, and Israel behind it, seeking to mitigate the fallout in the Muslim world caused by the Gaza war?
We don’t know. But it is certain that under the current constitution, the project is not feasible. The constitution does not allow initiatives that would affect the country’s territorial integrity. However, if Rama’s Socialist Party wins a two-thirds majority in next year’s elections, they could amend the constitution. Even then, the new state would need international recognition.
Some observers expect that the project will eventually fade away without concrete results due to these hurdles. “I’m not so sure,” said a political scientist. “Rama has invested a lot with his announcement.” We can expect more surprises from Tirana.
