Albania is in the process of creating a liberal Muslim microstate within its capital. An avowedly Islamic but moderate microstate that will follow the practices of the Bektashi Order, a Shiite Sufi order founded in the 13th century in Turkey but which moved its headquarters to Tirana almost a century ago after being banished from the Anatolian country by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding father of the secular Turkish Republic.
According to the plan outlined by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, the so-called “Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order” will become the world’s smallest state, just a quarter the size of Vatican City, the New York Times reports. This 10-hectare patch of land will have its own administration, passports and borders.
Despite being an Islamic country, the new state will allow alcohol consumption, women will be allowed to wear what they want and will not impose any rules on lifestyle, reflecting the tolerant practices of the Bektashi Order. Rama said the goal of the new state is to promote a tolerant version of Islam, which Albania should be proud of.
“We should cherish this treasure, which is religious tolerance, and we should never take it for granted,” he told the New York Times. The birth of the state carries a clear message, promoted by the prime minister with these words: “Do not let the stigma of Muslims define who Muslims are.”
“God does not forbid anything; that is why he gave us the mind,” said the cleric and future leader of the microstate, Edmond Brahimaj, a former officer in the Albanian army, who is now followed by millions around the world under the title of His Holiness Haji Dede Baba. “All decisions will be made with love and kindness,” said Baba Mondi, who claims not to want to assume the role of a religious dictator, and who maintains that the only constraint on his authority will be God, the only one who “does not make mistakes.”
