LAZIĆ: ISLAMIC BEKTASHI REPUBLIC COULD BOOST ALBANIAN LOBBYING ABROAD

BELGRADE, AUGUST 22 /SRNA/ — An Islamic Bektashi Republic headquartered in Tirana, if established as a new state as increasingly being announced, would serve Albanians as a means of lobbying around the world to promote and advance their interests, including lobbying for self-proclaimed Kosovo, theologian Nebojša Lazić assessed in a statement to SRNA.

Commenting on reports in French media that a sovereign Bektashi state, backed by the United States and France, is expected to be established soon and have its own symbols, passport and currency, Lazić said this came as no surprise, as Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama had promised this to the Bektashis, expecting to derive significant benefits from them. "The powers that Rama is promising them essentially mean the creation of an Islamic Bektashi Republic modelled on the Vatican. In essence, it would be an 'Islamic Vatican' whose influence could be used not only in Albania and Kosovo and Metohija, but also in Sarajevo, Novi Pazar and wherever else it manages to gain a foothold," Lazić said. He reminded that the Bektashi movement, which emerged in the 11th and 12th centuries and was particularly connected to this region during the Ottoman Empire, evolved from an essentially military movement into a lobbying movement. The movement, he explained, is attractive to businesspeople and elites because it permits many things prohibited by Sunni and Shia Islam, such as alcohol consumption and various other practices. "The movement has become particularly well established in corporate circles, on Wall Street, in industry and business. Major businesspeople joined the Bektashi movement and entered the Bektashi order because it was beneficial to them in business as well. Rama knows this well, as well as the movement’s influence, and is therefore granting it certain concessions so that he can use it in the interests of the Albanian nation, because Rama himself is not Muslim, and for him, as for almost all Albanians, national identity takes precedence over religious affiliation," Lazić stressed. He noted that the Bektashi movement had played a major role in lobbying internationally for the self-proclaimed independence of Kosovo and Metohija and would likely continue to do so, as well as lobbying for Albania and its interests and needs, particularly as Rama's concept would create a Bektashi Republic, or an "Islamic Vatican". French outlet Intelligence Online reported that Albania, with the support of the United States and France, is accelerating preparations to establish a sovereign Bektashi state on the territory of its world headquarters in Tirana. The Bektashi state, according to the plans, would have its own symbols, passport and currency called the "bek", which would be indexed to the price of gold. If established, it would be the world's smallest state, occupying an area of 35 hectares in Tirana, where Bektashi leader Edmond Brahimaj, also known as Baba Mondi, resides. Two years ago, he announced that he expected Albania to grant the community a special status similar to that of the Vatican in Italy.