Bektashi Order

Albania's former president Ilir Meta has been detained by police over corruption allegations, his spokesperson and lawyer said on Monday.

Meta's spokesperson Tedi Blushi told a press conference the arrest was "inappropriate" and that it would "be condemned by all patriotic and honest Albanians."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Tirana, Albania, on Thursday to attend the inauguration of the Namazgah Mosque, the largest in the Balkans. 

The mosque, built in Ottoman style with four 35-meter minarets, began construction in 2015. It will also house a cultural center, library, exhibition hall, conference room, "museum of coexistence," and a Quran school.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will visit Tirana tomorrow, Thursday, October 10th, where he will participate in the inauguration of the new Namazgja (Namazgah in Turkish) Mosque in the Albanian capital.

The vision of Edi Rama to create a “Vatican for Bektashi” in Tirana, as well as his ambition to establish the smallest state within a state in the world,

The reaction of representatives of the Bektashi (or Bektashi) sect in Turkey is being provoked by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s plan to establish within his country’s territory a sovereign Muslim Bektashi Muslim state on the model of the Vatican.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said Sunday his country would transform the Tirana-based Bektashi Muslims, an Islamic Sufi order, into a sovereign state to promote moderation, tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

The Bektashi sect (Bektaşi) of dervishes belongs to Sufi Islam and represents an important chapter in the history of Islam in the Middle East, Asia Minor, and the Balkans during the Ottoman period. It is a blend of Muslim faith, Christian Orthodox monasticism, and Masonic mysticism. The followers of this sect are monogamous, eat pork, and drink alcohol.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama confirmed plans on Sept. 21 to establish a "Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order" in the nation's capital of Tirana to "promote a tolerant version of Islam that Albania is proud of."

Rama revealed his vision for a Vatican-style enclave for the Bektashi, Islamic Sufi mystic order.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has lauded Türkiye's 85 million citizens for their unwavering response in the aftermath of the catastrophic earthquakes that struck the country's south in Feb. 6, claiming the lives of over 50,000 individuals.

Albania's opposition Democratic Party, which is riven by factions, will be able to run in the May local elections after all - after the Commission of Sanctions and Complaints, CSC, overturned an earlier decision of the Commissioner of Elections not to let it run.