Liberal and progressive movements within Islam

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.

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.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputies have submitted a bill to the parliament for the Culture and Tourism Ministry to cover the lighting expenses of the cemevis, Alevi houses of worship.

The bill also proposes that the water costs will be met at a discount or free of charge.

The Alevi-Bektashi Culture and Cemevi Presidency will be established to meet Alevi-Bektashi citizens' demands and institutionalize the administration of cemevis, Alevi houses of worship, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced.

Following President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's statement that the government is extending efforts to meet Alevi-Bektashi citizens' demands, local media has alleged that five regulations will be made for cemevis, Alevi houses of worship.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said the government is extending efforts to meet Alevi-Bektashi citizens' demands determined during visits by officials to 1,585 cemevis and that 5,600 of 8,740 requests made have already been fulfilled.

A waterfall in Turkey's Mediterranean province of Antalya has dried out due to the effects of global warming and low precipitation in a time when environmental disasters because of climate change are becoming more common.

An important 17th-century painting of a prominent Muslim mystic will be put up for sale by an auction house in the Netherlands on June 8.

The 1651 painting of Haji Bektash Veli, a prominent Alevi religious figure who lived and taught in Anatolia from 1209 to 1271, will be auctioned on June 8 by the Oriental Art Auction House in the Dutch city of Hattem.