The Bektashi Order or Bektashism is an Islamic Sufi mystic order originating in the 13th-century Ottoman Empire. It is named after the saint Haji Bektash Veli. The Bektashian community is currently led by Baba Mondi, their eighth Bektashi Dedebaba and headquartered in Tirana, Albania. Collectively, adherents of Bektashism, are called Bektashians or simply Bektashis.
Naim bey Frashëri, more commonly Naim Frashëri, was an Albanian historian, journalist, poet, rilindas and translator who was proclaimed as the national poet of Albania. He is regarded as a pioneer of modern Albanian literature and one of the most influential Albanian cultural icons of the 19th century.
Islam arrived in Albania mainly during the Ottoman period when the majority of Albanians over time converted to Islam under Ottoman rule, but Islam was introduced to Albanians back in the 8th century during trades. Following the Albanian National Awakening (Rilindja) tenets and the de-emphasis of religious tradition in Albania, all governments in the 20th century pursued a secularization policy, most aggressively under the People's Socialist Republic of Albania. Due to this policy, Islam, as with all other faiths in the country, underwent radical changes. Decades of state atheism, which ended in 1991, brought a decline in the religious practice of all traditions. The post-communist period and the lifting of legal and other government restrictions on religion allowed Islam to revive through institutions that generated new infrastructure, literature, educational facilities, international transnational links and other social activities.
Haji Bektash Veli was an Islamic scholar, mystic, saint, sayyid, and philosopher from Khorasan who lived and taught in Anatolia. His original name was Sayyid Muhammad ibn Sayyid Ibrāhim Ātā. He is also referred to as the "Sultan of Hearts" and the "Dervish of the Dervishes".
Albania is a secular and religiously diverse country with no official religion and thus, freedom of religion, belief and conscience are guaranteed under the country's constitution. Islam is the most common religion religion in Albania, followed by Christianity, though religiosity is low and there are many irreligious Albanians. In the 2023 Census in Albania, Muslims accounted for 50,67 % of the total population, Christians made up around 15,64 %, while irreligious were 17.37%. The other 15.76% were Undeclared.
Džemijet was a political party of the Muslim population in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. It represented Albanians, Slavic Muslims and Turks in what was then "Southern Serbia". It was formed in August 1918 and officially constituted in Skopje in late 1919. The party participated in the 1920 and 1923 elections, in which it elected 8 and 14 representatives respectively. In January 1925 the party's leader Ferhat Draga, an Albanian nationalist who had previously served as mayor of Mitrovica, was arrested and soon after the party was disbanded.
Albanian folk beliefs and mythological stories comprise the beliefs expressed in the customs, rituals, myths, legends and tales of the Albanian people. The elements of Albanian mythology are of ancient Paleo-Balkanic origin and almost all of them are pagan. Albanian folklore evolved over the centuries in a relatively isolated tribal culture and society. Albanian folk tales and legends have been orally transmitted down the generations and are still very much alive in the mountainous regions of Albania, Kosovo, western North Macedonia, Montenegro and South Serbia and among the Arbëreshë in Italy and the Arvanites in Greece.
Islam in Kosovo has a long-standing tradition dating back to the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans. Before the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, the entire Balkan region had been Christianized by both the Western and Eastern Roman Empire. From 1389 until 1912, Kosovo was officially governed by the Muslim Ottoman Empire and a high level of Islamization occurred among Catholic and Orthodox Albanians, mainly due to Sufi orders and socio-political opportunism. Both Christian and Muslim Albanians intermarried and some lived as "Laramans", also known as Crypto-Christians. During the time period after World War II, Kosovo was ruled by secular socialist authorities in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). During that period, Kosovars became increasingly secularized. After the end of Communist period religion had a revival in Kosovo. Today, 95.6% of Kosovo's population are Muslims, most of whom are ethnic Albanians. There are also non-Albanian speaking Muslims, who define themselves as Bosniaks, Gorani and Turks.
Tomorr is a mountain chain in the region of Berat and Skrapar, in Albania. It reaches an elevation of 2,416 metres (7,927 ft) above sea level at the Çuka e Partizanit, which is the highest peak in central Albania.
Leskovik is a town in Korçë County, in southeastern Albania. Historically, until 2015, it was a municipality, after which it became a subdivision of Kolonjë. The town is located close to the Greek-Albanian border. The population at the 2011 census was estimated as being 1,525.
The Tekke of Frashër or Nasibî Tâhir Baba Tekke is a Bektashi shrine and Albanian Bektashi tekke founded in 1781 and registered Cultural Monument of Albania, located in Frashër, Gjirokastër County in southern Albania. The tekke was crucial to the Albanian National Awakening, particularly in the nationalist movements of the late 19th century, and it was one of the wealthiest and revered tekkes in Albania.
Kasim Baba, also Kasem Baba, was a fifteenth century Bektashi religious figure and missionary. In Albania, he is venerated as a Muslim saint.
Albanian names are names that are used by Albanians in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, or the diaspora. In Albania, a full name usually consists of a given name ; the given name of the individual's father, which is seldom included except in official documents; and a family name or surname. They are invariably given in the Western name order, with the given name being followed by the family name.
Reshat Bardhi was an Albanian religious leader who served as the 7th kryegjysh or Dedebaba of the Bektashi Order from 1991 to 2011.
The Haji Bektash Veli complex is an Alevi Islamic Cultural Monument of the Republic of Turkey, located in Hacıbektaş, Nevşehir province. It was built in the 13th century as a teqe (dergâh) of the Sufi saint Haji Bektash Veli. After his death, his mausoleum was built here.
Dalip bey Frashëri, also known with the pen-name Hyxhretiu, was an Albanian Bektashi sheikh and bejtexhi of the 19th century. His poem Kopshti i te mirevet is the first and the longest epic known in the Albanian literature.
The Islamization of Albania occurred as a result of the Ottoman conquest of the region beginning in 1385. The Ottomans through their administration and military brought Islam to Albania. The people largely converted to Islam in fear of violence from the Turks.
Islam in Communist Albania (1945–1991) covers a period of time when the Communist Party of Albania came to power under Enver Hoxha and exercised almost total control over the Albanian people. The communist government sought to radically overhaul Albanian society by realigning social, cultural and religious loyalties to the communist party through Albanian Nationalism in the pursuit of achieving unitary Albanian identity.
Islam in Albania (1913–1944) was characterised by an increasing secularisation of Albanian society which had begun with Albanian Independence in 1912 carrying on influences from the Albanian National Awakening. During the interwar period, new local Muslim institutions such as the Muslim Community of Albania arose that severed ties with the Ottoman Caliphate and placed a focus on localising Islam in Albania. The Albanian state also played a significant role in that process through state interference and pressuring the uptake of reforms by those institutions and wider Muslim society. Measures that were adopted were banning the veil and others which were interpreted as modernising Albania. These events caused tensions within parts of Muslim society between conservatives and those who viewed themselves as progressives which caused discussions and reflections about the future role of Islam in Albania and Albanian identity. The interwar era also saw Sufi Islam expand in Albania with various orders gaining new adherents with the largest, the Bektashi Order moving its world headquarters to Albania.
The Bektashi Order is an Islamic Sufi order that spread to Albania through Albanian Janissaries during the period of Ottoman control in Albania. The Bektashi make up 20% of Albania's Muslim population and 2.5% of the country's population. In regards to ethics, the Bektashi adhere to the line "Be master of your hands, your tongue, and your loins" which essentially means do not steal, do not lie or speak idly, and do not commit adultery.
