Pallade Veneta - Sufi leader plans for Vatican-like state in Albania

Last year, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama announced plans to establish a sovereign Muslim microstate within the country's borders run by the Sufi sect with roughly 100,000 members.

"Our state will be a really small spiritual and administrative state... but with a big heart," the Bektashi leader told AFP in Tirana, draped in a white tunic and wearing a green jacket and cap, his face framed by a flowing white beard.

"The whole world will be able to see the light of the Bektashis."

The creation of a religious state in Albania would have been unimaginable during the four decade communist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha who banned religion outright and persecuted clerics and priests.

Hundreds of clergy from all faiths were executed, jailed, or sent into exile, while places of worship were demolished.

But since the fall of communism in the early 1990s, there has been an outpouring of religious expression in many corners of Albania.

The Bektashi are ranked as the fourth-largest religious community in Albania, after Sunni Muslims, Orthodox Christians, and Catholics.

And while the bureaucratic details of the state are still being ironed out along with an official date for its launch, Baba Mondi has ambitious plans for his future nation.

"This state will have neither police, nor army, nor taxes; it will be spiritual," said the leader.

"Its purpose will be the organisation and defence of the Bektashis around the world."

The Bektashi state would also advocate for persecuted members living in countries where they do not have the right to practise their religion "like in Turkey or Iran", according to its leader.

The future state would be located on land where a Bektashi temple already stands in Tirana, and will occupy just 0.11 of a square kilometre (0.04 square miles) -- making it the smallest country on earth.

The Vatican currently holds the title with just 0.44 square kilometres of territory.

- Peace and love -

The Bektashi order was founded in the 13th century in the Ottoman Empire and is regarded as a tolerant, mystic branch of Islam open to other religions and philosophies.

Some key leaders relocated to Albania after they were banned in Turkey by the modern state's founding father Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in the early 20th century.

Unlike more conservative denominations of Islam, the Bektashi faithful -- men and women -- worship together and the consumption of alcohol is allowed, if not encouraged.

"Raki, like mother's milk, has benefits because it goes straight to the brain without passing through the stomach," said Baba Mondi, referring to the popular fruit brandy that is widely imbibed across the Balkans.

The practice is part of an overall vision of tolerance and promoting harmony that is central to Bektashi thought, according to Baba Mondi.

"Wherever they are, the Bektashis have always expressed love, generosity, and respect for humans as the most perfect creatures in this world," he added.

"We are against conflicts triggered by extremists, we are for peace and love."

For Albania's premier, providing the Bektashi with their own government is in part about protecting that spirit of tolerance.

"We must take care of this treasure that is religious tolerance, so we can preserve and promote it," Rama said during a speech in January, marking the 95th anniversary of the transfer of the Bektashi sacred seat from Turkey to Albania.

He has yet to unveil a timeline for the state's creation.

But for Baba Mondi and his Sufi followers, the future is brimming with possibilities.

"Bektashism has been and will remain a bridge between East and West," Baba Mondi told AFP.

"We have always been a middle ground in this world to show that we can live with love, peace, and kindness."

R.Zarlengo--PV