Bektashi leader Haydar Ercan: “Bektashism is not a state, political movement or national political project”

Bektashi leaders have rejected the idea of a “Bektashi State” in Albania, arguing that the faith cannot be turned into a political project or state.

The criticism appeared in a statement from Dedebaba Haydar Ercan, read by Halife Baba Gürkan Özen at the “Bektashism in Anatolia and the Balkans from History to the Present” forum on Sept. 4. The statement described Bektashism as a spiritual path rooted in Islamic Sufism, accepting the Quran as its holy book, Muhammad as its guide and Ali as its mentor, and shaped by the philosophy of Hacı Bektaş Veli.

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Bektashism is not a state, political movement or national political project.

“Bektashism is not a state, political movement or national political project,” the statement said. It added that a faith’s spiritual authority cannot be created or changed through political sovereignty, the allocation of territory or the issuing of passports.

The statement also emphasized that the historical and spiritual center of the Bektashi path is the Pir House, or Hacı Bektaş Veli Lodge, in Hacıbektaş, in Turkey’s Nevşehir province. It said that center cannot be moved to another part of the world through political decisions. The statement rejected Edmond Brahimaj, known as Baba Mondi, declaring himself a global leader, saying he had not been granted authorization to serve as a Halifebaba. It called the declaration contrary to the faith’s hierarchy and invalid under Bektashi tradition, and “categorically” rejected any claim that the proposed political structure represents all Bektashis.

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A faith’s spiritual authority cannot be created or changed through political sovereignty, the allocation of territory or the issuing of passports.