At the event held in honor of the 95th anniversary of the establishment of the Bektashi World Headquarters in Albania, Prime Minister Edi Rama spoke about the plan to create the Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order.

In his speech, Rama stated that the creation of such an entity within Albania does not compromise territorial integrity, drawing a parallel with Italy, which is a unitary state but includes three territories with special status.

The head of the government emphasized that other communities should not be concerned about granting this special status to the Bektashi Order, nor see it as a threat.

According to him, this initiative is based on the values of fraternity embodied by the Bektashis, as well as the fact that the center of the Bektashi World Headquarters is located in Albania.

“The history of the Bektashis is an imperative call to grant the World Headquarters, through a status similar to that of the Vatican, the power of an emblem that will harm no one, threaten no one, and will not question the territorial integrity of Albania. One hears all sorts of things from Albanians when they think of doing something new that others haven’t done. Albania is a unitary state; it is not a federal state. Italy, too, is a unitary state, not a federal one, but it has three realities with such statuses.

Likewise, other religious communities have no reason to be concerned about this special treatment, as it is not special treatment for a single religious community per se. It is the deserved recognition of a community whose world center is in Albania. Others would have invented it if they didn’t have it; we have it and are ready to let it wither away. Such an emblem gives Albania even more prominence as an example of the harmony so sought after in the world today, which Pope Francis, when he visited here, described as an example of brotherhood for the entire world,” Rama said.