On the evening of Friday, August 11, 2021, in the premises of the Holy Bektashi Headquarters in Tirana, the promotion ceremony of the book “Dede Edmond Brahimaj, 10 years World Leader of Bektashism”, by Nuri Çuni & Kujtim Boriçi and the album photo for Dede Reshat Bardhi. Part of the event were two exhibitions, especially for this occasion. The event was attended by Bektashi clerics from Albania, Kosovo, Northern Macedonia, etc., leaders of other religious religious of Albania, state officials, researchers, writers and publicists. Moderated by the actor Bujar Asqeriu, the activity was greeted by the Bektashi World Grandfather, His Holiness, Haxhi Dede Edmond Brahimaj. Also greeted, the Head of the Muslim Community of Albania, His Highness, Haxhi Bujar Spahiu; on behalf of the Archbishop of Albania, His Beatitude, Professor Doctor Anastasi, His Grace, Deputy Archbishop, Asti Bakellbashi…
Researcher and writer Ferit Fixha spoke about the values of the book “Dede Edmond Brahimaj, 10 years World Leader of Bektashism”. Following is the greeting of the Bektashi World Leader, His Holiness, Haxhi Dede Edmond Brahimaj and the speech of researcher researcher Ferit Fixha.
In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful!
Dear brothers, high religious representatives in Albania!
Honorable Ambassadors Accredited in Tirana!
Bektashi sisters and brothers, friends and guests!
As the World Leader of the Bektashis, let me thank you for your participation in this special day and I pray to the God always to bring peace and prosperity to your families, in all Albanian territories, in all Bektashi communities, everywhere where they are, all over the world!
In such days of legitimate joy, being close to each other, more than a tradition of our order, is an inner call to share every emotion, every memory, every story of sacrifices that have bound us on our common journey in the path of Hak. Grandparents and fathers, dervishes and myhibs, benefactors and friends of the orders, all together, we have something to say to each other, without worrying about the hierarchy, because in Bektashism, as well as everywhere within the wonderful family of Islam , for a long time, degrees, are the devotion and perseverance of everyone, to reach the heights of the Creator’s attention.
In this context, the 10th anniversary of my election to the high post of Bektashi World Leader, I consider this an event for all of us, Bektashi clerics and believers, who by increasing the dimensions of a natural joy, invites us at the same time to we also share the historical responsibility we carry on our shoulders. None of us has forgotten the fact that the Bektashi World Center was established in this blessed land 9 decades ago and the greatest responsibility, mine personally but also of all my Bektashi clergy brothers, was to follow in the footsteps of our ancestors , responding to times and historical destiny.
When I talk about “walking in the footsteps of ancestors” I mean the martyr of the homeland, Sali Niazi Dede, who sacrificed his life “for the religion and the homeland” proving the cause of freedom with which the Bektashi order has been formed. Followed by: Ali Riza Dede, Kamber Ali Dede, Xhaferr Sadik Dede, Abaz Hilmi Dede, Ahmet Myftar Dede and to my ‘myrshidi[1]‘ and yours, to the great friend of all those who knew him, Haxhi Dede Reshat Bardhi . May Allah sanctify their mystery.
Today and in the years to come, the work of father Reshati will shine like a heavy stone in the magnificent building of the Bektashi order. The distance in time, not only will not fade his divine image, but on the contrary, we will be near him in every good work of ours, in every sorrow and joy, from the farthest tekke of Asia, to the immeasurable spaces of the East European, in the United States and Canada. His spiritual presence, ubiquitous in our tekkes, is related not only to his words and messages, but to the strength and patience he endured in his 70 years and especially to the spiritual breath with which he blessed us.
But what had happened to this boy from Lusna, in front of the magnificent Korab, in those mountains with crystal clear waters, drinking in the wonderful sources of Islamic knowledge?
In Bektashi philosophy, as in that of other orders, human fates can often be perceived only by transcendent, or heavenly, thoughts. Because in the essence of every Islamic order, lies the mission, the predetermined and the sacrifices to rise to the heights of the shrines. Fate had destined that even that meditative boy, with the highest consciousness, bypassed the temporary things of this world, surrendering to the eternal sacrifices, which gave our myrshid, kindness and pleasure in both worlds.
Further his youth, as well as books and narratives on Islam, were drawn to an extremely divine love, such as that of grandfather Ahmet Myftari, who at that time was in charge of the Bektashi World Headquarters. Their relationship of myrshidi and Dervishi, I believe will remain a model example in the Bektashi fraternity, because they have shared together to the end, not just the sacrifices to keep pure the path estabilished by Haxhi Bektash Veliu, but also their spiritual and physical times, always for the good of our doctrine. And think, dear friends, that this doctrine was kept alive with so many sacrifices in the Albanian territories, while in the years when it was born, the Bektashi tekkes were closed and remained as some unnecessary religious relics.
The truth is that the regime we left behind did not love the people who loved God and served him. That regime wanted the people who loved the Party and served it, even with the liberation that they hated the people of God. Evil regimes have always born evil times. Precisely because he did not act as a “loyalist” of the Party, dede Ahmet Myftari, through farcical trials and decisions, left as the guardian of the Bektashi Holy See in 1958 and was sent into exile, to the tekke of the village of Drizar in Mallakastër. Right at these moments, the valuable feature appears of allegiance given in the Bektashi square. Dervish Reshat Bardhi, despite orders to separate from his myrshid that new tasks awaited him, decided calmly and full of conviction that his former life was valuable, only if he lived next to dede Ahmeti.
For the Albanian and world Bektashism, the tekke of Drizar in Mallakastër, in the sense of human sacrifices for the sake of the love of faith, will undoubtedly remain a reference point for all generations of this path. Certainly before these, other Albanian fathers were interned, imprisoned or massacred by foreign invaders, becoming symbols of Bektashi resistance, but in the case of dede Ahmeti and dervish Reshati, it was the murderous mechanisms of the dictatorship that wanted to extinguish this light of the candle of wisdom of our Imams and Pir Haji Bektashi. Therefore their pain was deeper, and therefore their allegiance to Bektashi doctrine and to one another ascended to the higher heavens of the Spirit.
Regarding the nine years of the stay of these two great myrshids in the tekke of Drizar 1958-1967, perhaps the historiography of the tariqat did not say its word properly. I personally believe that this mission requires in-depth studies and research. But a valuable lesson has already arrived. No matter how much the party-state tried to shake the faith in God from our souls, not only it did not achieve its goal but it also became ridiculous in the eyes of everyone. The tekke of Drizar, in those years, turned into an emblematic place of pilgrimage, where, surprisingly, there were also believers from Montenegro, Kosovo, Western Macedonia and beyond. With this act, the pilgrims confessed that they did not take their myrshids out of their hearts, while God, never forgot his pious sons.
Even after the tragic year 1967, when the church, mosque and tekke were demolished, these two Bektashi clerics would not fall in to the sadness of fate. Rather, they perceived this time as a great test of patience and sacrifice, beyond which the light of faith would be born again. The houses where they lived in Tirana, as well as other houses of the followers of Haxhi Bektashi in Tirana, Kruja, Elbasan and everywhere, with their secret activity serving the tariqat, can today be called “castles of Bektashi resistance” ”. One of these houses was also mine, in which I had the great fortune to meet first and foremost with dede Ahmeti and his eternal faithful, dervish Reshati. Rather than commemorating the holy days of Islam and Bektashism, these aforementioned houses spread throughout the darkness of that time the hopeful messages of white days, kept alive the spirit of brotherhood and goodness, reminding us all that He, the All-Knowing, many times commanded us: “Enter among My slaves, enter in My Paradise!”
With the passed away from this world to Ahmet Myftari in July 1980, the burden of maintaining and preserving the best Bektashi traditions fell on the shoulders of Reshat dervish. As rarely in our 800-year history, this saint knew not only to bear this immeasurable responsibility, but relying on the vast mass of believers, albeit in complete secrecy, enabled the epoch-making survival of the tariqah through unparalleled human sacrifice. Albanian historiography and that of the Bektashi Holy See owe a debt to our believers of every religion and faith, precisely those inspiring examples of faith that shook the atheist regime for years, according to the Chinese model.
With unwavering will since the night of the ‘Maidan’ in 1954, with extraordinary energy of his age, in the early 90s of the century we left behind, my myrshid and yours, dede Reshati, was put in charge of the Bektashi clerics, of myhibs and faithful believers, first to fall on the “trumpets of awakening” and then to unite volunteers and forces on the thrilling journey to the path of Hak. Many of you, present today, remember that the very sincere warm word and look of our grandfather invited you to that difficult journey, transmitting to everyone the desire, not just as a faith, but as a tariqat that brings together, fraternizes, makes you useful and aware of the family, of the nation, of the attainment of the highest human and divine virtues.
Thus, we started to rebuild the first shrine and placed in their graves the remains of those dervishes and fathers, which the previous regime had thrown into the gorges, so that they would not be found again. We began to rebuild the glorious ‘tekkes’, of which we were all once proud and which had been the blessed hearts of the movement for freedom and protection of our nation. With the will of the AllAh Merciful ahead, we set up new tekkes, where the new believers sought to find peace of soul and where they would meet and talk to the great saints, their ancestors. There is not the slightest doubt , that in everything revived and achieved in the years 1990-2011, is the mind, heart, will and divine consciousness of dede Reshat Bardhi. May the Lord sanctify his mystery!
Dear attendees!
Today’s event, under no circumstances cant be mine alone. Every achievement of ours in this decade, in every aspect, spiritual, construction, organizational, etc., is a common joy, with all those believers inside and outside Albania, who have been and remain our students and teachers. A special thanks goes today to my brothers, Bektashi clerics, in Kosovo, Northern Macedonia, Albania and even the United States of America, with whom we have faced all kinds of sacrifices but we have succeeded. The DNA of our Tariqah is the love of God and of the brother you have on your side, whether it be the belly or the Hak, so we have been and remain united in every trial, aware of this mission to eternity.
What I assure you today, in the capacity of the Bektashi World Leader, is precisely that unification in our love for Haxhi Bektash Veliu, together with these clerics, brothers from Hak, we will know how to walk in the golden footsteps of our ancestors, always be to at the moral heights of historical responsibility. The Bektashi Holy See has a glorious mission though extremely difficult, but it does not frighten us. Rather it serves as a kind of call for new inspirations and to the best fulfillment of the God-given mission and physical time. We will remain forever, a symbol of wisdom and peace, for the good of the faith we belong to and the most precious values of human society.
Thank you all once again!
God bless you!
Amin!
Speech of the Bektashi World Leader,
His Grace, Haxhi Dede Edmond Brahimaj
For the book “Haxhi Dede Edmond Brahimaj-10 years World Leader of Bektashism ”and the role as a religious missionary and patriotism of the protagonist.
Your Grace, Haxhi Dede Edmond Brahimaj,
Distinguished personalities, diplomats and presents!
Let me briefly express some thoughts on this important event, in the promotion of this interesting monograph of prominent authors in Albanian journalism Kujtim Boriçi and Nuri Çuni, dedicated to the Bektashi World Leader, Haxhi Dede Edmond Brahimaj, as a worthy successor of Haxhi Dede Reshat Bardhi, who revived Bektashism after 1990 and made the spiritual revival of Bektashis in Albania and around the world.
As the 39th leader of Bektashism in the 800-year period and the 9th Albanian grandfather, Dede Edmond Brahimaj, who belongs to the elite of this leadership, comes to this world where knowledge, dedication, deeds, studies, speeches, messages reflected his religious and patriotic, engraved in the soul and memory of the believers of this peaceful faith and all mankind.
Today, it is known as an interfaith spiritual connecting bridge not only in Albania, but worldwide.
With importance is to mention the march of harmony of the representatives of the Albanian religious faiths in Paris, as a rare, unique and radiant case for the harmony and peace of humanity. So on the boulevard of Paris they walked, exciting people shouts: “Baba Mondi, Baba Mondi!”
Haxhi Dede Edmond Brahimaj embodies the highest values of the Bektashi faith of 800 millions of believers in the World, as possessors of great love for this faith, as visionaries for the time, as brothers in the harmonious diversity of different religious faiths. Manifested Western vision not only within the Albanian society, but also in the international one, so he has often become a member of podiums and international meetings, interfaith conferences and has been awarded prestigious awards as “Ambassador of Peace”, etc. He was warmly and respectfully received by the highest clergy such as the Pope, etc. and by high state, academic, cultural and scientific personalities. In Albania he was honored with the title “Honorary Citizen” in several cities, with the High Order “Skanderbeg Knight” etc. Currently, being the chairman of the Interreligious Council of Albania, this council has been honored with the high medal “Honor of the Nation”.
Bektashism represents an emancipatory, progressive, spiritualist faith. According to Naim Frashëri, the prominent Albanian renaissance and the great national poet, who wrote “The Notebook of the Bektashis” and “Karbala”, who built the cultural, religious and patriotic symbiosis, giving the physiognomy of Albanian patriotism:
“… You have kindness
To know that you have God.
Professor Dr. Bardhosh Gaçe in his assessments of the Albanian book, says that Bektashism is not only a faith, not only a veneration of an ancient cult, but culture, national spiritual cause, human love, pride and dignity of the nation and Albanians in general.
Elsie himself writes: “Without the Bektashis, Albania would not be what it is today.”
Many foreign scholars have written about Bektashism: Max Choublier, Gabriel Luis-Jaray, Frederik Hasluck, Justin Godard, Margaret Hasluck, Franz Babinger, John Kingsley Birge, etc.
In compiling this valuable monograph, the authors have used archival documents, media evidence, film footage, original photo albums. They have reflected them in the book, beautifully aesthetically, structured with professionalism, expressed with feeling and artistic level. In it, come naturally intertwined and inseparable, the irreplaceable role and valuable contribution of Dede Reshat Bardhi in the revival of Bektashism, the steps taken and the work done by Dede Edmond Brahimaj for the consolidation and advancement of this valuable tradition.
In the pages of this book is evidenced the historical truth and activities with values of Bektashism today, which, undoubtedly, will serve in the education and formation of present and future generations.
It is not a monograph of a protagonist, but an open monograph on the mysticism, humanism and spiritualism of this religious, contemporary and democratic religion, inspired by its religious leaders of 800 years, with the motto, the lapidary saying of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): “Without a homeland there is no religion.”
I think I am not emotional when I say that this book is one of the pearls of the column published in Albanian to date in this field, which stands dignifiedly next to the books “Albanian Bektashis” by Robert Elsie, “Islamic Mysticism and Bektashism” by Baba Rexhepi of any other.
Congratulations to the World Leader on his noble mission!
Congratulations to the two authors, Nuri Çuni and Kujtim Boriçi for this book with special values!
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