Bismilahi Rrahmani Rrahim!
In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful!
Dear Bektashi clerics and believers!
Dear friends and benefactors of the Kostan tekke!
It is an honor and a pleasure for me to be by your side and wish you: “Good luck and prosperity in your lives and your families”. May the Almighty God, Haxhi Bektash Veliu and the tombs of these saints become a light in your spiritual journey!
Blossomed by the wise and prudent thought of the dervishes coming from afar, this blessed place in the bosom of the mountains, would embrace the Bektashi tariqah, not merely that it needed a shrine to pray to. The Bektashi doctrine itself, in its essence in addition to the love of the Creator, contains in itself a number of wonderful qualities, such as love for the fatherland, for the brother you have on your side, for wisdom, for a healthy and pure moral family. This is the reason why not only the believers of this region, but also others, from Përmeti, Gjirokastra and Vlora, came here to be provided with divine teachings and to be filled with hope for tomorrow.
After the excellent contribution of Shememi Babi, then when the tekke was completed with all the functional annexes, even the myhibs of Koshtan did not fail to give their prosperous support. The tekke of Haxhi Bektash Veliu, came growing and growing, to become a source of hope for all the people here. At any time and in any situation, the clergy of this tekke knew how to always be guided by the light of God and that of freedom, because, after all, there can be no “religion without a homeland.”
In the prominent constellation of clergy of this wonderful residence, the names of father Sadik Horasani, father Ismail Ruçaj, father Muharrem Allkomemaj, father Ahmet Resulaj, father Kaso Veizaj, father Shefqet Mahmutaj, dervish Muharrem Kostani, dervish Qazim etc. come to light. Throughout their lives, these dervishes and fathers, tried to spread in these areas the love for the Creator, the love and deep respect for freedom-loving feelings, the precious lesson that “without knowledge, a nation is destined to lose”.
In this context, we Bektashis today, are proud that here, at this historic event, in 1908 was opened the first Albanian school in the province, with the contribution of the clergy, who risked their lives for the knowledge of generations that would come, As a first swallow on these peaks, it would be greeted throughout Albania for many years, conveying hope for the future.
Meanwhile, today’s Albanian historiography has rightly stopped at another equally large event, which is related to the light of knowledge. In the distant March gathered and their provincial representation, was barbaric and on the same track with the congress of Manastir, Dibra and Elbasan. Over forty patriots gathered in this congress, motivated to give a final answer to the problems of the alphabet, felt up close and seen with their own eyes, the wisdom, love, generosity and wisdom conveyed by the dervishes and fathers of the Koshtan tekke .
My sisters and brothers!
The pandemic we are going through, the economic poverty we are going through, do not allow us to gather and celebrate properly. Because we have a lot to say, not only about yesterday of this tekke, but also about today. With the tireless work of the dervish Xhelal Resuli and father Avdyl Shehaj, but also with your indisputable help, the tekke was revived and flourished day by day. More beautiful days will come and we will have the opportunity to gather and rejoice in these assemblies of the love of the Ahl al-Bayt.
God bless you all!
Amen!
World Leader of the Bektashis
His Grace
Haxhi Dede Edmond Brahimaj
