Bismilahi Rrahmani Rrahim!
In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful!
Dear local government authorities, friends and guests!
It is a special pleasure for me to take part in this event of yours and to bring you here the greetings of the army of several million Bektashi believers all over the world: Good luck and prosperity to your families!
May the Most High honor and respect you who honor and respect the Bektashi clerics, these missionaries of peace and wisdom!
I have received with special pleasure and I highly appreciate the initiative of your municipality, to place one of the schools, the honorable name of father Ismail Jangulli. I also appreciate this fact, convinced that the respect for Father Ismaili is passed down today among whole generations of clerics and believers of this region, who have always been distinguished in their devotion to the Creator.
Father Ismaili, son of this place and our brother, belongs to that generation of Bektashi clerics, who entered the path of Haji Bektash Veli full of hope and dreams, always thinking of forgiving everything to this tariqat. They threw down the bows of the dervish, with the idea of serving their sisters and brothers, alleviating sorrows, and multiplying joys. They turned their tekkes, not just places of Bektashi understanding and hospitality, but also assemblies of love for God, for the homeland, for the family, for these sacred lands for all.
But the evil year 1967 would destroy and violate the dreams of all Albanian believers, Christians and Muslims. The party-state had calculated that with the demolition of religious temples, Christian and Muslim, it would divert believers from the path of God, and on that high throne, its leaders would sit in turns. To realize this medieval obscurantism, various repressive measures were taken, until the launch of the clergy and the faithful, who, aware of the religious mission, were not intimidated and did not retreat.
Undoubtedly, in the ranks of these clerics was also our brother, of all, father Ismail Jangulli, who, neither cried nor sighed, but raised his voice, in defense of the Bektashi way, of the Ahl al-Bayt, all to those who held the Lord in their hearts. He was not intimidated either when he was arrested, or when all sorts of family dramas were created, or when he was allegedly convicted in the name of popular power. Clerics like father Ismail Jangulli, confronted the Stalinist dictatorship and ‘counted’ it all in the eye, despite the harsh punishment that awaited him. Today, it goes without saying that with his stoic confrontation with the regime, Father Ismail Jangulli warmed the slain hopes of all Bektashi clerics and believers, from Dibra to Vlora, from Tropoja to Gjirokastra.
The macabre stories of communist prisons have shown and show hundreds of cases of inhuman torture, before which there were many who were scared. But there were men like Ismail Jangulli, who not only withstood these tortures, but kept alive the hope of their comrades, with the proverb of God, with the deep humility that our 800-year-old sect has forgiven us. Anyone who has known our brother in communist prisons remembers his warm and uplifting speech, his always sincere attitude towards every believer, no matter what religion he belonged to.
Sisters and brothers!
The contribution of father Ismail Jangulli, continues to appear especially in the 1990s, when the winds of democracy began to blow in our Albania, exhausted by the spiritual and material poverty. He came to the Bektashi Holy See in Tirana in 1992 to join a group of clerics and believers who revived their dormant faith and selflessly embarked on work and efforts to revive Bektashism. Wise, Father Ismail Jangulli never spoke of his ‘deeds’ in the communist regime, on the contrary, he shrugged off the troubles and hard work, which had to do in particular with the erection of dilapidated tombs and tekkes. For him, looking to the future was the unmistakable compass of all time.
The consecration with the high title “Father” by our myrshid, Dede Reshat Bardhi, was ultimately the reward of a life full of personal and family sacrifices, for the benefit of our path, the Way of Hak. He has always deserved that religious title, becoming a father so loved not only by the believers of Shupenza, but also those of Dibra, Gostivar, Struga, Laç and Kruja. These hundreds of thousands of believers knew in the personality of father Ismail Jangulli, the unbreakable character of every difficulty, the constant optimism in every situation, the unquenchable belief in the philosophy and emblematic wisdom of Haxhi Bektash Veliu.
The tekke erected with his contribution in Bllaca, is a sacred temple of faith, where Bektashis from all over Albania place where they still find the wonderful memories of conversations with ‘him. Baba Ismail Jangulli will be remembered with life, not just for that object erected on the mountain lap, but for the revival of the precious Bektashi tradition, inspiring whole generations with love for the Creator, for human life, for eternal values of the spiritual and biological family. He has remained, without the slightest doubt, in the historical memory of Albanian and world Bektashism.
Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, I want to thank you for your initiative. Let this school enjoy the name of father Ismail Jangulli and preserve his memory for generations!
I wish all the teachers and students of this school to become as worthy of their lives as the life of father Ismail Jangulli!
God bless you all!
Amin!
Speech of the Bektashi World Leader,
His Grace,
Haxhi Dede Edmond Brahimaj
