Bektashi World Leader Haxhi Dede Edmond Brahimaj: Dede Ahmeti has been and remains a heavy stone in the foundations of Albanian and world Bektashism
By Kujtim BORIÇI
Today marks 72 years since Dede Ahmet Myftari was elected World Leader of Bektashism, a task he performed with dedication and unwavering faith in God for a decade, leaving a precious treasure in the 800-year history of Bektashism. At the same time, Dede Ahmeti is the best example of the well-known Bektashi axiom ” Without Nation there is no religion”, because in the difficult years of the Anti-Fascist National Liberation War, he not only publicly condemned the occupation of the country, but was at the forefront of popular movement for the need of liberation with weapons in hand. “Dede Ahmeti has given a valuable contribution to Bektashism, which will be appreciated and will serve between generations. He was a devoted cleric who felt tired on the Way of Hak, knew how to forgive kindness, love the faith in God, contributed maximally to the spread of the Bektashi faith and the establishment of institutions and did not spare the concrete support and contribution to the liberation of the country from invaders. . “- claims for the newspaper” Telegraf “, the Bektashi World Leader, His Grace, Haxhi Dede Edmond Brahimaj.
Who was Dede Ahmet Myftari
Dede Ahmet Myftari was born on February 22, 1916, in the village of Brataj in Vlora and passed away in 1980. He received his first lessons in the village school and the others in the city of Vlora. He inherited from his parents, the love for knowledge and for the homeland. After finishing the civic school in the years 1924-1929 in Vlora, in 1936, he was sent to perform compulsory military service in Debar. Here he met his father Zenel Dumen, felt inwardly his love and trust in the Almighty God, and learned about Bektashism and Islam in general. He took over the tekke of Bllaca in the years 1937-1939 and was consecrated as a dervish in the same tekke, by father Zeneli. He was only 22 years old when he dressed as a dervish and took the sacred oath to serve the path of Haqq until the day of his separation from life. In June 1939, like dozens of other Bektashi clerics, he sided with the freedom fighters in concrete action against the Italian invaders. In Vlora and Kurvelesh, in Tepelena and Elbasan, the word of the Bektashi dervish took place in the hearts of the warriors. The patriotic activity of dervish Ahmet Myftari, stands out in the eyes of the Italian authorities. They call him and tell him to be silent, to go to the tekke and take care of the believers. He listens to them and in deep silence answers: “How can I take care of believers with a violated homeland. Is the homeland the first, let it be free, then comes faith! ” In early May 1943 he was arrested and sent to the infamous Porto Romano camp. Here, too, his free spirit finds no rest. His warm words convince communists and nationalists that before any kind of party conviction is the homeland. We will forgive Him at any time, by any means, in any situation. With the capitulation of the Italian forces he left the camp of Porto-Romano and again, with a rifle in his hand, he was ranked among the freedom fighters. In the spring of 1945, he finds himself in the position of district commander in Martanesh and the doors of his military career open before him. He had given the evidence, there on the front line, in the fire of battles. He was even seriously wounded in one of these battles. Friends took him by the shoulder and sent him to the hospital, restoring his life. Anyway, inside the heart of Ahmet Myftari, lived the dream of the dervish, the promise he had once given, in the square of the tekke of Bllaca. With his beautiful writing, he thanks the high command for the trust he had given him and in May 1945, he appears at the Holy See of the World Headquarters, lovingly carrying on his shoulder the bow of the Bektashi dervish.
Appointment of Bektashi World Leader
Referring to the documents found in the Archive of the Holy See of the Bektashi World Headquarters in Tirana, Ahmet Myftari receives the title ‘Baba’, where in the next three years, he works with dedication as a clergyman in the tekke of ‘Baba Hamiti’ in Elbasan and then in the tekke of ‘Kuzum Babai’ in Vlora. On June 2, 1948, by decision of the General Council of the Bektashi Community, he was appointed to the highest office, that of Bektashi World Leader. For ten years in a row, at the head of the Holy See, dede Ahmet Myftari, in addition to maintaining the pure Bektashi doctrine, enabled religious education by informing the dervishes of the most remote tekke. During these years it gave impetus to Bektashism and became a factor of religious harmony among the traditional religious communities in Albania. Organized a series of connections of the Albanian Bektashi community with other Bektashis around the world. The years of residence of Dede Ahmet Myftari, in this important post, are years of further revival of the Bektashi faith, years of respect for the three traditional erqans, removing once and for all this wonderful faith, from the traps and misdeeds woven by the party -state. During these years, the gates of the tekkes were opened for thousands of benefactors and myhib, religious education was institutionalized, dozens of books on Bektashism were extracted from the archives and these were translated into Albanian, illuminating the deep mystique of this faith.
Dede Reshat Bardhi and Dede Edmond Brahimaj
Former Bektashi World Leader, Haxhi Dede Reshat Bardhi and the current Grandfather, His Grace, Haxhi Baba Edmond Brahimaj, have consistently praised the role of Dede Ahmet Myftari as a patriot and clergyman, organizing sessions and activities of numerous about this well-known cleric. Dede Reshat Bardhi says about his myrshid, Dede Ahmeti: “I knew Dede Ahmeti when I was 17 years old. He entered my life and will remain there, until my last breath. He took me by the hand and introduced me to the bright path of Bektashism, to the path illuminated by our Piri Haxhi Bektash Veliu. With his wisdom, with his ingenuity, with his courage, Dede Ahmeti for ten years in a row, carried on his shoulders a series of problems that our pure Bektashism faced. He never cried, never complained, never let himself down even in the most difficult situations. In particular, his courage and bravery shone during the difficult years of internment in the village of Drizar in Mallakastra. His resistance rarely appeared there. The small tekke of Drizari, that place lost among fairy tales, became the Holy See of the Bektashi World Headquarters. Thousands of believers have come to this tekke from all over Albania. They came exhausted, they came sad, they came like night. They were leaving relaxed, they were leaving happy, they were leaving like a beautiful morning. Dede Ahmeti gave them soul and light from his soul “. The current World Grandfather, dede Edmond Brahimaj, also praised Dede Ahmeti: “Dede Ahmeti has made a valuable contribution to Bektashism, which will be appreciated and will serve for generations. He was a devoted cleric who felt tired on the Way of Hak, knew how to forgive kindness, love and faith in God, contributed maximally to the spread of the Bektashi faith and the establishment of institutions and did not spare the concrete support and contribution to the liberation of the country from invaders. “- affirms the Bektashi World Grandfather, His Grace, Haxhi Dede Edmond Brahimaj.