The Bektashi order is a Sufi Dervish order which has evolved into a religious sect of Islam. It was founded in the 13th century by a Persian, Hajji Bektash Wali, but did not reach its definitive form until 16th century Turkey. The Bektashi are part of the Shia order of Islam.

Beliefs

The Shia hero Ali and the Prophet Muhammad are elevated to the same level and form a trinity along with Allah. In the Balkans the Christian practices of confession and the ritual sharing of bread were adopted. Women take part in rituals alongside men; and wine is often used despite being considered haram (forbidden) by most Muslims.

History

The Bektashi order found nearly all of its support in Turkey (where they are closely linked with the Alevis) and the Balkans, especially in Albania. However, the Bektashi were important beyond their numbers because they dominated the Ottoman Janissaries. When Kemal Atatürk banned all Sufi orders in Turkey in 1925, most of the Bektasi leadership moved from Turkey to Albania and set up headquarters in the current Albanian capital of Tirana. These headquarters were shut down in 1967 when the communist Albanian government banned all religion. The significance of this action is debatable due to the sect status the Bektashi Order had become. Approximately 20% of Albanians identify themselves as Bektashi. Several important poets are thought to have been Bektashi, such as Yunus Emre, but the number is often exaggerated. It is unlikely, for example, that Ismail I was a Bektashi. The Turkish dervish orders drew their ideas and beliefs from the Mesnevi, a 13th century Persian poem written by Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi, the patron and saint of the Mevlevi dervish order. The two Arabic works Futuhatı Mekkiye and Fususul Hikâm, written by Muhyiddini Arabi (1165-1240), were highly influential to the development of the Dervish orders. The orders were centralized in urban, aristocratic, intellectual communities. The Bektashi Order began for upperclass Turks who wished to live a non-traditional, largely mystical, Islamic Bohemian lifestyle, and eventually spread to commoners becoming the majority religion in Albania.

External links

• The Bektashi Order of Dervishes (http://www.hermetics.org/bektashi.html)

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