Bektashism

"Bektashi" redirects here. For the proposed sovereign state, see Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order.

Order of Bektashi dervishes
Bektashism[1]
AbbreviationBektashism
TypeDervish order
HeadquartersWorld Headquarters of the Bektashi, Tirana
(previously Haji Bektash Veli Complex, Nevşehir)
Region
Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Turkey, other Albanian diaspora (Italy, United States) and Turkish diaspora (Germany, France, Austria, Belgium)
Baba Mondi
Key people
WebsiteOfficial website
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Bektashism (Albanian: Urdhri Bektashi) is an Islamic Sufi mystic order that originated in 13th-century Anatolia and became widespread in the Ottoman Empire. It is named after the saint Haji Bektash Veli. The Bektashian community is currently led by Baba Mondi, their eighth Bektashi Dedebaba and headquartered in Tirana, Albania.[6] Collectively, adherents of Bektashism are called Bektashians or simply Bektashis.[1][7]

Originally one of many Sufi orders within Sunni Islam, by the 16th century the order adopted some tenets of Twelver Shia Islam, including a veneration of Ali, the son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad, and the Twelve Imams, as well as a variety of syncretic beliefs. The Bektashis acquired political importance in the 15th century, when the order dominated the Janissary Corps.[8] After the foundation of the Turkish Republic, Kemal Atatürk banned religious institutions that were not part of the Directorate of Religious Affairs and the community's headquarters relocated to Albania. Salih Nijazi was the last Dedebaba in Turkey and the first in Albania. The order became involved in Albanian politics, and some of its members, including Ismail Qemali, were major leaders of the Albanian National Awakening.

Bektashis believe in the ismah of the Islamic prophets and messengers, and the Fourteen Infallibles: Prophet Muhammad, his daughter Fatima, and the Twelve Imams.[9] In contrast to many Twelver Shia, Bektashis respect all companions of Muhammad, including Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Talha and Mu'awiya, though consider Ali to be the most superior of all companions.[10]

In addition to the spiritual teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, the Bektashi order was later significantly influenced during its formative period by the Hurufis (in the early 15th century), the Qalandariyya stream of Sufism, figures like Ahmad Yasawi, Yunus Emre, Shah Ismail, Shaykh Haydar, Nesimi, Pir Sultan Abdal, Gül Baba, Sarı Saltık and to varying degrees more broadly the Shia belief system circulating in Anatolia during the 14th to 16th centuries. The mystical practices and rituals of the Bektashi order were systematized and structured by Balım Sultan in the 16th century.

According to a 2005 estimate made by Reshat Bardhi, there are over seven million Bektashis worldwide, though more recent studies put the figure as high as 20 million.[11] In Albania, they make up 9% of the Muslim population and 5% of the country's population.[12] An additional 12.5 million Bektashis live in Turkey.[13] Bektashis are mainly found throughout Anatolia, the Balkans and among Ottoman-era Greek Muslim communities.[14] The term "Alevi–Bektashi" is currently a widely and frequently used expression in the religious discourse of Turkey as an umbrella term for the two religious groups of Alevism and Bektashism.[15]

  1. ^ a b "Encyclopedia Iranica, "BEKTĀŠĪYA"". Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Encyclopedia Iranica, "ḤĀJĪ BEKTĀŠ"". Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  3. ^ a b "ʿALĪ AL-AʿLĀ (d. 822/1419), also known as Amīr Sayyed ʿAlī, principal successor of Fażlallāh Astarābādī, founder of the Ḥorūfī sect". Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Encyclopedia Iranica, "ASTARĀBĀDĪ, FAŻLALLĀH" (d. 796/1394), founder of the Ḥorūfī religion, H. Algar". Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Encyclopedia Iranica, "HORUFISM" by H. Algar". Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  6. ^ Gibb, H. A. R.; Kramers, J. H.; Lévi-Provençal, E.; Schacht, J.; Lewis, B. & Pellat, Ch., eds. (1960). "Bektāshiyya". The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume I: A–B. Leiden: E. J. Brill. p. 1162. OCLC 495469456.
  7. ^ "The Bektashi Shi'as of Michigan: Pluralism and Orthodoxy within Twelver Shi'ism". shiablog.wcfia.harvard.edu. Archived from the original on 31 August 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Bektashiyyah | Religion, Order, Beliefs, & Community | Britannica".
  9. ^ Moosa, Matti (1 February 1988). Extremist Shiites: The Ghulat Sects. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-2411-0.
  10. ^ Baskel, Zekeriya (27 February 2013). Yunus Emre: The Sufi Poet in Love. Blue Dome Press. ISBN 978-1-935295-91-4.
  11. ^ Norman H. Gershman (2008). Besa: Muslims who Saved Jews in World War II (illustrated ed.). Syracuse University Press. p. 4. ISBN 9780815609346.
  12. ^ Census 2023
  13. ^ "Sabahat Akkiraz'dan Alevi raporu | soL haber". Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  14. ^ Ayhan Kaya (2016) The Alevi-Bektashi order in Turkey: syncreticism transcending national borders, Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 16:2, 275–294, DOI: 10.1080/14683857.2015.1120465
  15. ^ "The Amalgamation of Two Religious Cultures: The Conceptual and Social History of Alevi-Bektashism". 12 May 2022.