The world’s newest and smallest state, only 27 hectares in size, is being planned to be established in the Albanian capital, Tirana. Although still just a project on paper, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama already has a name for it: the Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order.

Why is this important

Modeled after the Vatican, although only a quarter of its size, the declared goal of this project, as Prime Minister Rama revealed in an interview with The New York Times, is to promote a tolerant version of Islam—a tolerance that Albania proudly upholds.

What was said

According to Prime Minister Rama, the state envisioned in Tirana will be a sovereign enclave modeled after the Vatican. “We must take care of this treasure, which is religious tolerance, and we must never take it for granted,” he said. A moderate Islamic microstate would send a powerful message: “Do not let the stigma of Muslims define who Muslims are.”

Meanwhile, the head of the global Bektashi community, headquartered in Tirana and known to his followers as Baba Mondi, stated, “We deserve a state. We are the only ones in the world who speak the truth about Islam.”

Speaking to The New York Times, the Bektashi cleric said that in his envisioned sovereign state—with its own administration, passports, and borders—alcohol would be allowed, women would be free to wear whatever they want, and no lifestyle rules would be imposed. “God forbids nothing; that’s why He gave us a mind.”

Context

According to Prime Minister Rama, work has already begun with local and foreign legal experts on the project of this new sovereign state within Albania. Rama admits that this idea will take time to become a reality. According to the latest census, the Bektashi community in Albania consists of 115,000 people, although there are no exact figures on their numbers worldwide.

The Bektashi Order is a Sufi Islamic sect with roots in the 13th-century Ottoman Empire, blending elements of Shia Islam with mystical Sufi traditions. They migrated to Albania and established their center there in the early 20th century, largely due to the secularization reforms in Turkey that led to the suppression of religious orders, prompting the Bektashi to find a more tolerant environment in Albania.