The albanian bektashi sufi tariqa is a heterodox, liberal shia metaphysical order, constituting the only indigenous shia community in europe, except for some alevibektasis in bulgaria and trakya european turkey or thrace, and the descendants of turkish and kurdish immigrants in western europe. Ive never really been one to talk about myself, but i do feel it is important for readers to know who they are reading about and to develop a rapport with, so here it goes. Following the suppression of the janissaries on june 15, 1826, the bektashi order was abolished on july 8, 1826. I swear to god vallahi i read this and thought for a second my friend wrote this question. Despite its relatively liberal beliefs, the bektashi order is little known in the west because it is largely confined to turkey and the balkans its only significant american. The bektashi order of dervishes john kingsley birge. Where to find the historical information as historical background knowledege about the bektashi order of dervishes if we go back to the history publicity by hammer, we can find the first written information about the tradition of first blessing of the janissary soldiers at their begining by hadji bektash veli hac. Among the many dervish fraternities which have exercised their influence over the lives of a large proportion of the turkish people of the ottoman empire the bektashis have held a unique place. Recent and misguided attempts to return the center of bektashi attention and activity to turkey, in my opinion, will not and should not succeed. My observations in the field demonstrate how both the saints teachings and bektashialevi traditions, rituals and myths are still highly valued today by alevis. The bektashi tariqa was, for centuries, based in turkey, and while nonconformist in.
The order is particularly found throughout anatolia and the balkans. From the point of view of mere numbers they have been significant. The bektashi order is a sufi order and shares much in common with other islamic mystical movements, such as the need for an experienced spiritual guidecalled a baba in bektashi parlance as well as the doctrine of the four gates that must be traversed. It acquired definitive form in the 16th century in anatolia turkey and spread to the ottoman balkans, particularly albania originally one of many sufi orders within orthodox sunni islam, the bektashi order in the 16th century adopted tenets of the. The latter usage is found particularly in persian and turkish, corresponding to the arabic term faqir. Bektasilik, is a sufi order tariqat founded in the th century by the persian saint haji bektash veli. It was alleged that mehmet ii vowed to behead seventy thousand bektashis, and that when he could not find that many to execute he ordered the headpieces to be cut off bektashi tombstones until the count should be complete. There are also other mystical brotherhoods of dervishes including the halvets, kadiris, rifais, sadis and tidjanis, which have been present in albania for centuries. The beliefs of the bektashi are a mixture of various elements of muslim mainly shiite and christian sectarianism. A large number of academics consider bektashism to have fused a number of shia and sufi concepts, although the order contains rituals and doctrines that are distinct unto.
Veli, the legendary founder of the order whose ideas gave rise to the bektashialevi spiritual philosophy, is situated. Tomori in albania writing in his historija e bektashinjvet 3 says that before the destruction of the janissaries in 1826 and the accompanying abolition of the bektashi order, annual statistics were kept, and that these figures showed the number bektashis to be 7,370,000 seven million. The bektashi order of dervishes hardcover december 1, 1994 by ph. Published with the kind permission of the alevi bektashi research website, which is full of many more interesting articles on the subject and relative topics. It was alleged that mehmet ii vowed to behead seventy thousand bektashis, and that when he could not find that many.
A crosscultural examination of the expressive culture of. The main ritual practiced by the dervish is the dhikr, which involves the repeated recitation of a devotional formula in praise of allah as a means of attaining an ecstatic experience. In between the dervish and the dedebaba is the baba who not only serves as the head of a lodge, but also as a teacher to the as. Bektasilik, is a dervish order tariqat named after the th century persian1234 alevi wali saint haji bektash veli, but founded by balim sultan. After this short historical introduction, the author began analyzing some internal factors which made them advanced over territory which the seljuk commander had not planned to invade he said. Burkes firsthand account of his modernday pilgrimage be. Bektashi properties were turned over to naqshbendi dervishes. The bektashi order of dervishes john kingsley birge free ebook download as pdf file. Ali turabi baba, postnisin of the bektashi tekke on mt. Bektashiyyah, turkish bektasi, order of sufi mystics founded, according to their own traditions, by. In the darvishes, he admits finding it rather strange that the dervishes of the bektashi order consider themselves quite the same as the freemasons, and are disposed to fraternize with them. This is a revised edition of an older work which remains the primary english source of information about the beliefs, practices, and history of the bektashi sufi order. It is not a rigid, scholastic theology with an inflexible religious law but it is an answer to the seek of perfectness in mankind as to say homo perfectus.
Bektashis were also notably active in the kosovo liberation war of 199899, as volunteers in the kosovo liberation army. Further notes on the literature of the hurufis and their connection with the bektashi order of dervishes. Brown commented how in turkey freemasonry had come to be generally regarded as atheism of the most condemnable character. Baba musa qazim bakalli, who died in 1981 aged 101, was one of the greatest personalities in the spiritual history of kosova. The bektashi pages by naim frasheri paperback lulu. Since that time i see them and similar images everywhere, i know there is a important message for me and this board will help me discover it. Bektashi bektashija, an order of dervishes and the members of this order. Overview the origin of the bektashi order of dervishes belongs to the many sufi movements of islam that developed in the middle east from the eleventh and twelfth centuries onwards.
She is a bektasi albanian as well and asked me thr same exact questions before haha. The bektashi sufis should join the kosova sufi union btk. Pdf the bektashi tarikah of dervishes olsi jazexhi. Besides, tabriz, the center of azeri turkic literature, was described by. The bektashi sufi order has long been recognized for its tolerant and broadminded interpretation of islam. Feb 11, 2018 recently in a meditation a whirling dervish appeared. See more ideas about whirling dervish, sufi and islamic art. Bektashi sufi dervish from tetovo, macedonia youtube. Their focus is on the universal values of love and service, deserting the. When i visited the thenruined teqe, in 1999, i was told. The bektashi dervishes represent one of the most remarkable phenomena in the history of islamic spirituality, or sufism. See all 7 formats and editions hide other formats and editions. For centuries dervish masters have instructed their disciples by means of these teaching stories, which are said to increase perception and knowledge and provide a better understanding of man and the world. The order is mainly found throughout anatolia and the balkans, and was particularly strong in albania, bulgaria, and among.
The order, whose headquarters is in tirana, albania, is mainly found throughout anatolia and the balkans, and was. The characteristic of these three poems is that the last 5 john kingsley birge, the bektashi order of dervishes london. Bektas veli, the th century patron saint of the shiiteoriented bektashi order of dervishes and bektashi saints whose tombs turbeler are still functioning, although many of the nearby dervish lodges tekkeler were destroyed during the nineteenth century at the order of the ottoman sultan. Mount tomorr in albania is attractive not only for its picturesque landscapes and a rarely achievable solitude for a modern traveler, it is also a place of pilgrimage and a place of worship of the europes last bektashi order of dervishes. Part of the interview with bektashi sufi dervish from arabati baba te.
Between middle eastern heterodoxy, indigenization and. They originated as an islamic movement among turkic people and are named for hunqar haji bektash veli 120971, who was born in eastern iran and composed verse in. Bektashi order article about bektashi order by the free. Dervish tales are more than fable, legend, or folklore.
A study of velayetnames as a source for history the institute of economics and social sciences of bilkent university by riza yildirim in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree. Bektashi says everyone has to educate himselfherself to get closer to be a homo perfectus. One of the key events in the transformation of the order in the nineteenth century was the abolition of the janissary corps and the prohibition of the order. Chapter thirty the ottoman empire, judaism, and eastern. In all these endeavors, bektashism epitomized sufism as a social movement.
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