Dervishes Essay

Islam is the second biggest faith in the world. It is a monotheistic, peaceful religion which believes that there is only one god in the whole universe and his name is Allah. In his book, “Islam the Straight Path”, L.Esposito (1998) writes that the main ambition of Islam is to spread into the entire world and every act is based on the words of Qur’an and Muhammad says and deeds. But throughout the years of spreading 12 new orders were created in Islam. They were deviations from the classical Islam. One of these orders was The Bektashi Order of Dervishes. Their religion was also known as the popular Islam or (non-canonical) (L.Esposito, 1998). The aim was to reach Allah in a different way. Dervishes could be driven in the history of Islam in the same role that monks stay in Christianity. Their main difference is that dervishes to don’t stay closed in cloisters but they are close to the people in the everyday life. Now the most significant order that took place in the Balkans and it is still present now days the Bektashi order of Dervishes is very famous in Albania. In order to understand clearly the role of this Sufi order (Tariqat) we need to explain some questions raised. Who created it? When and where was the Bektashi order born? What were the circumstances that leaded to his creation? What are its main features? Why did it spread in the Balkans? What is its role now? What is the place of it in the Islamic world? The world center momentarily speaking is in Tirana, Albania. Bektashism has its own place in the Islamic world but the influence of it and the crucial role it played on Balkans especially in Albania is considerable.

The Bektashi order of dervishes is the biggest Muslim Sufi in Albania but his existence extends also in o...

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...anonical one. However it managed to create the best of worlds, a modern point of view and way to reach to God, in compliance with the Islamic shariah for their believers. The Tariqat was known for their knowledge and intellect and probably this is the reason why it hugged some of the highest powered people at the time. It is no need to say that Bektashi leaders were of a very high intellect and they managed to survive the both disasters that happened. One can see that their diplomacy and knowledge’s were at a very high standard. They proved themselves to be an example to follow for the creation of a new state like Albania was at that time having on their branch some of the most well known Albanians the history have known. Bektashies were important in the other parts of Balkans too like Kosovo or Macedonia and their existence still lives today especially in Albania.