Statement of the Council of Muftis of the Islamic Community

Statement of the Council of Muftis of the Islamic Community:

We are Concerned about the Announcement of the Establishment of a State of the Bektashi Order in Albania

The Council of Muftis of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, at its 43rd regular session held on Friday, December 13, 2024, in Sarajevo, discussed the announcement regarding the establishment of a State of the Bektashi Order in Albania and expressed its concern about the potential realization of these plans.

The Council of Muftis believes that this represents a social experiment with numerous uncertain implications that could disrupt relations among traditional Muslim communities, as well as with other religious communities in the Balkans.

The Council of Muftis maintains that the legal frameworks within the European Union, which the countries of the Balkans aspire to join, as well as the existing laws in each Balkan country, provide a sufficiently broad framework for regulating the religious life of all communities, including the Bektashi one.

The Council of Muftis views this as a dangerous precedent for the politicization of religious identity and the introduction of forms of institutional religious organization that are foreign to this part of Europe.