Albania's Prime Minister wants to give a state and nationhood -- similar to the Vatican in Italy -- to a Muslim minority within the country.

Albania is roughly 50% Muslim, but just 10% of that population are part of the Bektashi Order. Bektashi Muslims are the fourth largest religious community in Albania, after Sunni Muslims ...

Albania is planning to create a sovereign microstate for the Bektashi Order, a Sufi Muslim sect, within its capital Tirana, ...

The mini state, whose territory will consist of around 0.1 square kilometers, is planned to be the “Vatican” of the Shi’ite Bektashi Sufi order – Albania’s fourth largest religious ...

The Bektashi Order, making up about 10% of Albania’s Muslims, welcomed the move as a step toward global religious tolerance. The order planned to operate independently, similar to the Vatican.

according to Albania's 2023 census. The Bektashi Order in Tirana praised the decision. "The sovereignty of the Bektashi Order is an important step in strengthening the values of inclusion ...

Albania's prime minister has revealed plans ... An offshoot of the Sufi sect of Islam, the Bektashi Order was established in the 13th century, and combines "a loose interpretation of the Quran ...

Albania is roughly 50% Muslim, but just 10% of that population are part of the Bektashi Order. Bektashi Muslims are the fourth largest religious community in Albania, after Sunni Muslims ...

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said Sunday his country would transform the Tirana-based Bektashi Muslims, an Islamic Sufi order, into a sovereign state to promote ...