The world's smallest country is about 30,000 pyeong, with 14 soccer fields
Sep 26, 2024
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It has an area of about 30,000 pyeong, about a quarter of that of the Vatican, the smallest country now. This is about the same area as about 14 soccer fields.
Albania announced plans to establish a 'Sufi Bektash Muslim' state near the capital, Tirana.
The country will have an administration in charge of its own passports, borders and religious affairs without Tirana's intervention, he explained. Citizenship is restricted to clergy and individuals engaged in state administration.
It will serve as the political home of Bektash Muslims, the fourth-largest religious community in Albania after Sunni Muslims, Orthodox Christians and Catholics.
Founded in the Ottoman Empire in the 13th century, the Bektash Muslim is known as an Islamic sect that is open and tolerant of other religions and philosophies.
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama announced at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on the 22nd (local time) that `We plan to support the transformation of the Vectash Muslims into a new center of sovereign states, moderation, tolerance and peaceful coexistence.'
According to Albania's 2023 census, the Bektash people make up about 10% of the Albanian Muslim population.
Baba Mondi, the Bectash religious leader, will lead the government, and Congress will oversee religious and administrative operations.
In other words, it will be given the same sovereignty as the Vatican and govern religious and administrative issues independently of Albania.
The Bektash Muslim side praised the government's decision in a statement that "the sovereignty of the Bektash order is an important step in strengthening the values of inclusion, religious harmony, and dialogue in an increasingly divided world.'
bellho@sportschosun.com
