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D.E. Brahimaj: Address to the International Leadership Conference 2018
Written by Haji Dede Edmond Brahimaj, leader of the Bektashi Order of Sufis
Monday, February 19, 2018
Address to International Leadership Conference 2018, Seoul, Korea, February 18-22, 2018
Bismilahi Rrahmani Rrahim!
In the name of God, the Merciful, the All Compassionate!
Dear honored leaders of religions and states!
Dear organizers!
I’m lucky to be today in this auditorium. Let me bring to you the most sincere wishes of millions of Bektashi believers in the whole world and my wishes in the capacity of the leader of the Bektashi Order. May the Lofty God accept our sacrifice in the service of dialogue and interreligious collaboration, as well as in every effort for peace and prosperity between nations, no matter their race, colors, ethnicities, or cultural identities.
As I said earlier, I am lucky because the Albanian example of religious tolerance and sincere collaboration between religious communities has gone beyond the time and space limits of the Balkans and Europe, thus making it a unique case for the civilization of today. This is because here Mohammad, Christ, and David have kept entire generations of believers in light and hope, not lining them up on hostile crusades but arming them with love and deep devotion for the Creator. I say this in full confidence; the centurial history of my nation is my witness. This is one of the reasons that Pope Francis on his visit in 2014 to Tirana said, “This is a monument of religious fraternity. This cultivates coexistence.
The religious mosaic of my country has a unique harmony in its elements. I think that the idea that we are children of one common God, meant to love and respect one-another, is the idea that keeps this harmony in the skies of religions and faiths, despite varieties of diversities. We are sure that as we come closer to one in this earth’s generations and joys, our souls will be closer to Him up there because in this way we’ll be within our mission and within the universal mercy of our Creator.
Meanwhile I want to say that there is a proverb in my country like nowhere else in the Balkans: “The house of Albania belongs to God and to the friend.” This means that each house is the house of God, and that we see without any prejudice the relations that might be with other religions.
Dear friends!
The Bektashi Order of Islam was founded over 800 years ago by our leader Haji Bektash Veli. It has grown and developed day by day because, among other things, it has survived through having a peaceful soul, open toward everybody. But this peaceful soul has not impeded Bektashi believers from uniting themselves with the destinies of the nation, making them protectors of the independence and identity of the religious tradition. The Bektashi doctrine, historically proven, has played an important role in the religious fraternity within our country and in the harmony and religious collaboration in the generations of clerics and believers.
We are proud that with the will of God we’ll enrich day to day this wonderful tradition.
Thank you all!
God bless you!
Amen!
To go to the International Leadership Conference Schedule 2018, click here.