Baba Rexheb
Encyclopedia
Rexheb Beqiri better known by the religious name
Baba Rexheb, was an Albanian
Islam
ic scholar and mystic
. He was the founder and the head of the Bektashi
Sufi lodge (tekke
) located in Taylor
, Michigan
, United States
.
, southern Albania
, at a time when Albania was still part of the Ottoman Empire
. His father, Refat Beqiri, was a local mullah in the old mahale of Dunavat. Refat’s family had originally migrated to southern Albania from the Kosovar
town of Gjakova. He entered the Bektashi Order at the age of sixteen and was promoted to the rank of dervish
at the age of twenty. He chose to take an additional vow as a mücerrid (celibate) dervish, which was never broken. For the next twenty-five years he served in the Asim Baba Tekke, under the guidance of his uncle, Baba Selim. During the World War II
, Dervish Rexheb became and outspoken critic of the communist partisans under Enver Hoxha
. Because of this he was forced to flee following the war. He spent four years in a displaced persons camp in Italy
before taking up residence in the Kaygusuz Sultan Tekke in Cairo
, Egypt
. He stayed there for several years before he was invited to go to the United States by his younger sister, Zainep.
Baba Rexheb spent the next forty-five years building the Bektashi community in North America. He wrote one book, the voluminous Misticizma Islame dhe Bektashizma (partially translated into English as Islamic Mysticism and Bektashism) as well as completing a full-translation of the famous Turkish epic poem Hadikat-i Su'ada about the Battle of Karbala
by Fuzuli
. Baba Rexheb also produced four issues of Zeri Bektashzme, the tekke's periodical. He was a man of great spiritual integrity and his love and compassion attracted Muslims, both Bektashi and Sunni alike, as well as Christians, Albanians and non-Albanians. His encyclopedic knowledge of Islamic Sufism in general and Bektashim in particular were incredible. In addition to his native Albanian
, Baba Rexheb spoke Turkish
fluently, had scholarly knowledge of both Arabic
and Persian
, and spoke Greek
, Italian
and some English
as well. Some of his amiable style of guidance and softhearted charm has been noted down by American scholar Frances Trix in several of her academic works on the tekke as well as on master-student relationships in traditional Sufism.
Baba Rexheb died on August 10, 1995 (Rabi' ul-Awwal 12, 1416 Hirah). His türbe
(mausoleum) is located on the tekke grounds and is open for pilgrims and truth-seekers of all walks.
Religious Name
A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for a religious purpose, and which is generally used in religious contexts. Different types of religious names may be in use among the clergy of a religion, as well in some cases among the laity....
Baba Rexheb, was an Albanian
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic scholar and mystic
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
. He was the founder and the head of the Bektashi
Bektashi
Bektashi Order or Bektashism is an Islamic Sufi order founded in the 13th century by the Persian saint Haji Bektash Veli. In addition to the spiritual teachings of Haji Bektash Veli the order was significantly influenced during its formative period by both the Hurufis as well as the...
Sufi lodge (tekke
Zawiyya
The word zawiyya can refer to a sufi brotherhood or the shrine of a saint. Zawiyyas used to be very common in especially North Africa and Iran.-References:...
) located in Taylor
Taylor, Michigan
Taylor is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 63,131 at the 2010 census. Taylor was originally known as Taylor Township and residents of the township voted to incorporate as the City of Taylor in May 1968...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Early life
Baba Rexheb was born as Rexheb Beqiri, on 18 August 1901, into a family with strong Bektashi ties in GjirokastërGjirokastër
Gjirokastër is a city in southern Albania with a population of 43,000. Lying in the historical region of Epirus, it is the capital of both the Gjirokastër District and the larger Gjirokastër County...
, southern Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, at a time when Albania was still part of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. His father, Refat Beqiri, was a local mullah in the old mahale of Dunavat. Refat’s family had originally migrated to southern Albania from the Kosovar
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
town of Gjakova. He entered the Bektashi Order at the age of sixteen and was promoted to the rank of dervish
Dervish
A Dervish or Darvesh is someone treading a Sufi Muslim ascetic path or "Tariqah", known for their extreme poverty and austerity, similar to mendicant friars in Christianity or Hindu/Buddhist/Jain sadhus.-Etymology:The Persian word darvīsh is of ancient origin and descends from a Proto-Iranian...
at the age of twenty. He chose to take an additional vow as a mücerrid (celibate) dervish, which was never broken. For the next twenty-five years he served in the Asim Baba Tekke, under the guidance of his uncle, Baba Selim. During the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Dervish Rexheb became and outspoken critic of the communist partisans under Enver Hoxha
Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha was a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary andthe leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania...
. Because of this he was forced to flee following the war. He spent four years in a displaced persons camp in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
before taking up residence in the Kaygusuz Sultan Tekke in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. He stayed there for several years before he was invited to go to the United States by his younger sister, Zainep.
Bektashi career
In 1954, Baba Rexheb was promoted to the rank of baba by the head of the Kaygusuz Tekke, Ahmed Sirri Dede, and established the First Albanian American Bektashi Monastery in the Detroit suburb of Taylor.Baba Rexheb spent the next forty-five years building the Bektashi community in North America. He wrote one book, the voluminous Misticizma Islame dhe Bektashizma (partially translated into English as Islamic Mysticism and Bektashism) as well as completing a full-translation of the famous Turkish epic poem Hadikat-i Su'ada about the Battle of Karbala
Battle of Karbala
The Battle of Karbala took place on Muharram 10, in the year 61 of the Islamic calendar in Karbala, in present day Iraq. On one side of the highly uneven battle were a small group of supporters and relatives of Muhammad's grandson Husain ibn Ali, and on the other was a large military detachment...
by Fuzuli
Fuzûlî
Fużūlī was the pen name of the Azerbaijani or the Bayat branch of Oghuz Turkish and Ottoman poet, writer and thinker Muhammad bin Suleyman...
. Baba Rexheb also produced four issues of Zeri Bektashzme, the tekke's periodical. He was a man of great spiritual integrity and his love and compassion attracted Muslims, both Bektashi and Sunni alike, as well as Christians, Albanians and non-Albanians. His encyclopedic knowledge of Islamic Sufism in general and Bektashim in particular were incredible. In addition to his native Albanian
Albanian language
Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...
, Baba Rexheb spoke Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
fluently, had scholarly knowledge of both Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
and Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, and spoke Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
and some English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
as well. Some of his amiable style of guidance and softhearted charm has been noted down by American scholar Frances Trix in several of her academic works on the tekke as well as on master-student relationships in traditional Sufism.
Baba Rexheb died on August 10, 1995 (Rabi' ul-Awwal 12, 1416 Hirah). His türbe
Turbe
Türbe is the Turkish word for "tomb", and for the characteristic mausoleums, often relatively small, of Ottoman royalty and notables. It is related to the Arabic turba, which can also mean a mausoleum, but more often a funerary complex, or a plot in a cemetery.-Characteristics:A typical türbe...
(mausoleum) is located on the tekke grounds and is open for pilgrims and truth-seekers of all walks.