northern Albanian town of Kukës. His primary education was taken at the hand of the
village imam (Islamic prayer leader). He studied the Arabic language in order to
understand the rituals required by Islamic practice. In 1954 he became a dervish at the
Bektashi World Center which was then under the leadership Dedebaba Ahmet Myftar,
who became his personal spiritual guide (murshid). During the period between 1958-
1967 he was incarcerated together with Dedebaba Ahmet Myftar in a “re-education”
camp in Dizar, near the town of Mallakastra. After the 1967 he was put to work in the
farming commune “Gjergj Dimitrov” in Tirana for the next twenty-three years.
In 1991 after the prohibition on religion was rescinded Baba Reshat Bardhi made the
Islamic traditional pilgrimage (Hajj) to the Holy City of Mecca and received the title
“Hajji”. In this year, with the assistance of Mother Theresa, he re-opened the Bektashi
World Center in Tirana. On the 20th of July 1993 he organized and chaired the Sixth
Bektashi Congress, where he was selected to be the Dedebaba (lit. geat-grandfather) of
the world community. Seven years later, in September 2000 the Seventh Bektashi
Congress was held and in September 2005 the eight of such congresses.
In the last 15 years since the end of the communist regime approximately 120 Bektashi
sacred sites have been reopened or rebuilt and put into the use by believers, allowing
for a strong and genuine rebirth of the Bektashi faith in Albania. This was done
entirely under the personal supervision of Dedebaba Reshat. The Dedebaba has
participated in various conferences and international roundtable discussions in places
such as Germany, Italy, Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Macedonia, and Kosovo dedicated to
the problems of our time. He has played an important role in keeping the good
relations between the various faith communities and religions in Albania by seeing
religious tolerance as God’s will. Dedebaba Reshat has been honored with the title
“Torch of Democracy” in Albania, has been praised by the President of the United
States, George W. Bush, for the posture he took against barbarity of September 11th,
2001. During the World Conference for International Dialog, he received praise from
Pope John Paul II for his good work towards the promotion of faith and his
contributions towards peace. In the last few years Dedebaba Reshat Bardhi has been
bestowed with honorary citizenship by the cities of Berat, Kukës, Kruja, Bulqiza, and
Martanesh. In March 2005, on the occasion of his 70th birthday, Dedebaba Reshat
was awarded the “Golden Naim Frashëri” decoration from the President of Albania,
Mr. Alfred Moisiu.
