Al-Hajj Dedebaba Reshat Bardhi was Dedebaba of Bektashism from 1991 to 2011.
26 Facts About Reshat Bardhi
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In 1944, as the destruction of war raged around him, Dede Reshat Bardhi moved to Tirana with his family.
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When he was 14 years old, Dede Reshat Bardhi visited the Mother Tekke of the Bektashi Sufi Order and from that time took up residence there.
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Between 1957 and 1967, Dede Reshat Bardhi was placed under house arrest by the communist government along with Dedebaba Ahmed Myftar in a small tekke near Drizar, Mallakastra.
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In November 1991, Dede Reshat Bardhi made the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca together with the first Albanian pilgrims to go in a generation.
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In February 1992, Dede Reshat Bardhi travelled to the US to visit the Bektashi community of Detroit, where he was received by Baba Rexheb and senior clerics of other faiths.
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In May 1993, Dede Reshat Bardhi was received by the late head of Turkey's Bektashi community Bedri Noyan Dede, who organized meetings with senior Bektashi religious leaders in Istanbul and Izmir.
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On every religious holiday from 1991 and until his death Dede Reshat Bardhi received Albanian's presidents, prime ministers, speakers of the parliament, as well as ministers and ambassadors of foreign states.
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In 1994 and 1995 Dede Reshat Bardhi visited the Islamic Republic of Iran, where he was received by the highest leader of the Ahl al-Bayt Foundation, Mr Mir Hosseini and senior religious leaders from Iran, India and Kuwait.
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In March 2001 Dede Reshat Bardhi was invited to a special audience with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican, where both men discussed their resistance to communism.
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In October 2002, Dede Reshat Bardhi took part in the International Conference of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which was held in Azerbaijan.
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Dede Reshat Bardhi was again by Pope John Paul II and other high Catholic religious authorities.
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In February 2004 Dede Reshat Bardhi took part in the World Conference for Peace and Tolerance which was organized by Partiarkati Ekumenal and the Apel Ndergjegjes Foundation.
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In December 2005 Dede Reshat Bardhi was welcomed in Prishtina at thecongress of the Albanian World League.
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Reshat Bardhi was received by Kosovo's Minister of Culture, Mr Astrit Haracia.
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In May 2006, Dede Reshat Bardhi received the President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, at the Mother Tekke in Tirana.
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Reshat Bardhi presented Dede Reshat with a plaque from the Turkish Parliament honoring his outstanding service in spreading peace and goodwill.
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In July 2007, Dede Reshat Bardhi was received in Pristina by Bernard Kouchner, the French minister of foreign affairs.
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Dede Reshat Bardhi was hosted by the Head of UN Acting Administration in Kosovo, Joachim Rucker.
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In November 2007, Dede Reshat Bardhi participated in the World Conference on Inter-Religious and Inter-Civilization Dialogue held in Ohrid, Macedonia.
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Reshat Bardhi was heartily welcomed to this conference and received there by Nikola Gruevski, Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia.
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In June 2008, Dede Reshat Bardhi was invited to Ankara by the supreme mufti of the Republic of Turkey, Imam Ali Bardakoglu.
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In September 2008 Dede Reshat Bardhi hosted a visit by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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On October 13,2009, Dede Reshat Bardhi hosted a visit to the Mother Tekke by Noel Kinsella, Speaker of the Canadian Senate, during a visit to Tirana.
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Dede Reshat Bardhi was a spiritual guide to thousands of Bektashis around the world.
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Reshat Bardhi underwent two heart surgeries in the United States, the first in 2000 and the second in 2004.