By COLlive reporter
As Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is trying to turn into an Arab hero on the back of Israel, a leading Islamic religious leader who wields influence in Turkey has criticized the rhetoric.
Haji Baba Edmond Brahimaj (Mondi), leader of the Bektashian Islamic Sufi order founded in the 13th century, distanced himself from the escalating threats against the Jewish state.
Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador last week in a row over an Israeli raid last year that killed 9 Turks on the Mavi Marmara flotilla bound to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
In a meeting with rabbis at the World Headquarters of the Bektashi Community in Tirana, Albania, Baba Mondi stated “There is no room for violence in religion. Religion should be pure spirituality.’
He hosted Tuesday a delegation of the Rabbinical Center of Europe, which included Israeli Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger and Albania’s Rabbi Yoel Kaplan, a Chabad Shliach.
Baba Mondi expressed regret over the current status of relations between Turkey and Israel, who were close in the past, and called to patch differences.
The delegation is visiting Albania and Montenegro this week to continue their work assisting the revival of smaller European Jewish communities.
“The Balkans have such a rich Jewish history, it is vital that we assist in the renewal of Jewish life there,” said Rabbi Aryeh Goldberg, Deputy Director of the RCE, who is travelling with the delegation.
In Albania, the delegation met with the President Bamir Topi, Prime Minister Sali Berisha and other officials.
The aim of these meetings was to receive recognition of the community by the government, acquire necessary budget allocations and land for communal institutions for the Jewish community and discuss restitution issues.
The meeting was coordinated by Rabbi Levi Matusof, Director of the European Jewish Public Affairs in Brussels, who maintains close relations with European governments.
WHY CRITICIZE TURKEY, WHAT ELSE ARE WE SUPPOSED TO EAT ON THANKSGIVING????
Not all Sufis are the same. Some are fanatics. Many Bektashis were professional merccenaries and learned not to mix business with pleasure.
the more the gentiles will want it too.
It’s truth time in the presence of the King.
This imam is a Sufi. They are sort of the NaNachs or Carlebach types of Islam – unfortunately they are a fringe group that is often persecuted by other Muslims.
Your article seems like wishful thinking. All the article quotes him as saying is that “there is no room for violence in religion. Religion should be pure spirituality.” This statement appears to have nothing to do with political issues, and the Jewish delegation was not there on behalf of Israel, but on behalf of the Rabbinical Center of Europe.
Something looks strange with these pics.