Dede Ahmet Ahmataj was born in Brataj, Vlora. Finished the city school in the years 1924-1929. In 1937, he went to the Dibra district as a soldier and after being released, he wore the cloak of a bektashi cleric in the tekke of Bllaca, with father Zeneli, until 1939. Then he served in the tekke of Elbasan, Turan (Tepelena), Vlora, until 1942. From this year until May 1944, he fought with a gun in the ranks of the National Liberation Anti-Fascist Army and was assigned to the XVIII Assault Brigade. He was in the partisan battalions of Martanesh, Elbasan and Peza. In 1943, he was interned in Porto Romano of Durrës. The spring of 1945 finds him in the position of the District Commander, in Martanesh. On October 2, 1945, he received the title “Father” and served full of devotion in the Tekke of Father Hamit in Elbasan, as well as in theTekke of Kuzum Baba in Vlora. On June 2, 1948, the General Council of the Bektashi Community elected him as the World Headfather. In the years 1948-1958, he organized religious education and dozens of books on bektashism were translated into Albanian under his supervision. He became a factor of religious harmony among the traditional religious communities in Albania. He resolved a series of obligations of the Albanian Bektashi Community with other bektashis around the world. He participated in several international peace conferences. In 1958, Dede Ahmet Myftari, as a result of pressure from the party-state, was forced to leave the important post and spend the difficult years of internment in Drizar of Mallakastra. Under these conditions, the Tekke of Drizar was transformed into the Holy See of the World Headquarter of Bektashi Community. (In the photo: Dede Ahmet Ahmataj)
Text: World Headquarter of Bektashi Community
Photo: © World Headquarter of Bektashi Community
Graphic processing: AHCF
