Haxhi Dede Reshat Bardhi was born in the village of Lusëm in Kukës. He received his first religious lessons from the village imam. He then attended a training course at the Tirana Madrasah. He was proficient in Arabic. In 1954, he surrendered to the World Headfather of the time, Dede Ahmet Ahmataj. During 1958-1967 he was interned with Dede Ahmet, in Drizar of Mallakastra. After 1967, he worked, for 23 years in a row, as a worker at the Agricultural Enterprise “Gjergj Dimitrov”, in Tirana. In 1991, he was put in charge of the World Headquarter of the Bektashi Community, becoming a revivalist of Bektashism after a period of interruption of communist persecution against him. (In the photo: Haxhi Reshat Bardhi Dede Baba)
Text: World Bektashi Patriarchate
Photo: © World Bektashi Patriarchate
Graphic processing: AHCF
