Bektāshīy(y)a

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Bektāshīy(y)a. Turkish Derwish order, originating in about the 12th cent. CE, of a particularly eclectic kind. The traditional founder was Hajji Bektash Vali, but very little is known of him. They are Shiʿite in so far as they acknowledge the Twelve Imāms, but different from other Muslims in disregarding such obligations as ṣalāt, and in allowing women to take part in rituals without the veil.