Baba Rexheb

He was the founder and the head of the Bektashi Sufi lodge (tekke) located in Taylor, Michigan, United States.

Refat’s family had originally migrated to southern Albania from the Kosovar town of Gjakova.

[1] His mother was from Elbasan in central Albania as was his murshid, his spiritual guide, Selim Baba Elbasani.

At this time the Bektashi Teqe was also a working farm with orchards, fields, gardens, animals, and a large hen barn.

He had passed the tests for the ulemma back in Albania, but more important, he had studied Arabic and Persian texts with Selim Baba Elbasani for twenty years.

Baba Rexheb taught in Turkish an American student, Frances Trix, who learned Albanian, for over 20 years.

His türbe (mausoleum) is located on the tekke grounds and is open for pilgrims and truth-seekers of all walks.