Wikipedia's first sentence called it “mystic”. Today it says “islamic scholar”. Sections present on October 6, 2023 no longer exist: “Different orders within Alevism; Further reading”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
Hunkar Haci Bektaş Veli was a Turkish mystic , humanist and a philosopher who lived approx from 1209 - 1271 in Anatolia ( Turkey ). Originally from Central Asia and a follower of the 'Yasawi' Sufi order a Sufi order that was very active in Central Asia both in missionary work and military activity against the Turkish tribes of the area that had yet to be converted to Islam. Sent by his Sheikh to Anatolia where he remained until his passing away a Sufi order soon developed based upon his teachings. The order spread from Anatolia during Ottoman times primarily into the Balkans were Bektashi Sheikhs (known as Dede's or Baba's)helped convert many Albanians to Islam. The Bektashi order throughout Ottoman times remained very popular with the Albanian people and there were Bektashi 'Tekkes' throughout Macedonia, Kosova, Albania and anywhere else that Albanian people lived in large numbers, other Balkan Muslim people most notably the Bosnians and other slav Muslims seemed to have prefered the Naqshbandi, Mevlevi (also spelled Mawlawi) Khalwati and Qadiri Sufi orders the book 'Death and the Dervish' by the Bosnian writer Mesa Selimovic is centred around a Mevlevi Tekke. There were also Bektashi Tekkes to be found in Egypt after the Ottoman conquest of that country but again the order did not spread. During the Ottoman period the Bektashi order was most popular amongst the rural population of Anatolia in contrast to the Mevlevis who generally attracted artisans or the Naqshbandi or Halveti (Khalwati) orders who attracted religious scholars and government officials. It was also during the Ottoman period that many Alevi Muslims in Turkey became followers of the Bektashi order which may have further polarised it from the mainstream Sunni ideology of the Ottoman empire. The Bektashi Sufi order was also the order of the elite Ottoman Janissary corps and when they were abolished in 1826 by Sultan Mahmud II the Bektashi order suffered the same fate. Their Tekkes were closed and the Sheikhs of the Tekkes and their dervishes were sent to staunchly Sunni Muslim villages and towns and their Tekkes handed over to Sunni Sufi orders (mostly Naqshbandi, for example the Goztepe Tekke in Istanbul was given to the Naqshbandis during this period) Although the Bektashi order later retrieved its lost Tekkes they along with all other Sufi orders were banned by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Turkey and the Bektashi Tekkes were closed along with all others. The main Bektashi Tekke in the village of Hajji Bektash in Anatolia is open as a museum and his resting place is still visited by both Sunni and Alevi Muslims and festivals are held there every year. Also the Goztepe Tekke in Istanbul is now used as a metting place for Alevi Muslims.1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 17275972.
The opening as it stood in 2010 12 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Hajji Bektash Wali ( Ḥājī Baktāš Walī ; ) was an Islamic mystic , humanist and philosopher from Khorasan who lived approximately from 1209-1271 in Anatolia .The name attributed to him can be translated as "The Pilgrim Saint Bektash." He is the eponym of the Bektashi Sufi order and is considered as one of the principal teachers of Alevism .He is also a renowned figure in the history and culture of both Ottoman Empire and modern day Turkey .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 356872587.
The opening as it stood in 2015 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Sculpture of Haji Bektash Veli Haji Bektash Veli or Ḥājī Baktāsh Walī ( Ḥājī Baktāš Walī ; ) was an Alevi Muslim mystic , Sayyid , humanist and philosopher from Nishapur in Khorasan , Persia ( Iran ), who lived and taught from approximately 1209 to 1271 in Anatolia .He is revered among Alevis for an Islamic understanding that is esoteric (spiritual), rational, progressive and humanistic.Alevi and Bektashi Muslims believe the path of Haji Bektash is the path of Ali ibn Abu Talib , since Ali was the source of Bektash his teachings.His original name was " Sayyeed Muhammad ibn Sayyeed Ebrāheem Ātā", was one of the figures who flourished in the Sultanate of Rum and had an important influence on the Turkoman nomads of Asia Minor .He is also referred to as the Sultan of Hearts and the Derwish of the Derwishes .Haji Bektash Veli was a descendant of the 7th Shi'a Imam Musa Kazim .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 669448130.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Sculpture of Haji Bektash Veli in Turkey Haji Bektash Veli or Ḥājī Baktāš Walī ( ، , ) was an Alevi Muslim mystic , saint , Sayyid , humanist , and philosopher, who lived from 1209 to 1271. He lived and taught from approximately 1209 to 1271 in Anatolia . He is revered among Alevis for an Islamic understanding that is esoteric (spiritual), rational, progressive, and humanistic. Alevi and Bektashi Muslims believe the path of Haji Bektash is the path of ʿAli ibn Abu Talib , since Ali was the source of Bektash's teachings. His original name was " Sayyid Muhammad ibn Sayyid Ibrāhim Ātā". He was one of the figures who flourished in the Sultanate of Rum and had an important influence on the Turkish nomads of Asia Minor . He is also referred to as the Sultan of Hearts and the Derwish of the Derwishes . Haji Bektash Veli was a descendant of Musa Kazim , the Seventh Imam of the Athnā‘ashariyyah Shi'a Muslim sect .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 959736030.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Islamic scholar and mystic (1209–1271) "Bektash" redirects here.Sculpture of Haji Bektash Veli in Turkey Haji Bektash Veli ( ; ; ) (1209 – 1271) was a mystic , saint , sayyid , and philosopher from Khorasan who lived and taught in Anatolia . His original name was Sayyid Muhammad ibn Sayyid Ibrāhim Ātā. He is also referred to as the "Sultan of Hearts" and the "Dervish of the Dervishes".He is revered among Alevis for an Islamic understanding that is esoteric , rational and humanistic .Alevi and Bektashi Muslims believe the path of Haji Bektash is the path of Haqq-Muhammad-Ali since they were the source of Bektash's teachings.He was one of the many figures who flourished in the Sultanate of Rum and had an important influence on the culture of Turkic nomads of Asia Minor.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1178941394.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Islamic scholar and mystic (1209–1271) "Bektash" redirects here. Sculpture of Haji Bektash Veli in Turkey Haji Bektash Veli ( Persian : حاجی بکتاش ولی , romanized : Ḥājī Baktāš Valī ; Turkish : Hacı Bektaş Veli ; Albanian : Haxhi Veli Bektashi ; c. 1209–1271 ) was an Islamic scholar , mystic , saint , sayyid , and philosopher from Khorasan who lived and taught in Anatolia . His original name was Sayyid Muhammad ibn Sayyid Ibrāhim Ātā. He is also referred to as the "Sultan of Hearts" and the "Dervish of the Dervishes". He is revered among Alevis for an Islamic understanding that is esoteric , rational and humanistic . Alevi and Bektashi Muslims believe the path of Bektash is the path of Haqq-Muhammad-Ali since they were the source of Bektash's teachings. He was one of the many figures who flourished in the Sultanate of Rum and had an important influence on the culture of Turkic nomads of Asia Minor.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1297942235. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “mystic”. Today it says “islamic scholar”. Sections present on October 6, 2023 no longer exist: “Different orders within Alevism; Further reading”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since October 7, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
mystic
Now
islamic scholar
Sections that no longer exist
Present on October 6, 2023, absent today, with no near-matching heading in the current article and the article shorter overall, so this is not a renamed heading or a topic absorbed into a fuller treatment. 2 sections of 400 characters or more gone since October 6 2023, with the article 1,049 characters shorter.
Different orders within Alevism
Further reading
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.