Macedonian Muslims
Encyclopedia
The Macedonian Muslims , also known as Muslim Macedonians, Torbeš, ; (the latter name is slightly pejorative), in older sources Pomaks
are a minority religious group within the community of ethnic Macedonians
who are Muslim
s (primarily Sunni, although Sufism
is widespread among the population). They have been culturally distinct from the majority Orthodox Christian
Slavic Macedonian community for centuries, and are linguistically distinct from the larger Muslim ethnic groups in Macedonia: the Albanians
and Turks
. The Macedonian Muslims are often classed in 5 categories based on their home region. These regions are Gora
, Debarska Župa
, Drimkol, Golo Brdo
and the Reka region.
who converted to Islam
during the centuries when the Ottoman Empire
ruled the Balkans
. Factors prompting their conversion were manifold.
As with many cases, it is often argued that non-Muslims living under Muslims would see it more favourable to convert to Islam rather than not.
Another example, is the argument that non-Muslims were treated differently under the legal system thus prompting some of them to convert to Islam.
Converts also benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the empire - in practice, Christianity was the religion of a subjugated class. In addition, the various Sufi orders (like the Khalwati, Rifa'is and Qadiris) all played a role in the conversion of the Macedonian Slav population.
Municipality is populated by a large number of Macedonian Muslims although for personal reasons most of the population chooses to identify as Turks
. Most of the villages in the Centar Župa and Debar regions are populated by Macedonian Muslims. The Struga municipality
also holds a large number of Macedonian Muslims who are primarily concentrated in the large village of Labuništa
. Further North in the Debar region many of the surrounding villages are inhabited by Macedonian Muslims. The Dolna Reka region is also primarily populated by Macedonian Muslims. They form the remainder of the population which emigrated to Turkey in the 1950s and 1960s. Places such as Rostuša
and Tetovo
also have large Macedonian Mulsim populations. Most of the Turkish population along the Western Macedonian border are in fact Macedonian Muslims. Another large concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in the so called Torbešija which is just south of Skopje
. There are also major concentrations of Macedonian Muslims in the central region of the Republic of Macedonia, surrounding the Plasnica municipality
and the Dolneni municipality
.
The Macedonian Muslim population of Albania and Serbia
n province of Kosovo
and Metohija can be primarily found along the Macedonian border. There have been reports that Macedonian language textbooks have been distributed in Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija to Gorani school students which are mostly situated on Šara mountain.
, before World War II
, the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27,000. Subsequent censuses have produced dramatically varying figures: 1,591 in 1953, 3,002 in 1961, 1,248 in 1971 and 39,355 in 1981. Commentators have suggested that the latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks. Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World War II
more than 70,000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other Muslim groups, most notably the Albanians (see Albanization). It can be estimated that the Macedonian Muslim population in the Republic of Macedonia between 55,000 and 80,000.
as their first language. Despite their common language and racial heritage, it is almost unheard of for Macedonian Muslims to intermarry with Macedonian Orthodox Christians. Macedonian ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the Christian Macedonian Slavs, but instead a religious minority within the Macedonian Slav ethnic community. Intermarriage with the country's other Muslim groups (Albanians
and Turks
) are much more accepted, given the bonds of a common religion and history.
Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are in fact Slavicized Turks
, although this interpretation is not widely supported. The Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are not Slavic Macedonians; this prompted a strong reaction when his thesis was first published in 1988.
When the Socialist Republic of Macedonia
was established in 1944, the Yugoslav
government encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian identity. This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church
.
The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics, amplified by the tendency of some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates. In 1990, the chairman of the Macedonian Muslims organization, Riza Memedovski, sent an open letter to the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia, accusing the party of using religion to promote the Albanisation
of the Macedonian Muslims.http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/pdf/cedime-se-macedonia-muslims.PDF. A controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official language of Muslims in Macedonia. The decision prompted protests from the leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community.
and North America
.
Pomaks
Pomaks is a term used for a Slavic Muslim population native to some parts of Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo. The Pomaks speak Bulgarian as their native language, also referred to in Greece and Turkey as Pomak language, and some are fluent in Turkish,...
are a minority religious group within the community of ethnic Macedonians
Macedonians (ethnic group)
The Macedonians also referred to as Macedonian Slavs: "... the term Slavomacedonian was introduced and was accepted by the community itself, which at the time had a much more widespread non-Greek Macedonian ethnic consciousness...
who are Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s (primarily Sunni, although Sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
is widespread among the population). They have been culturally distinct from the majority Orthodox Christian
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
Slavic Macedonian community for centuries, and are linguistically distinct from the larger Muslim ethnic groups in Macedonia: the Albanians
Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia
Albanians are the largest ethnic minority in the Republic of Macedonia. Of the 2,022,547 citizens of Macedonia, 509,083, or 25%, are Albanian according to the latest national census in 2002. The Albanian minority lives mostly in the north-western part of the country...
and Turks
Turks in the Republic of Macedonia
Turks in the Republic of Macedonia, also known as Macedonian Turks, are the ethnic Turks who constitute the third largest ethnic group in the Republic of Macedonia. According to the 2002 census, there were 77,959 Turks living in the country, forming a minority of some 4% of the population. The...
. The Macedonian Muslims are often classed in 5 categories based on their home region. These regions are Gora
Gora
Gora may refer to:*Gora , a clan of Jats found in north India*Gora or gaura, a Hindi and Indo-Aryan word for a light-skinned person*Gora , by Indian Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore...
, Debarska Župa
Centar Župa
Centar Župa , Turkish: Merkez Jupa) is a village in Republic of Macedonia, in majority inhabited by Turks. It is the seat of the Centar Župa municipality....
, Drimkol, Golo Brdo
Golo Brdo
Golo Brdo is a village in the municipality of Bijeljina, Bosnia and Herzegovina....
and the Reka region.
Islamification
The Macedonian Muslims are largely the descendants of Orthodox Christian Slavs from the region of MacedoniaMacedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
who converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
during the centuries when the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
ruled the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
. Factors prompting their conversion were manifold.
As with many cases, it is often argued that non-Muslims living under Muslims would see it more favourable to convert to Islam rather than not.
Another example, is the argument that non-Muslims were treated differently under the legal system thus prompting some of them to convert to Islam.
Converts also benefited from the prestige accorded to the religion of the ruling class of the empire - in practice, Christianity was the religion of a subjugated class. In addition, the various Sufi orders (like the Khalwati, Rifa'is and Qadiris) all played a role in the conversion of the Macedonian Slav population.
Areas of settlement
The largest concentration of Macedonian Muslims can be found in Western Macedonia and Eastern Albania. The Centar ŽupaCentar Župa
Centar Župa , Turkish: Merkez Jupa) is a village in Republic of Macedonia, in majority inhabited by Turks. It is the seat of the Centar Župa municipality....
Municipality is populated by a large number of Macedonian Muslims although for personal reasons most of the population chooses to identify as Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
. Most of the villages in the Centar Župa and Debar regions are populated by Macedonian Muslims. The Struga municipality
Struga municipality
Struga is a municipality in western Republic of Macedonia. Struga is also the name of the town where the municipal seat is found. Struga Municipality is part of the Southwestern Statistical Region.-Geography:...
also holds a large number of Macedonian Muslims who are primarily concentrated in the large village of Labuništa
Labuništa
Labuništa is a village in the southwestern region of the Republic of Macedonia, located in Struga Municipality.- Geography :The village of Labuništa is located at above sea level on the Eastern side of the Jablanica mountain range. The village is located around from Struga, the closest town. ...
. Further North in the Debar region many of the surrounding villages are inhabited by Macedonian Muslims. The Dolna Reka region is also primarily populated by Macedonian Muslims. They form the remainder of the population which emigrated to Turkey in the 1950s and 1960s. Places such as Rostuša
Rostuša
Rostuša is a village in Republic of Macedonia. It is a seat of the Mavrovo and Rostuša municipality.In 1426 Gjon Kastrioti from Albania and his three sons donated the right to the proceeds from taxes collected from the villages Rostuša and Trebište and from the church of Saint Mary, which was in...
and Tetovo
Tetovo
Tetovo is a city in the northwestern part of Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena River.The city covers an area of at above sea level, with a population of 86,580 citizens in the municipality. Tetovo is home to the State University of Tetovo and South East...
also have large Macedonian Mulsim populations. Most of the Turkish population along the Western Macedonian border are in fact Macedonian Muslims. Another large concentration of Macedonian Muslims is in the so called Torbešija which is just south of Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
. There are also major concentrations of Macedonian Muslims in the central region of the Republic of Macedonia, surrounding the Plasnica municipality
Plasnica municipality
Plasnica is a municipality in western Republic of Macedonia. Plasnica is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found. Plasnica Municipality is part of the Southwestern Statistical Region...
and the Dolneni municipality
Dolneni municipality
Dolneni is a municipality in central Republic of Macedonia. Dolneni is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found. The municipality is part of the Pelagonia Statistical Region.-Geography:...
.
The Macedonian Muslim population of Albania and Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n province of Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
and Metohija can be primarily found along the Macedonian border. There have been reports that Macedonian language textbooks have been distributed in Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija to Gorani school students which are mostly situated on Šara mountain.
Demographics
The exact numbers of Macedonian Muslims are not easy to establish. The writer Ivo Banac estimates that in the old Kingdom of YugoslaviaKingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
, before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Macedonian Muslim population stood at around 27,000. Subsequent censuses have produced dramatically varying figures: 1,591 in 1953, 3,002 in 1961, 1,248 in 1971 and 39,355 in 1981. Commentators have suggested that the latter figure includes many who previously identified themselves as Turks. Meanwhile the Association of Macedonian Muslims has claimed that since World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
more than 70,000 Macedonian Muslims have been assimilated by other Muslim groups, most notably the Albanians (see Albanization). It can be estimated that the Macedonian Muslim population in the Republic of Macedonia between 55,000 and 80,000.
Language and ethnic affiliation
Like their Christian ethnic kin, Macedonian Muslims speak the Macedonian languageMacedonian language
Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...
as their first language. Despite their common language and racial heritage, it is almost unheard of for Macedonian Muslims to intermarry with Macedonian Orthodox Christians. Macedonian ethnologists do not consider the Muslim Slavs a separate ethnic group from the Christian Macedonian Slavs, but instead a religious minority within the Macedonian Slav ethnic community. Intermarriage with the country's other Muslim groups (Albanians
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
and Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
) are much more accepted, given the bonds of a common religion and history.
Some Turkish ethnologists have claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are in fact Slavicized Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
, although this interpretation is not widely supported. The Macedonian writer Jakim Sinadinovski has similarly claimed that the Macedonian Muslims are not Slavic Macedonians; this prompted a strong reaction when his thesis was first published in 1988.
When the Socialist Republic of Macedonia
Socialist Republic of Macedonia
The Socialist Republic of Macedonia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
was established in 1944, the Yugoslav
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
government encouraged the Macedonian Muslims to adopt an ethnic Macedonian identity. This has since led to some tensions with the Macedonian Christian community over the widespread association between Macedonian national identity and adherence to the Macedonian Orthodox Church
Macedonian Orthodox Church
The Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric or just Macedonian Orthodox Church is the body of Christians who are united under the Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia, exercising jurisdiction over Macedonian Orthodox Christians in the Republic of Macedonia and in exarchates in the Macedonian...
.
Political activities
The principal outlet for Macedonian Muslim political activities has been the Association of Macedonian Muslims. It was established in 1970 with the support of the authorities, probably as a means of keeping Macedonian Muslim aspirations in control.The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a significant factor in Macedonian Muslim politics, amplified by the tendency of some Macedonian Muslims to vote for Albanian candidates. In 1990, the chairman of the Macedonian Muslims organization, Riza Memedovski, sent an open letter to the Chairman of the Party for Democratic Prosperity of Macedonia, accusing the party of using religion to promote the Albanisation
Albanisation
Albanisation is a term used to describe a linguistic or cultural assimilation to the Albanian language and Albanian culture.- In Kosovo :The term is used in reference to Kosovo....
of the Macedonian Muslims.http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/pdf/cedime-se-macedonia-muslims.PDF. A controversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or council of the Islamic community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official language of Muslims in Macedonia. The decision prompted protests from the leaders of the Macedonian Muslim community.
Occupation
Many Macedonian Muslims are involved in agriculture, and also work abroad. Macedonian Muslims are well-known as fresco-painters, wood carvers and mosaic-makers. In the past few decades large numbers of Macedonian Muslims have emigrated to Western EuropeWestern Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Links
- Literature about the Islam and the Muslims on the Balkans and in Southeast Europe
- Muslims of Macedonia
See also
- Macedonians (ethnic group)Macedonians (ethnic group)The Macedonians also referred to as Macedonian Slavs: "... the term Slavomacedonian was introduced and was accepted by the community itself, which at the time had a much more widespread non-Greek Macedonian ethnic consciousness...
- Greek MuslimsGreek MuslimsGreek Muslims, also known as Greek-speaking Muslims, are Muslims of Greek ethnic origin, nowadays found mainly in Turkey, although migrations to Lebanon and Syria have been reported. Historically, Greek Orthodoxy has been associated with being Romios, i.e...
- Muslim Bulgarians
- GoraniGorani (Kosovo)The Gorani or Goranci are a South Slavic ethnic group inhabiting the Gora region of the Balkans, located at the triangle between Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia. Another autonym of this people is "Našinci" with literally meaning "our people"...
- Islam in the Republic of MacedoniaIslam in the Republic of MacedoniaMuslims in the Republic of Macedonia form roughly one-third of the nation's total population. It has the fifth largest Muslim population in Europe by percentage after Turkey , Kosovo , Albania , and Bosnia-Herzegovina . Some northwestern and western regions of the country have Muslim majorities...