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Excerpt
from
BALKAN
STATES
The
Islamic communities of the Balkan states and South-East Europe in
general (all Sunnis of the Hanefite rite) comprise a relatively
large number of ethnic groups speaking half a score of different
languages. They have lived, and continue to live, under social and
political conditions that vary widely from one state to another.
In some countries, the Moslem influence has reflected the strength
of their numbers; in others, life has been dominated by the ideology
of the local regime. Despite these differences, the Balkan Moslem
communities have much in common. They share a common history, dating
from the invasion and occupation of the region by Ottoman forces,
beginning in the 14th century, and their population can be traced
to the same three sources: Turkish (or more properly, Turkish-speaking)
settlers who arrived in the wake of the invasion; Moslem settlers
from other parts of the Islamic world who also followed the invaders;
and indigenous people who converted to Islam. Conversion was most
common in four areas: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria (the
well-known Pomaks of the Rhodopes, whose mountain lands also extend
into the modern states of Greece and Macedonia), and Crete. During
the Ottoman era, these groups enjoyed privileged status, since non-Moslems
were officially denied full citizenship. But after the reconquista,
they were reduced (everywhere except in Albania) to the status of
either a religious minority or a minority both ethnic and religious,
suffering various consequences of this inferior status. Today, in
all the countries of the region (again except Albania) Moslem communities
remain minorities -- sometimes very small minorities -- in predominantly
Christian (either Catholic or Orthodox) societies. This history
has affected different Moslem communities in different ways, depending
on the regime in power, the historical period, and the group's ethnic
origins. This article will examine the situation of Islamic communities
on the Balkan peninsula and neighboring countries, starting with
the least numerous:
Hungary
Two
distinct Islamic communities have existed in Hungary. The first
lived there between 1526 and 1699, as a result of the Ottoman conquest
and occupation of many Hungarian territories. It disappeared, however,
immediately after the reconquista, when those Moslems who
did not flee with the retreating armies were either massacred or
forced to convert to Christianity. A new Islamic community was created,
beginning in 1878, by the immigration of a substantial number of
Moslems from Bosnia-Herzogovina (occupied at the time by Austria-Hungary),
as well as an influx of Ottoman Turkish craftsmen, traders, and
students. Over time, however, these groups shrank as their members
were assimilated into the general population. Today in Hungary there
is no organized Islamic community, though a few hundred -- perhaps
a few thousand -- individuals adhere to the faith: Arabs, Turks,
Pakistanis, Iranians, and other immigrants, plus a handful of local
converts.
Romania
Two
small Islamic communities have existed on Romanian territory in
modern times. The first was built on Ada Kale, a small island in
the Danube conquered by the Ottomans late in the 15th century. At
the end of World War II, the island's population numbered about
1,000, but the community was dispersed in 1968, when the island
was submerged by the construction of the Iron Gate hydroelectric
dam. The second community is in Dobroudja, a region conquered by
the Ottomans in the 14th and 15th century, but ceded to Romania
in 1878, an event that triggered a mass exodus of Moslems to Turkey.
Today, the population numbers about 50,000 Turks and Tatars, most
of them farmers. Under Communist rule, this small community found
itself in a difficult situation: Turkish and Tatar schools were
closed, as was the country's only Moslem "seminary" at Medjidiya;
Moslem religious publications were banned; and travel restrictions
made a pilgrimage to Mecca impossible. Then, beginning in 1972,
the changing international situation and the country's enormous
economic difficulties forced the authorities to grant a few concessions
to the Moslems, clearly seeking to improve Romania's image with
wealthy Arab and Moslem states. Today, there is little information
available on the Moslems of Dobroudja or on the ties they must have
developed over the past two decades with religious bodies in Turkey,
the Arab states, and other Islamic countries.
Greece
The
regions that comprise modern Greece, conquered by the Ottomans in
the mid-14th Century (though some islands were not seized until
the 16th or 17th century) underwent an extremely long occupation
and were not liberated until the War of Independence and subsequent
campaigns, lasting from 1821 to 1912. Much of the Moslem population
fled; those who did not were expelled from their lands, massacred,
or forced to convert. After Greece and Turkey exchanged refugee
populations in 1923, the only Moslems left in Greece were three
small communities with a total of 130,000 to 150,000 inhabitants
-- about 2% of the national population. These groups include the
Turks (and Gypsies) of western Thrace (numbering 100,000 to 120,000),
the Bulgarian-speaking Pomaks in the Rhodopes (about 25,000 people),
and a handful of Turks (perhaps 3,000) in the Dodecanese islands,
primarily Rhodes and Kos. Given the advanced age of most of its
members, the Dodecanese group is gradually dying out. The Pomaks,
who live in the Rhodope mountains along the Bulgarian border, form
a virtual closed society, self-reliant and isolated from the outside
world by both rugged terrain and strategic considerations: the Greek
government has declared the area a military zone and closed it to
all outside civilians. The principal Moslem group, therefore, is
the one in western Thrace, a community that is alive but muzzled
by local authorities and very much at the mercy of day-to-day changes
in relations between Greece and Turkey -- relations which are, in
turn, influenced by its presence. At this point, there is no sign
of improvement in the conditions -- religious, political, social,
or economic -- of this disadvantaged community, which the Greek
government wishes would simply disappear.
Bulgaria
The
lands of modern Bulgaria, like those of Greece, were under Ottoman
occupation for an exceptionally long period, from the 14th century
conquest until 1878 in northern Bulgaria and until 1908 in the south.
But the number of Moslems there was so large that despite the dislocations
of war, subsequent massacres, migration both forced and voluntary,
and some incidents of forced conversion, the 1946 census found that
13.35% of the Bulgarian population still identified itself as Moslem.
The Bulgarian Islamic community is composed of four distinct and
quite different ethnic groups:
Bulgarian
Moslems (numbering about 150,000), known as Pomaks. They speak
Bulgarian, know nothing of Turkish, and live in the Rhodope mountains
in the southwestern part of the country, in a region centered on
Razlog. Illiterate, for the most part, until relatively recent times,
they have never really had a local intelligentsia. Ever since Bulgaria
regained its independence, civil and military authorities have sought
to weaken the Pomaks' distinctive identity -- a campaign pushed
to extremes by the Communists in the last few decades. In the '80s,
for instance, the government forced all minorities to "Bulgarianize"
family and given names. Nevertheless, since the fall of the Communists
it has become clear that both the ethnic identity and the religious
traditions of the Pomaks are far from "eradicated," and that they
continue to "pose a problem" to the country's present rulers.
Turks,
who are the largest Moslem group in the country. Their number has
varied widely over the years since 1878 and today stands at 500,000
to 600,000, by conservative estimate. They are scattered through
various regions (Deli Orman, Dobroudja, along the Danube, and in
the Western Rhodopes) and it is impossible to say how many of them
are actually practicing Moslems. The split between religious and
non-religious Turks has come into the open with the recent emergence
of two rival political groups. On the one hand, the "Movement for
Rights and Freedom" is a secular political party with ties to official
organizations in Turkey. On the other, followers of the Grand Mufti
(and there are, at this time, two rival Grand Muftis in Bulgaria!)
form a party that maintains strong ties to Islamic religious organizations
in the Arab world. The drive to "Bulgarianize" names, and the xenophobic
policies it heralded, brought about a massive exodus: some 300,000
refugees reached Turkey in 1989. Some of them have since returned,
while many others eventually resettled in third countries.
Tatars,
numbering a few thousand (they were 6,000 in 1946). Practicing Moslems
make up a portion of this population, but it is impossible to determine
how large this group might be. The Tatars are being gradually absorbed
into the larger Turkish minority.
Gypsies,
whose number is uncertain -- perhaps 100,000. Most consider themselves
Moslems, though religion does not appear to play a very large part
in their lives.
There
is one additional aspect worth noting about the Turkish-Tatar community
in Bulgaria: it is divided into two distinct religious groups. While
the vast majority are Sunni of the Hanefite Rite, there is a minority
of Alevis (called alijani or kizilbash) in Deli Orman,
who worship in the Shiite tradition.
Albania
The
region of modern Albania was conquered by the Ottomans over the
course of the 14th and 15th centuries. The conquest was followed
by the spread of Islam through the local population -- a process
so extensive that, by the time an Albanian state was created in
1912, 70% of the country's population was Moslem. Then as now, this
large community has two noteworthy characteristics: it is completely
homogeneous, since virtually all the Moslems in the country are
Albanian by origin and by language; and it consists of two parallel
communities, one Sunni (about 80% of the country's Moslems) and
the other comprising followers of the Bektachi sect. These two communities
have consistently pursued an independent and autonomous course.
In the period between the two world wars, the Albanian Sunni community
separated itself from the Caliphate, by a decision taken at its
first Congress, held in Tirana in 1923. In the same period, the
Bektachis gained recognition as the fourth official religion of
the country, on an equal footing with the Sunnis, Orthodox Christians,
and Roman Catholics. In 1967, however, the Communist authorities
banned all religious organizations in the country and closed all
houses of worship; there were no exceptions or exemptions. The recent
fall of this repressive regime has brought about, as might be expected,
the reopening of the mosques, churches, and tekke of the
Bektachi and other mystical Moslem brotherhoods. Albania today is
witnessing a religious revival of broad sweep -- a revival being
watched with great interest in religious circles of the Arab (and
non-Arab) world eager to see Islam established, as firmly as possible,
on the European continent.
The
former Yugoslavia
It
is in the former Yugoslavia -- home to the largest number of Balkan
Moslems, more than three million -- that the situation has been,
and remains, the most complex, reflecting the turmoil of history
and the existence of several ethnic and linguistic groups. The Ottoman
occupation of what became the Yugoslav republics took place over
many decades, from the late 14th century to the late 16th century.
Islam took root among some of the local populations, especially
in Bosnia-Herzogovina and in Macedonia, while Ottoman officials,
both military and administrative, settled in many parts of the country.
Other Moslem immigrants established themselves in parts of the country,
including semi-nomadic Turks and non-Turkish Moslems, like the Albanians
who came to Kosovo beginning in the late 17th century.
Following
the reconquista, Moslem populations were expelled from some
regions and concentrated in others, creating today's distinct ethnic
and geographic pattern: In Bosnia-Herzogovina, a region occupied
by Austria-Hungary from 1878 to 1918, the Islamic population consists
of Slavic Moslems speaking Serbo-Croatian; in Kosovo, it consists
of Albanians, plus a small number of Turks who remained after Yugoslav
independence; and in Macedonia, Slavic Moslems, Turks, and ethnic
Albanians, both recent immigrants and long-time residents, live
side by side. Within the limits of this article, it is clearly impossible
to recount, even briefly, the highly eventful history of each of
these large groups, let alone describe the experience of many smaller
ones, like the one-time Turkish sanjak of Novi Pazar.
The
75-year history of the country as a whole falls into four main periods:
the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918-1941), the Second World War (1941-1944),
the communist dictatorship (1945-1989) and the present dissolution
of the federation. Each of these eras has had its own impact on
the region's Moslem populations. Under the Kingdom, Yugoslavia had
two very different Islamic groups: on the one hand, the tightly
organized Moslems of Bosnia-Herzogovina, whose leaders were the
de facto heads of an ill-defined "Yugoslav Moslem Community,"
and on the other, the Moslems of "South Serbia" (i.e., Kosovo
and Macedonia), much less unified because of their enormous ethnic
diversity (Albanians, Turks, Macedonian Slavs and Gypsies). During
the Second World War, Bosnia was annexed by the puppet Croatian
fascist state, and some Bosnian Moslems joined the Ustachi terrorists
-- often against their better judgment. Both during and after the
war, ties to the Ustachi had tragic consequences. Under the Tito
regime, the situation became even more complex. Beginning in 1960,
the government decided to favor the Yugoslav Moslem community by
granting them significant freedom of action and material advantages.
In 1967, a Moslem Nation was recognized as one of the country's
constituent peoples, though the recognition extended only to Moslems
in Bosnia-Herzogovina. This privileged status rapidly deteriorated,
however, as ethnic and religious tensions grew following the sharp
downturn in the Yugoslav economy and the collapse of the Communist
regime.
Recent
events in the former Yugoslavia have effected the three main Moslem
groups in the following ways: In Macedonia, local Moslems
are seeking to build stronger ties with their non-Moslem neighbors.
Above all, they seek to free themselves from the grip of Albanian
Moslems from Kosovo, who continue to migrate to western and southern
Macedonia in large numbers. In Kosovo, the situation is explosive,
owing to the longstanding enmity between the Serbs and the Albanians,
which was raised to a fever pitch during the communist era. It is
virtually impossible to say anything precise about the current religious
situation of the Albanian community, since the assertion of Albanian
nationalism monopolizes public discourse, concealing the true rule
of the Islamic religion, of both the mosque and the mystical brotherhoods.
Bosnia-Herzegovina has seen Islam politicized by the Democratic
Action Party of Alija Izetbegovic, whose theories are clearly explained
in two books, The Islamic Declaration (1970) and Islam
between East and West (1980; English translation, 1984). Izetbegovic
has pushed the various Bosnian Moslem communities toward a "holy
union," even though many of them had previously shown little enthusiasm
for any sort of religious extremism. The country's Orthodox Serbs
and Catholic Croats have similarly retreated into hard-line nationalism,
bolstered by their respective churches. Exploited by leaders who
are all former members of the Titoist nomenklatura, this
communal division has led to the gruesome combat that began in the
spring of 1992 and continues at this writing.
Bibliography
For
an overall view of the Moslem communities of South-East Europe,
see A. Popovic, L'Islam balkanique: Les musulmans de sud-est
européen dans la periode post-ottomane (Berlin-Wiesbaden, Otto
Harrasowitz, 1986). This volume has an extensive annotated bibliography,
by country and by period. For Hungary: G. Lederer, "Islam in Hungary,"
Central Asian Survey, 11/1, 1992, pp. 1-23; for the Pomaks
of Bulgaria, A. Kalionski, "The Pomak Dilemma," in La transmission
du savoir dans le monde musulman périphérique (CNRS/EHESS, Paris),
Lettre d'Information no. 13, March 1993, pp. 122-130;
for Albania, N. Clayer, L'Albanie, pays des derviches: Les ordres
musulmans en Albanie à l'époque post-ottomane 1912-1967 (Berlin-Wiesbaden,
Otto Harrasowitz, 1990); and for the former Yugoslavia, A. Popovic,
Les musulmans yugoslaves 1945-1989: Médiateurs et métaphores
(Lausanne, L'Age d'Homme, 1990).
Provided
by Mathew Harris
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