Turks (term for Muslims)

The ethnonym Turks (Greek: Τούρκοι/Tourkoi, Serbo-Croatian: Turci/Турци) has been commonly used by the non-Muslim Balkan peoples to denote Muslims, regardless of ethno-linguistic background.[1] In the Ottoman Empire, the Islamic faith was the official religion, with members holding all rights, as opposed to non-Muslims who were restricted.[2] Non-Muslim (dhimmi) ethno-religious[3] legal groups were identified by different millets, meaning "nations".[2]

The term "Turk" was used as a synonym for Muslims, apart from ethnic Turks also notably denoting (the Islamized) Muslim Albanians and Slavic-speakers.[2] For the Balkan Christians, converting to Islam meant to 'become a Turk'.[2] There were also derivative terms, such as poturi and poturice (South Slavic for "Turkified"),[4][2] and tourkalvanoi (Greek for "Turco-Albanians"[5]).

In modern Turkey, all Muslims are regarded Turks, regardless of ethnicity and or language, as opposed to non-Muslim minorites.[3] With the transformation of the Ottoman Muslim millet into the modern Turkish nation, Turkish nationalism viewed all Muslims in Turkey as Turks, leaving the Christian outside the Turkish nation.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mentzel 2000, p. 8.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Antonello Biagini; Giovanna Motta (19 June 2014). Empires and Nations from the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Century: Volume 1. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 143–. ISBN 978-1-4438-6193-9.
  3. 1 2 3 Cagaptay 2014, p. 70.
  4. ↑ Mient Jan Faber (1996). The Balkans: A Religious Backyard of Europe. Longo Editore. p. 125. ISBN 978-88-8063-091-3.
  5. ↑ Megalommatis, M. Cosmas (1994). "Turkish-Greek Relations and the Balkans: A Historian's Evaluation of Today's Problems". Cyprus Foundation: 28.

Sources

  • Mentzel, Peter (2000). "Introduction: Identity, confessionalism, and nationalism". Nationalities Papers. 28 (1): 8.
  • Cagaptay, Soner (1 February 2014). The Rise of Turkey: The Twenty-First Century's First Muslim Power. Potomac Books, Inc. pp. 70–. ISBN 978-1-61234-650-2.
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