Turks in North Macedonia

Turks in North Macedonia
	; On municipal level ; ; On settlement level
Total population
	77,959 (2002 census)[1] ; 3.8% of total population
Regions with significant populations
	Skopje; Gostivar; Radoviš; Strumica; Bitola; Tetovo; Resen;
Languages
	Turkish; Macedonian;
Religion
	Sunni Islam

Turks in North Macedonia, also known as Macedonian Turks, (Macedonian: Македонски Турци, Turkish: Makedonya Türkleri) are the ethnic Turks who constitute the third largest ethnic group in the Republic of North Macedonia.[1] According to the 2002 census, there were 77,959 Turks living in the country, forming a minority of some 3.8% of the population.[2] The community form a majority in Centar Župa and Plasnica.[1]

The Turkish community claim higher numbers than the census shows, somewhere between 170,000 and 200,000.[2][3] There are additionally roughly 100,000 Torbeš and some of them still maintain a strong affiliation to Turkish identity.[4]

History

Bitola in the 19th century

Ottoman era

Macedonia came under the rule of the Ottoman Turks in 1392, remaining part of the Ottoman Empire for more than 500 years up to 1912 and the Balkan wars.[5] Ali Rıza Efendi - Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's father comes from Kodžadžik,[6][7] in Centar Župa Municipality, where there is a memorial house.[8]

Modern era

Once the Ottoman Empire fell at the beginning of the 20th century, many of the Turks fled to Turkey. Many left under Yugoslav rule, and more left after World War II. Others intermarried or simply identified themselves as Macedonians or Albanians to avoid stigma and persecution.[2] After 1953, a large emigration of Turks based on an agreement between the Republic of Turkey and Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia took place— around 80,000 according to Yugoslav data and over 150,000 according to Turkish sources.[9] Yet many remained and to this day Macedonian municipalities receive various donations from the Turkish Government and many Turkish tourists come to see Ataturk's origin place.

Census	Turks	Total population of North Macedonia	% Turks
Population of Macedonian Turks according to national censuses[9]
1913 Census	209,000[10]	1,082,902	19.3%
1948 Census	95,940	1,152,986	8.3%
1953 Census	203,938³	1,304,514	15.6%
1961 Census	131,484	1,406,003	9.4%
1971 Census	108,552	1,647,308	6.6%
1981 Census	86,591	1,909,136	4.5%
1991 Census	77,080	2,033,964	3.8%
1994 Census	78,019	1,945,932	4.0%
2002 Census	77,959	2,022,547	3.9%

³ 143,615 gave Turkish, 32,392 gave Macedonian and 27,086 gave Albanian as their mothertongue.[11]

The reconstructed house of Ali Rıza Efendi's family, in Kodžadžik, North Macedonia

Culture

Mustapha Pasha Mosque

The Kuršumli Han is one of many Turkish landmarks in the Old Bazaar, Skopje

Language

Macedonian Turks speak the Turkish language and secondly Albanian in the west and Macedonian in the east. Turkish is spoken with Slavic and Greek admixtures creating a unique Macedonian Turkish dialect.[12] However, Macedonian is also widely used amongst the community.[13]

Religion

According to the 2002 census, Turks make up 12% of the total Muslim population in Macedonia.[14]

Demographics

Turkish population in Macedonia according to the 2002 census (Turkish majority in bold):

Municipality	Turks 2002 Census[1]	% Turkish
Greater Skopje	8,595	1.7%
Gostivar	7,991	9.9%
Centar Župa	5,226	80.2%
Plasnica	4,446	97.8%
Radoviš	4,061	14.4%
Strumica	3,754	6.9%
Struga	3,628	5.7%
Studeničani	3,285	19.1%
Vrapčište	3,134	12.3%
Kičevo	2,998	5.3%
Debar	2,684	13.7%
Mavrovo and Rostuša	2,680	31.1%
Dolneni	2,597	19.1%
Ohrid	2,268	4.1%
Vasilevo	2,095	17.3%
Tetovo	1,882	2.2%
Resen	1,797	10.7%
Veles	1,724	3.1%
Bitola	1,610	1.8%
Valandovo	1,333	11.2%
Štip	1,272	2.7%
Bogovinje	1,183	4.1%
Prilep	917	1.2%
Karbinci	728	18.2%
Konče	521	14.7%
Tearce	516	2.3%
Bosilovo	495	3.5%
Dojran	402	11.7%
Čaška	391	5.1%
Pehčevo	357	6.5%
Demir Kapija	344	7.6%
Kočani	315	0.8%
Kruševo	315	3.3%
Kumanovo	292	0.3%
Vinica	272	1.4%
Negotino	243	1.3%
Sopište	243	4.3%
Mogila	229	3.4%
Makedonski Brod	181	2.5%
Kavadarci	167	0.4%
Lozovo	157	5.5%
Delčevo	122	0.7%
Berovo	91	0.7%
Sveti Nikole	81	0.4%
Petrovec	75	0.9%
Gradsko	71	1.9%
Bogdanci	54	0.6%
Demir Hisar	35	0.4%
Gevgelija	31	0.1%
Novaci	27	0.8%
Ilinden	17	0.1%
Kratovo	8	0.1%
Probištip	6	<0.1%
Jegunovce	4	<0.1%
Brvenica	2	<0.1%
Debarca	2	<0.1%
Kriva Palanka	2	<0.1%
Želino	2	<0.1%
Zelenikovo	1	<0.1%

National day

The Turks in Macedonia also have an own national day, the Day of Education in Turkish Language. By a decision of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia in 2007, December 21 became a national and non-working day for the Turkish community in the country.[15]

Media

There are both radio and television broadcasts in Turkish.[16] Since 1945, Macedonian Radio-Television transmits one hour daily Turkish television programs and four and a half hours of Turkish radio programs.[17] Furthermore, the newspaper Birlik is published in Turkish three times a week.[17]

Politics

The Turks have 3 political parties in Macedonia: Turkish Democratic Party (Türk Demokratik Partisi - TDP), Turkish Movement Party (Türk Hareket Partisi - THP) and Turkish National Unity Movement (Türk Millî Birlik Hareketi - TMBH). There is also the Union of Turkish NGOs in Republic of Macedonia (Makedonya Türk Sivil Toplum Teşkilatlar Birliği - MATÜSİTEB).[18]

The first political party of the Turks in Macedonia is the Turkish Democratic Party (TDP). Because of political and economic changes in Macedonia, the Turks, like other communities, have decided to get organized in order to protect and develop their political rights. As a result, a political association named the Turkish Democratic Union was established on 1 July 1990. The association identified its major goal to defend national and moral interests of the Turks in Macedonia and launched activities in this direction. Such developments allowed the Turks to transform their association into a political party. The transformation was completed on 27 June 1992, when the Turkish Democratic Union was renamed the Turkish Democratic Party at the second extraordinary congress under the leadership Avni Engüllü in Skopje. Since its establishment, TDP has been protecting the rights and interests of Turks in Macedonia.[18]

Moreover, several people of Turkish origin serve in high-ranking levels of Macedonian politics. Furkan Çako from the Turkish Democratic Party (TDP) serves as Minister without Portfolio in the Macedonian government. In the parliament, the Turks are represented by Kenan Hasip, TDP leader, and Enes İbrahim (THP). In addition, Salih Murat, an ethnic Turk, is a member of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Macedonia.[18]

Education

The first school in Turkish language in Macedonia was opened in 1944.[19] As of 2008 there were over 60 schools that offered lessons in Turkish. Turks have the right of education in Turkish for four years in East Macedonia. There are 264 teachers in these schools. There are gymnasiums in Gostivar and Centar Župa and a technical college in Tetovo where students are trained in Turkish. Few quota is spared for Turkish students at universities in Skopje and Bitola. There are also private Turkish schools established by Turkish entrepreneurs. Macedonian Turks show great interest in these schools.

Notable people

References

Republic of Macedonia State Statistical Office 2005, 34.
Knowlton 2005, 66.
Abrahams 1996, 53.
Skutsch, Carl (7 November 2013). "Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities". Routledge. Retrieved 19 August 2017 – via Google Books.
Evans 2010, 11.
"Census of population and dwellings in Macedonia 2002" (PDF). p. 326. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
ATATÜRK'ÜN BABA SOYU (KIZIL OĞUZ veya KOCACIK YÖRÜKLERİ)
"Memorial house of Ataturk in Kodžadžik". Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
Ortakovski 2001, 26.
Der Islam im Spiegel zeitgenössischer Literatur der islamischen Welt, Johann Christoph Bürge, page 89, 1985
Muslim Identity and the Balkan State, Hugh Poulton,Suha Taji-Farouki, page 96-97, 1997
Minahan 1998, 173.
Abrahams 1996, 54.
Nielsen, Akgonul & Alibasic 2009, 221.
"Премиерот Никола Груевски во работна посета на Република Италија". Влада на Република Македонија. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
Knowlton 2005, 107.
Ortakovski 2001, 32.
"Turks in Macedonia: current situation". The Politicon. The Politicon. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
"Contact Support". www.mia.com.mk. Retrieved 19 August 2017.

Bibliography

Abrahams, Fred (1996), A Threat to "Stability": Human Rights Violations in Macedonia, Human Rights Watch, ISBN 1-56432-170-3.
Dawisha, Karen; Parrott, Bruce (1997), Politics, power, and the struggle for democracy in South-East Europe, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-59733-1.
Gaber, Natasha; Joveska, Aneta (2004), Macedonian census results – controversy or reality? (PDF), South-East Europe Review, pp. 99–110, archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-16
Evans, Thammy (2010), Macedonia, Bradt Travel Guides, ISBN 1-84162-297-4.
Knowlton, MaryLee (2005), Macedonia, Marshall Cavendish, ISBN 0-7614-1854-7.
Minahan, James (1998), Miniature Empires: A Historical Dictionary of the Newly Independent States, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 0-313-30610-9.
Nielsen, Jørgen S.; Akgonul, Samim; Alibasic, Ahmet (2009), Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, Volume 1, BRILL, ISBN 90-04-17505-9.
Ortakovski, Vladimir T (2001), "Interethnic Relations and Minorities in the Republic of Macedonia" (PDF), Southeast European Politics, 2 (1): 25–45
Oustinova-Stjepanovic, Galina (2008), Religion and Politics of Sufi Turks in Macedonia A pre-field proposal (PDF), University College London
Republic of Macedonia State Statistical Office (2005), Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Macedonia, 2002 (PDF), Republic of Macedonia — State Statistical Office

Ethnic groups in North Macedonia
Macedonians (1,297,981)
Officially recognised minorities	Albanians (509,083) Turks (77,959) Romani (53,879) Serbs (35,939) Bosniaks (17,018) Aromanians (9,695)	Ethnic map of North Macedonia (2002)
Other minority groups	Arabs (6,300) Balkan Egyptians (3,713) Croats (2,686) Montenegrins (2,003) Bulgarians (1,417) Megleno-Romanians (< 1,000) Greeks (422) Armenians (~ 300) Jews (~ 200)	Ethnic map of North Macedonia (2002)
Demographics of North Macedonia