Circassians in Libya () refers to the

Circassian diaspora The Circassian diaspora refers to ethnic Circassian people around the world who live outside their homeland Circassia. The majority of the Circassians live in the diaspora, as their ancestors were settled during the resettlement of the Circass ...

settled in Libya, numbering about 30 thousand today.Радио Эхо Москвы
/ref>Инорм-аналит издание "Сегодня РУ"
/ref> They live mainly in

Misrata Misrata ( ; also spelled Misurata or Misratah; ar, مصراتة, Miṣrāta ) is a city in the Misrata District in northwestern Libya, situated to the east of Tripoli and west of Benghazi on the Mediterranean coast near Cape Misrata. With ...

and

Benghazi Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη (''Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghazi ...

. They have been integrated into Libyan society and are mostly Arabised.

History

Unlike many other Circassian diasporas in the Middle East, the Libyan Circassians are not descendants of the Circassians exiled during the Circassian genocide, but are descendants of the

Circassian Mamluks Circassian may refer to: * Circassia, a former geographical region located in present-day European Russia, Northern Caucasus ** Circassian coast, on the Black Sea * Circassians The Circassians (also referred to as Cherkess or Adyghe; Adyghe ...

who served in the armies of the Arab caliphs since the 9th century. The traditions among Libyan Circassians have mostly been Arabised.Amjad Jaimoukha, The Circassians: A Handbook, Curzon, Surrey England, 2001, p.119.

Gaddafi era

The

Circassians in Kosovo The Circassians in Kosovo (; ; ) are a small group of the Circassian people who lived in Kosovo beginning in the mid-19th century, when they were exiled during the Circassian genocide to the Ottoman Empire after the Russo-Circassian War. During th ...

moved to the Republic of Adygea in 1998 and

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...

sent support and donations to the village. Gaddafi, according to his own words, showed a deep respect for the Circassians and their historical suffering.Al- Shishani, Murad Batal. ''Qaddafi Tries to Secure Loyalty of Circassians of Misrata'' In March 2011,

delegated a diplomat to the Jordanian capital of Amman to meet Circassians in Jordan and get their support. The Jordanian Circassians, convinced that the Libyan Circassians have lost their identity and became Arabs, did not answer.Инорм-аналит издание "Сегодня РУ"
/ref>

Notable members

Umar Muhayshi Umar Abdullah el-Muhayshi (; 1941-January, 1984) was a Libyan army officer and a member of the Libyan Revolutionary Command Council that ruled Libya after the 1969 Libyan coup d'état. Life Born to a family of Circassian and Turkish origin, U ...

- Libyan army officer.

References

{{Circassian diaspora Circassian diaspora category:Libyan people