Turks in North Macedonia, also known as Turkish Macedonians and Macedonian Turks, ( mk, Македонски Турци, tr, Makedonya Türkleri) are the ethnic
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...
who constitute the third largest ethnic group in the
Republic of North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
.
[.] According to the 2002 census, there were 77,959 Turks living in the country, forming a minority of some 3.8% of the population.
[.] The community forms a majority in
Centar Župa
Centar Župa ( mk, ; tr, Merkez Jupa) is a village and seat in the municipality of Centar Župa, North Macedonia. The town is inhabited mainly by Turks.
Demographics
Centar Župa is a new village formed by families who settled in the area and or ...
and
Plasnica
Plasnica ( mk, , tr, Plasnitsa) is a village and seat of the Municipalities of North Macedonia, municipality of Plasnica Municipality, Plasnica, North Macedonia.
Demographics
The village is attested in the 1467/68 Ottoman tax registry (defter) f ...
.
The Turkish community claim higher numbers than the census shows, somewhere between 170,000 and 200,000.
[.] There are additionally roughly 100,000
Torbeš
The Macedonian Muslims ( mk, Македонци-муслимани, Makedonci-muslimani), also known as Muslim Macedonians or ''Torbeši'' ( mk, Торбеши), and in some sources grouped together with Pomaks, are a minority religious group w ...
and some of them still maintain a strong affiliation to
Turkish identity.
History
Ottoman era
Macedonia came under the rule of the
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922).
Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
in 1392, remaining part of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
for more than 500 years up to 1912 and the
Balkan wars
The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...
.
[.] Ali Rıza Efendi
Ali Rıza Efendi (1839–1888) was an official, and the father of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the husband of Zübeyde Hanım.
He was born in Selanik, (modern Thessaloniki in present-day Macedonia, Greece), back then the most important city ...
-
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...
's father comes from
Kodžadžik
Kodžadžik ( mk, Коџаџик; tr, Kocacık), is a village in the municipality of Centar Župa, North Macedonia. The village is inhabited mainly by Turks.
Name
A former Ottoman fortress existed at the location of Kodžadžik before the end ...
, in
Centar Župa Municipality
Centar Župa ( mk, ; tr, Merkez Jupa) is a municipality in the western part of North Macedonia. ''Centar Župa'' is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found. Centar Župa Municipality is part of the Southwestern Statistica ...
, where there is a memorial house. There is a sizeable amount of
Turkified Albanians in Ohrid who originate from the cities of
Elbasan
Elbasan ( ; sq-definite, Elbasani ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in central Al ...
,
Durrës
Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...
and
Ulcinj
Ulcinj ( cyrl, Улцињ, ; ) is a town on the southern coast of Montenegro and the capital of Ulcinj Municipality. It has an urban population of 10,707 (2011), the majority being Albanians.
As one of the oldest settlements in the Adriatic coast ...
.
[ "Најстари староседелци во градот се неколкуте старински родови во Варош. Другите Македонци се доселени од селата покрај Охридското Езеро, од Коселска Долина, Струшко Поле, Дримкол, Дерарца, Малесија, Кичевско и други краишта од Западна Македонија. По 1949 год. се доселени и повеќе семејства од Егејска Македонија. Турците се населени овде во год. 1451-81. Има и доста турцизирани Албанци (од Елбасанско, Драч, Улцињ). Албанците инаку се дојдени во градот од околните села на југ и запад од Охридското Езеро. Има и православни Албанци дојдени од Поградец, Лин, Черава и Пискупија во II пол. на XIX век. Власите се доселувале најпрво од Москополе (од 1778 год.), Каваја (крајот на XVIII век), Мизакија, Елбасан и Ланга во Мокра (сред. на XIX век), од Г. Белица и Маловишта (Битолско) кон крајот на минатиот век. Доста голем дел од нив се иселиле во Трст, Одеса и Букурешт. Циганите се доселени од Поградечко, зборуваат албански (тоскиски).... Циганите веројатно се определиле како Шиптари или Турци."] A significant part of the Muslim Albanian population of Kumanovo and Bitola was also Turkified during Ottoman rule.
German linguist
Gustav Weigand
Gustav Weigand (1 February 1860 – 8 July 1930), was a German linguist and specialist in Balkan languages, especially Romanian and Aromanian. He is known for his seminal contributions to the dialectology of the Romance languages of the Balkans ...
describes the process of
Turkification
Turkification, Turkization, or Turkicization ( tr, Türkleştirme) describes a shift whereby populations or places received or adopted Turkic attributes such as culture, language, history, or ethnicity. However, often this term is more narrowly ...
of the Albanian urban population in his 1923 work ''Ethnographie Makedoniens'' (Ethnography of Macedonia). He writes that in the cities, especially noting
Skopje
Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.
The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...
and
Bitola
Bitola (; mk, Битола ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki ...
, many of the Turkish inhabitants are in fact Albanians, being distinguished by the difference in articulation of certain Turkish words, as well as their clothing and tool use. They speak Albanian at home, however use Turkish when in public. They refer to themselves as ''Turks'', the term at the time also being a
synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
for ''Muslim'', with ethnic Turks referring to them as ''Turkoshak'', a derogatory term for someone portraying themselves as Turkish.
Yugoslav era
Once the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
fell at the beginning of the 20th century, many of the Turks fled to
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. Many left under
Yugoslav rule, and more left after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Others intermarried or simply identified themselves as
Macedonians or
Albanians
The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...
to avoid
stigma and
persecution
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...
.
During the Skopje communist party conference held on August 12-13 1945, Kemal Sejfula, a representative of the Turkish minority and future mayor of Skopje (1951-54), although himself of Albanian origin from Kaçanik, declared that: "In the cities there are some regroupings - differentiations between Turks and Albanians. As it is known that the great Serbian policy towards the Albanian masses was a policy of physical liquidations. While the policy towards the Turks - was more tolerant, for which a very large part of the Albanians became Turks - were assimilated."
A policy of Turkification of the Albanian population was employed by the Yugoslav authorities in cooperation with the Turkish government, stretching the period of 1948-1959. A commission was created to tour Albanian communities in Macedonia, visiting
Tetovo
Tetovo ( mk, Тетово, , sq, Tetovë/Tetova) is a city in the northwestern part of North Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of at above sea level, w ...
,
Gostivar
Gostivar ( mk, Гостивар , Albanian and Turkish: ''Gostivar''), is a city in North Macedonia, located in the upper Polog valley region. It is one of the largest municipalities in the country with a population of 81,042, and the town also ...
,
Debar
Debar ( mk, Дебaр ; Albanian: ''Dibër''/''Dibra'' or ''Dibra e Madhe;'' ) is a city in the western part of North Macedonia, near the border with Albania, off the road from Struga to Gostivar. It is the seat of Debar Municipality. Debar has an ...
,
Kičevo,
Struga
Struga ( mk, Струга , sq, Strugë) is a town and popular tourist destination situated in the south-western region of North Macedonia, lying on the shore of Lake Ohrid. The town of Struga is the seat of Struga Municipality.
Name
The nam ...
,
Kumanovo
Kumanovo ( mk, Куманово ; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in North Macedonia and the seat of Kumanovo Municipality, the List of municipalities in the Republic of Macedonia by population, largest municipali ...
,
Gjorče Petrov
Gyorche Petrov Nikolov born Georgi Petrov Nikolov (April 2, 1865 – June 28, 1921), was a Bulgarian teacher and revolutionary, one of the leaders of the Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees. He was their representative i ...
and
Resen. Starting in 1948, six Turkish schools were opened in areas with large Albanian majorities, such as
Tearce
Tearce ( mk, Теарце , sq, Tearcë) is a village located 12 km to the northeast of Tetovo, in northwestern North Macedonia, about 15 kilometres from the border with Kosovo. It is a seat of the Tearce municipality. Population 3,974 (200 ...
,
Gorna Banjica
Gorna Banjica ( mk, Горна Бањица, tr, Yukarı Banisa, sq, Banjicë e Epërme) is a village in the municipality of Gostivar, North Macedonia.
History
According to the 1467-68 Ottoman defter, the village had 17 houses, with the inhabita ...
,
Dolna Banjica
Dolna Banjica ( mk, Долна Бањица; tr, Aşağı Banisa; sq, Banjicë e Poshtme) is a village in the municipality of Gostivar, North Macedonia. Its FIPS code was MK27.
History
A policy of Turkification of the Albanian population was em ...
Vrapčište as well as in the outskirts of
Tetovo
Tetovo ( mk, Тетово, , sq, Tetovë/Tetova) is a city in the northwestern part of North Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of at above sea level, w ...
and
Gostivar
Gostivar ( mk, Гостивар , Albanian and Turkish: ''Gostivar''), is a city in North Macedonia, located in the upper Polog valley region. It is one of the largest municipalities in the country with a population of 81,042, and the town also ...
. In 1951-52, a total of 40 Turkish schools were opened in
Debar
Debar ( mk, Дебaр ; Albanian: ''Dibër''/''Dibra'' or ''Dibra e Madhe;'' ) is a city in the western part of North Macedonia, near the border with Albania, off the road from Struga to Gostivar. It is the seat of Debar Municipality. Debar has an ...
,
Kičevo,
Kumanovo
Kumanovo ( mk, Куманово ; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in North Macedonia and the seat of Kumanovo Municipality, the List of municipalities in the Republic of Macedonia by population, largest municipali ...
,
Struga
Struga ( mk, Струга , sq, Strugë) is a town and popular tourist destination situated in the south-western region of North Macedonia, lying on the shore of Lake Ohrid. The town of Struga is the seat of Struga Municipality.
Name
The nam ...
,
Resen,
Bitola
Bitola (; mk, Битола ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki ...
,
Kruševo
Kruševo ( mk, Крушево ; rup, Crushuva "Crușuva") is a town in North Macedonia. In Macedonian the name means the 'place of pear trees'. It is the highest town in North Macedonia and one of the highest in the Balkans, situated at an alti ...
and
Prilep
Prilep ( mk, Прилеп ) is the fourth-largest city in North Macedonia. It has a population of 66,246 and is known as "the city under Marko's Towers" because of its proximity to the towers of Prince Marko.
Name
The name of Prilep appear ...
.
Contemporary analysis described cases of resistance to the Turkish schools in the Polog area, with Albanian speaking students and teachers refused to attend Turkish schools. In Tetovo, none of the native teachers wanted to give lessons in Turkish, so substitutes from Skopje were brought in instead. Another notable case happened in Gostivar, where a teacher from Banjica, who according to the committees analysis: "even though he was born in the same village and his mother tongue is Turkish, when the Turkish school was opened he refused to teach in Turkish and had asked to work in Albanian villages ...". Thus the Yugoslav committee characterized the local population as having adopted a "Greater Albanian political worldview". Resistance against the opening of Turkish schools was most prevalent in Tetovo and Gostivar. In 1952, on the night of
Eid al-Adha
Eid al-Adha () is the second and the larger of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah's co ...
, the local Tetovo political leader Mehmet Riza Gega distributed flyers imploring Albanian parents from sending their children to Turkish speaking schools. In Gostivar the nationalist activist Myrtezan Bajraktari was detained and interrogated by the Yugoslav secret police (
UDBA
The State Security Service ( hr, Služba državne sigurnosti, sr, Служба државне безбедности; mk, Служба за државна безбедност; sl, Služba državne varnosti), also known by its original name ...
). During his interrogation he stated he openly opposed the Turkish schools, and that he does so "just so Albanians can feel like patriots and not allow themselves to be Turkified."
In the 1953 census, large portions of Albanians declared themselves as ethnic Turks:
*In the
municipality of Lipkovo
Lipkovo ( mk, , sq, Likovë) is a municipality in the north part of North Macedonia. '' Lipkovo'' is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found. Lipkovo Municipality is part of the Northeastern Statistical Region.
Geograph ...
, 12,733 Albanians were registered in 1948 a number which dropped to 3609 in 1953. The Turkish population went from numbering 5 people in 1948, to 9,878 in 1953.
*In the municipality of
Radostuša, 2,252 Albanians were registered in 1948 and 410 in 1953, with the Turkish community going from 7 members in 1948, to numbering 2,453 in 1953.
*In the municipality of
Demir Hisar, 964 Albanians were registered in 1948 and 50 in 1953, with the Turkish community going from 6 members in 1948, to numbering 1,027 in 1953.
*In the municipality of
Dolneni
Dolneni () is a village in the municipality of Dolneni, North Macedonia. It is located at the center of the plain of Prilepsko Pole (Prilep field), 10 km northwest of Prilep city and it is a seat of the Dolneni municipality
Dolneni (, sq ...
, 4,786 Albanians were registered in 1948 and 174 in 1953, with the Turkish community going from 1,005 members in 1948, to numbering 6,450 in 1953.
*In the municipality of
Krivogaštani, 594 Albanians were registered in 1948 and 12 in 1953, with the Turkish community going from 2 members in 1948, to numbering 656 in 1953.
*In the municipality of
Kruševo
Kruševo ( mk, Крушево ; rup, Crushuva "Crușuva") is a town in North Macedonia. In Macedonian the name means the 'place of pear trees'. It is the highest town in North Macedonia and one of the highest in the Balkans, situated at an alti ...
, 2,335 Albanians were registered in 1948 and 1,265 in 1953, with the Turkish community going from 3 members in 1948, to numbering 1,269 in 1953.
*In the then municipality of
Tabanovce
Tabanovce ( mk, Табановце; ) is a village located in the north of North Macedonia, at the border with Serbia, situated 8 km from the nearest town, Kumanovo.
Geography
It is located in the north of North Macedonia, at the border with ...
, 3,372 Albanians were registered in 1948 and 476 in 1953, with the Turkish community going from 436 members in 1948, to numbering 3,434 in 1953.
*In the municipality of
Kičevo, 1,187 Albanians were registered in 1948 and 413 in 1953, with the Turkish community going from 1,748 members in 1948, to numbering 5,192 in 1953.
*In the municipality of
Butel
Butel ( mk, Бутел, sq, Butel) is a neighbourhood in the city of Skopje, North Macedonia, and the seat of Butel Municipality
Butel Municipality ( mk, ; sq, Butel) is one of the ten municipalities that make up the City of Skopje, the ca ...
, 4,755 Albanians were registered in 1948 and 2,958 in 1953, with the Turkish community going from 14 members in 1948, to numbering 2,204 in 1953.
*In the municipality of
Gjorče Petrov
Gyorche Petrov Nikolov born Georgi Petrov Nikolov (April 2, 1865 – June 28, 1921), was a Bulgarian teacher and revolutionary, one of the leaders of the Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees. He was their representative i ...
, 12,443 Albanians were registered in 1948 and 8,827 in 1953, with the Turkish community going from 48 members in 1948, to numbering 4,783 in 1953.
*In the municipality of
Kumanovo
Kumanovo ( mk, Куманово ; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in North Macedonia and the seat of Kumanovo Municipality, the List of municipalities in the Republic of Macedonia by population, largest municipali ...
, 3,919 Albanians were registered in 1948 and 1,331 in 1953, with the Turkish community going from 1,793 members in , to numbering 5,622 in 1953.
*In the municipality of
Tetovo
Tetovo ( mk, Тетово, , sq, Tetovë/Tetova) is a city in the northwestern part of North Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of at above sea level, w ...
, 22,631 Albanians were registered in 1948 and 20,873 in 1953, with the Turkish community going from 306 members in 1948, to numbering 4,516 in 1953.
*In the then municipality of
Dračevo, 7,006 Albanians were registered in 1948 and in 5,745 1953, with the Turkish community going from 178 members in 1948, to numbering 5,195 in 1953.
*In the municipality of
Bitola
Bitola (; mk, Битола ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki ...
, 13,166 Albanians were registered in 1948 and 4,014 in 1953, with the Turkish community going from 14,050 members in 1948, to numbering 29,151 in 1953.
*In the municipality of
Rakotince, 2,494 Albanians were registered in 1948 and 1,362 in 1953, with the Turkish community going from 60 members in 1948, to numbering 4,538 in 1953.
After 1953, a large emigration of Turks based on an agreement between the Republic of Turkey and
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
took place— around 80,000 according to Yugoslav data and over 150,000 according to Turkish sources.
Of the 203,087 Turks in Macedonia in 1953, 15.88% or 32,392 gave Macedonian as their mothertongue, and 13.28% or 27,086 gave Albanian as their mothertongue.
Culture
Language
Macedonian Turks speak the
Turkish language
Turkish ( , ), also referred to as Turkish of Turkey (''Türkiye Türkçesi''), is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around 80 to 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Significant sma ...
and secondly
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
in the west and
Macedonian in the east. Turkish is spoken with
Slavic and
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
admixtures creating a unique Macedonian Turkish dialect. However,
Macedonian is also widely used amongst the community.
Religion
According to the 2002 census, Turks make up 12% of the total
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
population in Macedonia.
Demographics
Turkish population in Macedonia according to the 2021 census (Turkish majority in bold):
Diaspora
![Flag of Skopye turkish](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Flag_of_Skopye_turkish.png)
Since the 1960s, Macedonia Turks have migrated to several Western European countries. For example, there is approximately 5,000 Macedonian Turks in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
; around 90% (or 4,500) live in
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
.
In 1973 they formed the
Turkish-Swedish KSF Prespa Birlik football club.
There are also Turkish Macedonian communities in other European countries, including
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
,
[ ]Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
[ ]Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,[ the ]Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
,[ and ]Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
.
In addition, Turkish Macedonian communities have also been formed in North America. In 1960, the Macedonian Patriotic Organization
Macedonian Patriotic Organization (MPO) is the oldest organization of Americans and Canadians of Macedonian descent in North America. It was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA, in 1922, by Macedonian Bulgarian immigrants originating mainly fro ...
reported that a handful of Turkish Macedonians in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
"have expressed solidarity with the M.P.O.'s aims, and have made contributions to its financial needs."
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.
Media
There are both radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
and television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
broadcasts in Turkish. Since 1945, Macedonian Radio-Television
Macedonian Radio Television (MRT; mk, Македонска радио-телевизија (МРТ), Makedonska radio-televizija (MRT)), officially National Radio-Television ( mk, Национална Радиотелевизија, Nacionalna ...
transmits one hour daily Turkish television programs and four and a half hours of Turkish radio programs.[.] Furthermore, the newspaper ''Birlik'' is published in Turkish three times a week.
Politics
The Turks have 3 political parties in North Macedonia: Democratic Party of Turks
The Turkish Democratic Party ( mk, Демократска партија на Турците, ''Demokratska partija na Turcite''; tr, Türk Demokratik Partisi) is a political party of the Turkish minority in North Macedonia.
In the 2002 parliam ...
(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).
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
Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.
The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...
. Since its establishment, TDP has been protecting the rights and interests of Turks in Macedonia.
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
Politics in North Macedonia occur within the framework of a parliamentary system, parliamentary representative democracy, representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia, Prime Minister is the head of ...
. 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 North Macedonia.
Education
The first school in Turkish language in Macedonia was opened in 1944.
Notable people
See also
* Torbeš
The Macedonian Muslims ( mk, Македонци-муслимани, Makedonci-muslimani), also known as Muslim Macedonians or ''Torbeši'' ( mk, Торбеши), and in some sources grouped together with Pomaks, are a minority religious group w ...
(Slavophone Muslims)
* Turkish minorities in the former Ottoman Empire The Turkish minorities/communities in the former Ottoman Empire refers to ethnic Turks, who are the descendants of Ottoman-Turkish settlers from Anatolia and Eastern Thrace, living outside of the modern borders of the Republic of Turkey and in the ...
* Turks in the Balkans
The Balkan Turks or Rumelian Turks ( tr, ) are the Turkish people who have been living in the Balkans since the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman rule as well as their descendants who still live in the region today. The Turks are officially recognized as a ...
* Macedonia–Turkey relations
* Plasnica Municipality
Plasnica ( mk, , tr, Plasniça) is a municipality in western North Macedonia. ''Plasnica'' is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found. Plasnica Municipality is part of the Southwestern Statistical Region. It is particular ...
* Centar Župa Municipality
Centar Župa ( mk, ; tr, Merkez Jupa) is a municipality in the western part of North Macedonia. ''Centar Župa'' is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found. Centar Župa Municipality is part of the Southwestern Statistica ...
* Macedonian Muslims
The Macedonian Muslims ( mk, Македонци-муслимани, Makedonci-muslimani), also known as Muslim Macedonians or ''Torbeši'' ( mk, Торбеши), and in some sources grouped together with Pomaks, are a minority religious group w ...
* Democratic Party of Turks
The Turkish Democratic Party ( mk, Демократска партија на Турците, ''Demokratska partija na Turcite''; tr, Türk Demokratik Partisi) is a political party of the Turkish minority in North Macedonia.
In the 2002 parliam ...
* Languages of the Republic of Macedonia
* Islam in North Macedonia
Muslims in North Macedonia represent a third of the nation's total population according to the census of 2002, making Islam the second most widely professed religion in the country. Muslims in North Macedonia follow Sunni Islam of the Hanafi ...
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Turks In The Republic Of Macedonia
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Ethnic groups in North Macedonia
Middle Eastern diaspora in North Macedonia
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
Muslim communities in Europe
Macedonia