Turks in the Republic of Macedonia

Turks in Macedonia

Total population
(77,959 (2002 census) 3.8% of total population)
Regions with significant populations
Skopje Gostivar Radoviš Strumica Bitola Tetovo Resen
Languages
Turkish Macedonian
Religion
Sunni Islam

Turks in the Republic of Macedonia, also known as Macedonian Turks, (Macedonian: Македонски Турци, Makedonski Turci; Turkish: Makedonya Türkleri) are the ethnic Turks who constitute the third largest ethnic group in the Republic of Macedonia. 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 form a majority in Centar Župa and Plasnica.

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

History

Bitola in the 19th century

Ottoman era

See also: Ottoman Vardar Macedonia

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.

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.

Population of Macedonian Turks according to national censuses
Census	Turks	Total population of Macedonia	% Turks
1913 Census	209,000	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.

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.

Culture

Mustapha Pasha Mosque

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

Language

See also: Turkish language

Macedonian Turks speak the Turkish language. According to Ethnologue, Turkish is spoken by 200,000 people in Macedonia. Turkish is spoken with Slavic and Greek admixtures creating a unique Macedonian Turkish dialect. However, Macedonian is also widely used amongst the community.

Religion

See also: Islam in the Republic of Macedonia

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

Demographics

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

Municipality	Turks 2002 Census	% 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.

Media

There are both radio and television broadcasts in Turkish. Since 1945, Macedonian Radio-Television 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

A political party, Democratic Party of Turks (DPT), was founded in 1990 and is still active today. The Party currently has one member, Kenan Hasipi, in the Macedonian parliament. The DPT espouses the principles of Ataturk which include a secular state and equality for all. also the movement for Turkish national unification in Macedonia

Education

The first school in Turkish language in Macedonia was opened in 1944. 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 is a lycee in Gostivar 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

See also: List of Macedonian Turks

• MustafaKemalAtaturk.jpg

  Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

• 

  Hüseyin Avni

• Srgjan Kerim .jpg

  Srgjan Kerim

• 

  Ali Fethi Okyar

• 

  Sibel Recep

See also

• Turkish minorities in the former Ottoman Empire
  • Turks in the Balkans
• Macedonia–Turkey relations
• Plasnica Municipality
• Centar Župa Municipality
• Macedonian Muslims
• Democratic Party of Turks
• Languages of the Republic of Macedonia

Bibliography

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