The Torbeshes of Macedonia Religious and National Identity Questions of Macedonian Speaking Muslims

The Torbeshes of Macedonia: Religious and National
Identity Questions of Macedonian-Speaking Muslims

ALI DIKICI

Abstract

Torbesh is the name given to the Macedonian-speaking Muslim minority commu-
nity living in the Republic of Macedonia. The name is a colloquial term and means
“the bag carriers”. There are some prevailing discussions on whether Torbeshes are
descendants of Christian Slavs who converted to Islam during the Ottoman period
or if they are of Turkish origin. During the Ottoman rule, not language, but reli-
gion, motivated social groups and political allegiancies and was used in the desig-
nation of identity. After the disintegration of the Socialist Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, this situation reemerged and religion played an important role during
the ethnic conflicts in the Balkans. Although religion and religion-based tradition
appeared to be decisive ethnicity components for many other Muslim minorities
in the Balkans, the Torbeshes of Macedonia have not developed their collective iden-
tity solely on religious grounds. The ethnic identity question of the Torbesh commu-
nity is still under dispute although a majority declare themselves as Turks. A minor
Torbesh group, for whom language is a much more important identity criterion, feels
much closer to the orthodox Macedonians. Some of the Torbeshes declare themselves
as Muslim Albanians for pragmatic or ideological reasons. Therefore, Torbeshes
have neither a firm Macedonian national affiliation nor a separate Torbesh identity.

Introduction

The Balkan region is situated at the crossroads of various cultures, religions and civiliza-
tions. It is one of the most complicated regions in the world from the ethnic, religious and
language points of view. Tribes passing through or settling in the Balkans were not only
affected by the local culture but also influenced it. So, new entities were created from the
new tribes combined with the original ones. Many states emerged comprising various
heterogeneous ethnic and religious minorities which are presently hostile to each
other. Thus, in the Balkans, as a result of encounters between various religions, new cul-
tural and national groups emerged, such as the Christian Orthodox Turks (Gagauzes),
Bulgarian-speaking Pomaks, Serb – Croat-speaking Bosnians and Macedonian-speaking
Torbeshes.

Macedonia, in which a considerable amount of migration movements and wars have

taken place throughout the centuries, was settled as early as prehistoric times and so
had a very complicated and fragile ethnic structure. A small Muslim minority group
called Torbeshes, which is hardly mentioned within this context, shall be studied in
this article. Although most of the Torbeshes are not able to speak Turkish, they claim
to be Turks and this seems to be a subject that deserves examination in detail.

However, this is a difficult subject to study since there is limited research and little

written on Torbeshes. Most of the data on Torbeshes is derived from other general

Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 28, No. 1, April 2008

ISSN 1360-2004 print/ISSN 1469-9591 online/08/010027-17 # 2008 Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs
DOI: 10.1080/13602000802011044

sources about ethnicity in the southeastern Balkans. There are only a few serious inde-
pendent studies on them yet there are deep differences between the scholars’ works.
The main factors obscuring the research in this field are: political speculations; the
reality and complexity of the problems; complex ethnic structures; and reality merged
with myth. Political leaders and the state officials in the Balkans interpret subjects
according to their own political interests. Thus the quality of scholarly reports diminishes
and subjective speculations increase. An attempt will be made in this article to clarify the
confusion.

The Torbesh Identity

The Torbeshes are generally defined as a Muslim ethnic group in the Balkans, mostly
speaking the Macedonian language. The Torbeshes have a twofold identity problem. It
is possible to define them by two elements: the Macedonian language and Islam.
While Macedonian historians underline the language factor and refer to the Torbeshes’
original Christian identity, Turkish researchers focus on Islam as their religion, disre-
garding the language and cultural dimension.

Most Torbeshes define themselves as Turks and have a close affinity to Turks. They live

predominantly in the western and southern parts of Macedonia and in Kosovo, with
limited numbers in Greece, Albania and Turkey. The largest concentration of them is
in the western part of Macedonia, in the town of Debar and its surrounding villages,
and in the Reka

region between Mavrovo (the state border with Albania), Debar and

Kichevo. Eighty percent of the population in this region is comprised of Torbeshes.

The two large towns in the region where Torbeshes are the majority are Rostushe

and

Centar Zhupa.

There are smaller concentrations of Torbeshes in other parts of the

country, such as Skopje, Struga, Kichevo, Yelovyane, Struga, Berovo, Urvich and
Kolichani.

Torbeshes often live in underdeveloped, neglected, and isolated areas, e.g. the muni-

cipalities of Debar and Kichevo, where there is no absolute ethnic majority. These people
are well known as owners of restaurants, candy makers, fresco painters, wood carvers and
mosaic makers. In the past few decades large numbers of them have emigrated to Italy
and other Western European countries due to unemployment. Not all but most of the
surnames of the Torbesh end with Slavonic (-ov/-ski) suffixes.

Torbesh in the Turkish language (Torbes¸) refers to people with deference, who are loyal

and do not cause problems. This view is also supported by the historical attitude of the
Torbesh people who never caused any conflict with the Ottoman administration and
accepted remaining secondary and supportive under all circumstances.

The Torbeshes

are distinguished by their remarkable adaptation capability, just like the Pomaks. Since
the name Torbesh is an informal and pejorative name, at least half of all Torbeshes, if
not more, refuse to be called Torbesh.

Some scholars say that the Gorans of Kosovo and the Torbeshes of Macedonia are

closely related to the Pomaks of Greece and Bulgaria,

and that the Torbesh community

is a subgroup of the Muslim Pomak ethnicity in Bulgaria,

and so the Pomaks are called

Torbeshes in Macedonia and Gorans in Kosovo and Albania.

The language of the Tor-

beshes is a different dialect of the Pomak language and it has lost its original form due to
the long term influence of the Macedonian language. Sometimes Torbeshes are called
“Mijaks, Nashinci”,

or “Poturs, Kurkis”

as well. However, “Pomaks, Torbeshes

and Gorans see themselves as different from each other. This difference even can be
observed among the Torbeshes and Gorans living together. While Gorans see themselves

Ali Dikici

with a higher status than other Torbesh, Torbeshes are not inclined to differ themselves
from Gorans.”

Gorans share many common customs with Torbeshes but they do not

intermarry with them.

However, neither previous Western nor Ottoman writings used the term Torbeshes. In

the Ottoman millet system, all of the citizens derived their identity either as being Muslim
or as non-Muslim and there were no other subdivisions based on specific nationalities.

The Sublime Porte recognized only religious communities, which were protected by the
sultan and granted a degree of self-administration under the millet system. The Ottoman
official records did not divide the Muslims according to their ethnic or linguistic affilia-
tions.

Therefore, it is quite difficult to determine the real number of different ethnic

groups that comprised the Islamic community in the Ottoman period.

The Serbian

nationalist geographer Jovan Cvijic´ was the first to treat Torbeshes as distinct from the
other Bulgarian-speaking Pomaks in 1913.

Torbesh: The Etymological Roots

The original meaning of the name “Torbesh” is obscure. There are various views on this
subject and “folk” rumors are more common than written sources. There is a cynical
story which states that this name comes from a Turkish word “torba” meaning “bag”
implying that the Torbeshes sold their soul for a bag of wheat flour

or sold their Chris-

tian faith for a bag of “urda” (kind of a soft cheese).

According to Hacivasilevic, the word “Torbesh” is closely related to the Persian word

of “torbekes”, meaning “with a bag”. The Torbesh people generally live in the mountains;
they make their living by breeding cattle and as construction workers. They always used
to carry their tools in a sack with them and were referred to as a people with a bag.

Another Persian-related explanation is that the word “Torbesh” denotes a mobile sales-
man who sells halva

and oriental drinks. Palikuruseva brings an explanation for the

term from Ottoman history suggesting that “Torba acemi” was a branch in the
Ottoman army or “Torba group” was a special class in the central Ottoman adminis-
tration body.

In this sense, the name relates to the old Slavic tribe named Torbachei,

and then to the special type of employees of the Turkish army and the candidates for
janissaries

who carried bags (torbi in Macedonian, torba Oglanlari/torba Acemileri in

Turkish).

There is yet another opinion that the ethnic name is related to the Bogomil movement.

The Bogomil missionaries (kutugeri) carried bags (torbi) with them to hold books related
to their faith and to hold food. Angelov

also says that the Torbesh people are the last

descendents of the Macedonian Bogomils who converted to Islam and that the term
Torbesh is an old Bogomil word. It is true that the map of the Bogomil movement and
of Islamization is overlapping at the Balkans, but this is not so relevant when it comes
to the ethnic name.

According to Turkish scholar Yusuf Hamza, Torbes¸

is a Turkish compound word

coming from tor þ bas¸. Thus the word Torbesh comes from “torbas¸lık” meaning “a
closely woven net” or from “toy” meaning “naive, immature, unripe, shy, timid and inex-
perienced”; and “a” vocal in torbas¸ changed into “e” producing the term torbes¸ from
torbas¸. Therefore, Yusuf Hamza refuses to agree with the idea that the term Torbeshes
originates from the phenomenon of Bogomils bag carriers.

Certain religious similarities between the Torbeshes and the Turks have often been

noted by some Turkish researchers. Kalafat claims that the Torbeshes are the descen-
dants of non-Muslim Turkish tribes which settled in the region and converted to

The Torbeshes of Macedonia

Islam. Kalafat points out the similarities in customs such as “putting a male baby to the
bed during the wedding ceremony, the custom of melting lead and pouring it to cold
water over the head of a sick person in order to break an evil spell, dressing clothes
turned inside out to a woman after childbirth to protect her from genies and ghosts,
and using amulets”.

Some of the Torbeshes explain their Torbesh name as referring to their changing of

their religion four to five times and/or migrating four to five times during their
history, or speaking four – five different languages. That is to say, the pronunciation of
four – five (do¨rt-bes¸) in Turkish evolved into Torbes¸ (Torbesh) with the passage of time.
Although some people who I met in Macedonia interpret this term as “the ones who
were thrown into the bag by converting to Islam”, this is looked upon as an insulting
comment. There are some other comments relating the term Torbesh with the old cap
called “tar”. So, the people who wear a tar have been called Tarbas¸ (head with a cap)
and the term evolved into Torbesh as time passed.

Researchers provide different interpretations for the origin of the word Torbesh but

many of them relate it to the Turkish word “torba” meaning “bag”. So, “it is interesting
to note that almost all different explanations of the name Pomak were related to the
Bulgarian language and all different explanations of the name Torbesh were related
to Turkish language”.

The Ethnicity and Identity Questions

These discussions over the word Torbesh and its other local variations also involve refer-
ence to race and ethnic origins. Since the withdrawal of the Ottoman Empire from the
Balkan Peninsula, the ethnic identity question of Muslim minorities remains to this
day. Torbeshes have been treated as a religious minority rather than an ethnic minority
from the past till the present. The main reason is that the Balkan states had a Christian
majority, and the Muslim minorities were counted as Christians in the population
census.

According to non-Turkish sources, the Torbeshes were the ancient Slavic or Sla-

vized inhabitants of the Balkans, and were forcibly converted to Islam during the
period of Ottoman domination, which lasted until the nineteenth century.

“This

claim ignores historical evidence that the Ottomans never tried to convert non-
Muslims to Islam and they did not have a policy of Islamization of non-Muslims
within their territory. If they really had wanted to do so, first they would have
attempted to convert their brothers, the Gagauz Turks, living in northern Bulgaria.
The Christian Gagauz were Turkish, and they remained Christian Orthodox. Even
today they speak Turkish and they are Orthodox. Without any oppression, they
lived almost 600 years under the Ottoman rule.”

As S. Shaw pointed out, had

the Ottoman state carried out an Islamization policy, all the non-Muslim peoples of
the Balkans could have been converted to Islam during the 600 years of Ottoman
rule.

Even today it is possible to see both churches and mosques together in very

old villages in Macedonia.

Balkan expert Eran Fraenkel states that Macedonian Muslims have never put Islam in

a backward position for the sake of Macedonian identity. On the contrary, they mostly
denied that they come from Slavic origin and appropriated a non-Slavic Islamic
identity.

And this is defined as a clear example of turning Ottoman heritage into

Turkish influence.

Ali Dikici

Dmitri Obolensky says that “the name torbeshi, which also served to designate the

Bogomils, is still applied to the Pomaks in the Rhodopes and to the Muslims in Macedo-
nia in the subdistricts of Debar, Skopje, Kichevo and Shar Mountain”.

According to the Turkish view, Torbesh origin can be traced back to some

Muslim Turkish tribes which settled in the region before the Ottoman Empire.

Turkish researchers are inclined to link the Balkan Muslims with Kuman, Kipchak
or Pechenek Turks, who came from Central Asia and then they linguistically
became Slavicized.

Hence, the Torbeshes are the descendants of Turks who

came to the region before the Ottoman period and they are Macedonian-speaking
Muslim Turks.

Poulton gives another claim on the roots of the Torbeshes, as per the Muslim sources

in the Sandzhak (Serbia), that many of the present-day Torbeshes are former Serbo –
Croat-speaking migrants from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Sandzhak. According to this
claim, many of them were headed for Turkey in order to take advantage of the 1950 emi-
gration agreement with Turkey, but on their way, they decided to settle in Macedonia.

However, it is a known fact that the Torbeshes had lived in Macedonia before this date,
making this claim groundless.

The Basis of Torbesh Identity

The sense of national identity among the Torbeshes finds its greatest support in Islam.
They are one of the most devout Muslim communities in the Balkans.

National obscur-

ity and “deliberate isolation”

pushed them to identify themselves closely with Islam.

“Their beliefs and principles encircle their life and protect them from all different
aspects. Their national identity was constructed on religion and it is a sort of religion
based nationalism.”

Torbeshes identify their origins or identity as being Turkish and their religion as being

Islam. Torbesh and Muslim are equivalent terms in their consciousness. Islam is a
nationality as well as a religion in their minds. Sometimes they describe themselves as
“Muslim Turk”, and exceptionally few would use the description “Muslim Albanian”.
The interesting point is that they search for an identity derived from the Muslim
nations and stay away from non-Muslims. However, almost a century has passed since
the withdrawal of the Ottomans from the Balkans and during this time the Torbeshes
have been pressured and intimidated by the authorities concerning their nationality.
During the Communist regime they did not have an opportunity to define their identi-
ties. The Serbianization – Bulgarization and Serbianization – Macedonization policies,
that were applied successively, caused deep damages to the cultural identity of the Tor-
beshes.

“Torbeshes were kept away from the Turkish-speaking minorities. This caused

some social and cultural deficiencies due to low level of communication, marriage
relation, biological and cultural integration.”

Nevertheless, the Torbeshes have

begun to think that they are subjected to this open propaganda and these policies
since they are “really Turks”. Thus, “this played an invisible role in developing
Turkish identity among them”.

Consequently, it is not surprising to hear them say

that they are Turkish or Macedonian or Albanian.

Spiridon Gopcˇevic´, on his trip to Ohrid in 1880, says that most of these people ident-

ified themselves as Turkish even though they could not speak Turkish. He said that reli-
gion formed their national identity. However, he still claimed that they were “Islamized
Serbians”.

The Torbeshes of Macedonia

Demographic Structure of the Torbesh Population

In the sources of nineteenth century writings, the Pomaks of Bulgaria and the Torbeshes
of Macedonia are defined as “Pomaks” without any distinction.

In June 1878, Bulgarians gave British Ambassador A. Henry Layard a statistical report

which included the size of the population of the Manastır, Goce Delcev (Nevrokop),
Debar, Koprulu (Veles) and Thessalonika districts, and even of some villages.

The

Czech historian Konstantin Jirecˇek estimated at the turn of the nineteenth century
that Torbesh and Pomaks were no less than half a million, even if Turkish sources
reduce this number to 200,000.

Some other sources (Limanovski,

Atanas Benderev

)

gave various figures for the Torbesh population in different regions of the Balkans during
the second half of the nineteenth century. Estimates of the Torbesh population in
Macedonia vary since these mixed figures include many other Muslim minorities
making the estimation of the real population of the Torbeshes unpredictable.

The population of the Torbeshes in the past varies according to the years and the

sources. The population of Torbeshes in Macedonia was estimated at approximately
144,051 in 1889,

and 150,000 in 1915.

During those years, due to lack of a distinct

separation between the Pomak and Torbesh minorities, it is very possible that both
ethnicities were counted/estimated together as one.

It should be noted that between 1877 and 1912 in the Balkans, as in all other Muslim

populations, the size of the Torbesh population changed several times. During the
Ottoman – Russian War of 1877– 1878, almost all the Pomak people fled from the
Danube region to Macedonia and they merged with the Torbeshes. Due to the oppressive
policy of the Bulgarian government, they both migrated to Turkey soon thereafter. Par-
ticularly during and after the Balkan Wars of 1912– 1913, many Torbeshes migrated to
Turkey. In the period following the wars, there was a huge migration of the Torbesh popu-
lation towards Turkey. Especially the migration between the years 1952 to 1967 had a
crucial impact on the population of Torbeshes as well as that of other Muslim minorities.
This migration continued during the remainder of the twentieth century with a lesser
intensity. During this migration wave, the Turkish government accepted the immigrants
according to criteria as to “who has Turkish origin as well as the ones who are loyal to
Turkish culture”,

thus rendering the estimation of their exact numbers almost imposs-

ible. So, the largest number of them in diaspora is in Turkey and they can be found in
different cities including Istanbul, Izmir, Bursa, Manisa

as well as in some towns like

Akhisar, etc. Apart from mobility and migration, another important cause for the
varying estimates of the Torbesh population is in the diverse interpretations of Torbesh
identity. As mentioned earlier, many Balkan nations claim that Torbeshes belong to
their nationality and some Torbeshes declare themselves with different identities.

During the censuses of 1919 and 1921 in Macedonia, the Torbeshes were recorded as

being either Turkish or Albanian. Their population was estimated at approximately
27,000 before the Second World War.

In the following censuses Torbeshes were not

counted in a different category but registered as “Muslims”. However, even these
figures do not reflect the real population of the Torbeshes. Table 1 shows the figures
and percentages for declared nationality in all post-World War II censuses (except
2002) conducted in the Republic of Macedonia.

It is suggested that the figure in 1981 (39,513) includes many who previously ident-

ified themselves as Turks.

As a result of this “ethnic instability” of the Torbeshes, some-

times in the censuses there are more “Turks”, sometimes more “Albanians” and
sometimes more “Muslims”/“Bosniacs”, etc.

Ali Dikici

ABLE

1. Population composition of the Republic of Macedonia by year, nationality, number, and percent

Declared nation 1948 – 1994
(Narodnost)

1948

1953

1961

1971

1981

1991

1994

Number

Macedonians

789,548

68.5

860,699

66.0 1,000,854

71.2 1,142,375

69.3 1,279,323

67.0 1,328,187

65.3 1,288,330

66.5

Albanians

197,389

17.1

162,524

12.4

183,108

13.0

279,871

17.0

377,208

19.8

441,987

21.7

442,914

22.9

Turks

95,940

8.3

203,938

15.6

131,481

9.4

108,552

6.6

86,591

4.5

77,080

3.8

77,252

4.0

Romas

19,500

1.7

20,462

1.6

20,606

1.5

24,505

1.5

43,125

2.3

52,103

2.6

43,732

2.3

Vlahs

9511

0.8

8668

0.6

8046

0.6

7190

0.6

6384

0.3

7764

0.4

8467

0.4

Serbs

29,721

2.6

35,112

2.7

42,728

46,465

2.8

44,468

2.3

42,775

2.1

39,260

2.0

(Macedonian) Muslims

1560

0.1

1591

0.1

3002

0.2

1248

0.1

39,513

2.1

31,356

1.5

15,315

0.8

Bulgarians

889

0.1

920

0.1

3087

0.2

3334

0.2

1980

0.1

1370

0.0

1547

0.1

Greeks

–

848

0.1

836

0.1

536

0.0

707

0.1

474

0.0

349

0.0

Egyptians

–

3307

0.2

3169

0.2

Bosniacs

–

7244

0.4

Yugoslavs

–

1260

0.1

3652

0.2

14,225

0.7

15,703

0.8

595

0.0

Other

8928

0.8

9752

0.8

10,995

0.7

29,580

1.7

15,612

0.8

31,858

1.6

8703

0.4

Total

1,152,986 100.0 1,304,514 100.0 1,406,003 100.0 1,647,308 100.0 1,909,136 100.0 2,033,964 100.0 1,936,877 100.0

Torbeshes.

Source: Victor A. Friedman, “Observing the Observers: Language, Ethnicity, and Power in the 1994 Macedonian Census and Beyond. Toward Comprehensive Peace”, in
Southeastern Europe: Conflict Prevention in the South Balkans, ed. Barnett Rubin, New York: The Council on Foreign Relations and Twentieth Century Fund, 1996. Avail-
able online at: <http://www.newbalkanpolitics.org.mk/oldsite/Issue_3/friedman.eng.asp>.

The

orbeshes

of
Macedonia

According to the 2002 census, the total population and ethnic composition of Mace-

donia are as shown in Table 2.

The complete absence of Torbeshes from these figures is explained by their being

counted as Macedonians on the basis of language, since Macedonian Slavic ethnologists
do not consider them to be a separate ethnic group from the Christian Macedonian
Slavs, but instead a religious minority within the Slav ethnic community. So, here, the
third largest Muslim minority is not the Roma community but the Torbesh population.

It should be noted that all the numbers given here about the Torbesh population

are only estimates. The exact number of Macedonian Muslims is not easy to establish
as there are contradictory estimations such as: 35,000 to 100,000,

or 40,000,

70,000 to 80,000,

or 100,000,

or 30,000 to 40,000,

more than 150,000

and

200,000.

It is claimed that the Torbeshes identified themselves without exception as Turkish

until the time the Ottomans left the region as a result of the First Balkan War in 1912.
During the Balkan Wars and later during World War II, the Torbeshes were exposed
to the “forcible assimilation” policies of Bulgar authorities.

When the Republic of

Macedonia was established in 1946, the ruling Communists encouraged the Torbeshes
to adopt an ethnic Macedonian identity, which Macedonian Christians were also com-
pelled to accept. Macedonian nationalist administrators were uneasy with the Torbesh
attitude of defining themselves as Muslim and especially as Turkish. They were system-
atically forced to convert to Christianity and to accept Macedonian identity. Communist
leaders used various methods like oppression, intimidation and propaganda by historical
materials to convince the Torbeshes to accept a “Macedonian identity”. For instance, in
the post-Communist era when thousands of workers were being dismissed because of the
economic crisis, the Macedonian authorities required a signed document from the
Torbeshes who were reapplying for employment, stating that their identity is Muslim
and nothing else.

In 1970, the Association of the Macedonian Muslims was established with the agree-

ment and support of the authorities, probably as a means of keeping Macedonian
Muslim aspirations in control.

They held their first meeting in 1970 at the monastery

of Saint John Bigorski in Western Macedonia. The motto of the Center is reminiscent of
the Greek policy concerning the Pomaks: “Torbesh are local people, i.e., Macedonians;
but the Ottomans converted them forcefully”.

However, the Association initially had only 50 members and did not represent all

Torbeshes. Its chairman, Nijazi Limanovski, worked hard to persuade the Torbeshes

ABLE

2. Ethnic composition of Macedonia, 2002

Population

Percent

Macedonian

1,297,981

64.18

Albanian

509,083

25.17

Turk

77,959

3.85

Roma

53,879

2.66

Serb

35,939

1.78

Bosniac

17,018

0.84

Vlach

9695

0.48

Other

20,929

1.04

Total

2,022,547

100.00

Ali Dikici

to accept that they are Macedonian Muslims and have nothing to do with the Turks. He
also tried to minimize the importance of religious differences between Islam and Chris-
tian orthodoxy, and to find common community affiliation between the Torbeshes and
Macedonians. Limanovski voiced the position of the Macedonian government that the
Muslim Macedonians should take part in the construction of the Macedonian
nation.

According to him “during the Ottoman time, in some cases Islamized Chris-

tians remained bi-confessional for as long as around a century. In public, the converts
declared themselves as ‘Muslims’, while at home they used their Christian names, and
even let the Orthodox Christian clerics baptize their children. In other cases, it was
only the head of the family who converted to Islam in order to relieve his family from
the taxes, while the rest remained Christian in faith.”

However, Limanovski was not

supported by the majority of Torbeshes and he could not go out without police protection
since once the Torbeshes had even beaten him for being a traitor.

The Association actively continued to encourage Macedonian Muslim identification

with Macedonian language and ethnicity. A 1979 meeting marked the establishment
of the organization of the so-called manifestations of scientific and cultural activities of
the Macedonian Muslims. The period between 1979 and 1984 was very intensive in
this respect. Fourteen meetings on cultural, scientific and folklore topics were held
during this period. They were attended by the Communist authorities or were organized
in cooperation with their respective institutions.

State Disintegration and Ethnic Identity

The emergence of the Balkan Muslim populations as autonomous political actors is
indeed one of the major changes of the 1990s and it goes hand in hand with the politi-
cization of their ethnic identity. The collapse of the Communist regime allowed the
Torbeshes to express their ethnic identities and enjoy religious freedom.

Nevertheless, complex historical tradition and recent political input into the debate

over the identity of the Torbeshes have contributed to the complicated character of the
discussion on the issue of Torbesh identity. In this sense, the process of politicization
of ethnic identity has influenced not only a large part of the information on the Tor-
beshes, but also their precise self-identification. Only the identification with a recognized
national identity allows these populations to attain some political visibility, and then to
mobilize internal or external political resources. But, the Torbeshes follow three different
identity strategies.

The first one aims at merging into a larger Muslim group which

already enjoys an institutional recognition: many Macedonian Torbeshes declare them-
selves as “Turks” or “Albanians”. Some pious Torbeshes tended to merge with the
Muslim Turks while others unite with the Albanian minority. However, “the Macedo-
nian state does its best to prevent them from joining the ranks of the Albanians or the
Turks”.

On the contrary, the second strategy consists of declaring oneself as a “Muslim Mace-

donian” to take advantage of belonging to the Macedonian majority. Of course, these
identity choices are encouraged by the authorities, and civil servants with such identities
are promoted easily. Some Turkish ethnologists reacted by asserting that the Torbeshes
are in fact Slavicized Turks rather than Islamicized Slavs. “In regard to this important
issue there are different opinions that prove that the dividing line between ethnic and
religious community is not clear. According to the Turkish NGOs ADEKSAM and
Millenium, ethnic Turks face a threat to gradually assimilate, especially in the region
where ethnic Turks live and speak Macedonian language. The country confirms their

The Torbeshes of Macedonia

assimilation by defining them as Macedonian Muslims, even though they declare
themselves as ethnic Turks.”

Finally, a third strategy tries to shape a distinctive Torbesh identity and insists on its

recognition as such. This strategy implies a discovery of the tradition, and presently
the Pomaks and Torbeshes often refer to specific pre-Ottoman Turkish or Arab
origins.

Many Muslim Macedonians have repeatedly identified themselves with

fellow Muslims.

During the conflict in 2001, this complex social pattern was reduced to a confrontation

between two major nationalities—Macedonians and Albanians—and small ethnic groups
were forced to affiliate with one or the other. The Serbs and Vlachs, both Orthodox,
naturally identified with the Macedonians, but the Torbeshes were in a more complicated
situation.

They faltered between “a natural solidarity [sic.] with Albanians”; “being

loyal to Macedonia”; and “being impartial”. As Macedonian speakers, they were rejected
by Albanian nationalists, but Macedonian nationalism violently opposed any Islamic
group. For instance, the demonstrators that were angry with the Albanians destroyed
the mosques mainly frequented by the Torbeshes and Turks in Prilep, and burned
down houses and shops owned by the Torbeshes in Bitola. Therefore, the Torbeshes,
along with the other ethnic minorities, are very worried about “stability and security”
in the regions they live in.

This is a very complicated situation in which the Torbeshes have played an important

role. Briefly, while many of them already describe themselves as Turkish, a limited
number of them declare their nationality as Albanian or Macedonian Muslim or as
Muslim only. This is the result of the assimilation policies which have dominated them
for a century, as well as of the process of politicization of ethnic identity.

The fear of assimilation into the Albanian Muslim community has been a significant

factor in Macedonian Muslim politics, amplified by the tendency of some Torbeshes
to vote for Albanian candidates. In 1990, the chairman of the Macedonian Muslims
Association, Riza Memedovski, sent an open letter to the Chairman of the Party for
Democratic Prosperity (PDP), dominated by ethnic Albanians. In this letter he
accused the party of using religion to promote the Albanization of the Macedonian
Muslims and using it for the “quiet assimilation” of the Torbeshes and the “Kosovi-
zation” and “Albanization” of Western Macedonia.

The Association also claimed

that since the Second World War other Muslim groups, most notably the Albanians,
had assimilated more than 70,000 Macedonian Muslims.

Likewise, in early 1993 the

presidium of the Association issued a statement alleging that the Democratic Party of
the Turks (TDP) stood behind the “pan-Turkish” ideas.

The Torbeshes also complained about the domination of Albanians in the Macedonian

Islamic Union, the religious organization of all Muslim minorities in Macedonia. A con-
troversy broke out in 1995 when the Albanian-dominated Meshihat or Council of the
Islamic Community in Macedonia declared that Albanian was the official language of
Muslims in Macedonia. The decision prompted protests from the leaders of the
Macedonian Muslim Association.

This “Albanization” of the Islamic religious insti-

tutions led to some (unsuccessful) attempts to create religious institutions specific to
the Slavic- or Turkish-speaking populations.

In 1996, Nijazi Limanovski said that the Macedonian Muslims are subjected to

processes of ethnic denationalization by the TDP and that the political parties of the
Albanian ethnicity and also the TDP had been conducting the “ottomanisation and
assimilation” of Macedonian citizens of Islamic faith—which can best be seen through
the educational system.

Ali Dikici

While the Torbeshes try to establish their own political party, they mostly vote for the

Albanian and Turkish political parties.

They complain that the Macedonian politicians

are interested in their problems only during the election period. These people feel that
they have been manipulated by all parties. Although they are present in all political
parties it is hard to find Torbeshes serving in the executive bodies. While the Macedonian
governments are fully supportive of those who declare themselves as Macedonian
Muslims, no Torbesh has had a chance to enjoy the benefits of his/her engagement in
a political party.

Seeking Identity through Education

It is noteworthy that although they cannot speak Turkish and their mother tongue is
Macedonian, the Torbeshes claim that their ancestors came from Konya before the
Ottoman period. They explain this contradiction as “our schools were closed down
after the Ottomans withdrew, and 600 of us who resisted this policy were killed. There-
fore, we began to speak Macedonian to avoid oppression and to find employment.”

Actually, following the establishment of the state of Yugoslavia, “Torbeshes had to live
in isolated regions and their children have never been allowed to have education in
Turkish. They had to have education in Serbian, Bulgarian and Macedonian.”

In the beginning of the 1990s Torbeshes demanded that their children be schooled in

Turkish instead of Macedonian. The TDP, which has great support among the Torbesh,
backed them in their efforts. Through the Kichevo branch of the TDP, the Torbeshes
voiced their demand loudly. At the first gathering in Kichevo it is reported that the con-
gress hall that seats 600 was full. However, the Macedonian government turned down
the request, declared that they were Muslim Macedonians and deemed them as
Muslims of Macedonian origin.

The state authorities also suggested three hours a

week of a course on Turkish as an elective. The Torbesh minority has severely reacted
against this offer, because the allotted time is insufficient to learn Turkish.

However, the Torbeshes have struggled hard to have public or private school instruc-

tion in the Turkish language and submitted a petition signed by 262 parents stating: “I,
(undersigned), who live at (the address), voluntarily declare that I demand my child (the
name) to learn Turkish together with classes in Macedonian”.

On 1 October 1991, in Zhupa, a group of activists from the TDP along with local

parents opened two private primary schools with instruction in the Turkish language,
after their requests had been denied. According to the school organizers, the classes
were financed privately; had properly trained teachers and followed the curriculum of
the Ministry of Education. In January 1993 the government sent the police to the
private schools in Zhupa to prevent the educational instruction from being in Turkish,
implying that it was not the mother tongue of the Torbesh children.

The Ministry of

Education declared the two private schools illegal and ordered that they be closed. Auth-
orities asserted that, while there certainly are ethnic Turks in the area, many of them are
Macedonian Muslims who have been persuaded to declare themselves as ethnic Turks.
The government explained this phenomenon as the result of the propaganda from the
TDP and of the poor Torbesh population’s economic interest in studying Turkish in
order to trade with Turkey or to emigrate and work there.

The people in Zhupa

claimed that they were definitely Turkish, although many spoke the Macedonian
language with one another.

In spring 1995, the police came to Zhupa and tore down the two private schools.

Many people were threatened with losing their jobs if they sent their children to the

The Torbeshes of Macedonia

schools.

Finally, on 2 September 1996 some 60 Torbesh parents started a hunger

strike in Zhupa. A partial solution came on the 25th day of the strike. A total of
171 students from Zhupa were allowed to register temporarily at a Turkish school
in Kocacik village 9 kilometers away. However, after a month police prevented the
children from attending this school also. The TDP gave full support to the parents.
The leader of the TDP, Erdog˘an Sarac¸, complained about the attitude of the
Macedonian government and explained the cause of this attitude as a “concern of
population”. He stated that if these people were given the right to a Turkish
education, then their Turkish identity would be accepted and 4% of Orthodox
Macedonians would be deducted from the census figures.

This question was left

hanging in the air for a long time. The Macedonian Helsinki Committee received
43 individual letters demanding Turkish education in Zhupa in 1997. Finally, in
1999 the Ministry of Education gave permission for opening official Turkish-language
classes in Zhupa. Nowadays, many Torbesh villages have been striving for Turkish
education in their primary schools.

Benefiting from the “Rule of Law”

Since achieving independence in 1991, Macedonia has avoided the kind of ethnic and
religious conflicts that had engulfed other Balkan states for decades. However,
Macedonian authorities were not able to fully benefit from this opportunity. Early
in 2001, the clashes between Albanian militants and Macedonian security forces
near the Kosova border started another ethnic conflict in Macedonia. However, inter-
national organizations did not allow the bloodshed of Bosnia and Kosova to be
repeated in Macedonia and stopped the conflict before it became widespread. The
conflict was resolved quickly and a road map was created to re-establish the rule of
law in the crisis regions. At the same time constitutional, legal and administrative
changes that would strengthen multi-ethnicity and democracy were mandated. The
fundamental principles of all of these activities constitute an increase in the represen-
tation of members of minority communities in Macedonia into public administration,
the military and the police.

Due to heavy international pressure, the EU integration period and implementation of

the Ohrid Framework agreement, some incremental improvements in the situation have
been observed in recent years. The proportion of Muslim minorities employed in the
state administration has increased; many have joined the police force

and the army.

However, this still does not reflect the composition and distribution of the population
of the country. For instance, in Zhupa a very small number of the 30 policemen are
Torbesh. From the first clashes, the international community sought only to achieve a
political dialogue between the Macedonians and the Albanians, ignoring the Turks,
Roma, Serbs, Vlachs and Torbeshes. The Torbeshes want to enjoy their constitutional
rights such as Turkish education for their children. While it is now theoretically possible,
the Macedonian authorities continue to refuse to recognize an independent ethnic
Torbesh identity and so bureaucratic obstacles persist.

In spite of all the systematic pressures, the Torbeshes keep their distance and try to

avoid involvement in any sort of governmental business or meeting with officials in the
government. They prefer to live within their own community. They are uneasy at
being called Torbesh and consider this as degrading. However, it seems that one day,
if they feel really secure, they would want to be called “Turk”.

Ali Dikici

Conclusion

The historical origin of Torbeshes is still a mystery. Therefore, it is much better to deal
with how they define themselves now rather than speculate on who they were in the past,
and their descendants could make the final decision on their national and ethnic identity
depending on their social, political and economic situation at the time.

It is a reality that the Torbeshes have suffered greatly from conflicts and wars both past

and present. They are always the forgotten victims, crushed between the rival national-
isms of major ethnic groups. They do not have a kin-state which defends their interna-
tionally guaranteed rights. So, they are looking for help from the international
community.

The Macedonian authorities have been concerned about the penetration of Albanian

and Turkish nationalism into this community. Some Torbeshes look to integrate with
their linguistic brethren, while many others want their Turkish identity to be accepted.
If the political situation gets any worse, smaller communities like the Torbeshes will
not only be forced to choose sides, but they will also have to give up much of their
separate identities.

NOTES

1. O

¨ mer Turan, “Pomaks, Their Past and Present”, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 19, No. 1,

April 1999, pp. 69 – 83.

2. The region takes its name from the Radika river (reka is the Macedonian word for river).
3. “Project of Women’s Organization “Radika”, in Debar Area—Reka Women Embroider Scarves for

Americans”, Dnevnik (Diary), 19 Febuary 2003.

4. There are 10,718 inhabitants in Rostushe, which is the largest municipality in the region. See Infor-

mation and Communications Technology Assistance for Macedonian Municipalities, Municipality of Ros-
tushe, available online at:

,http://www.undp.org.mk/itc-ros/op_ros_ang.htm..

5. There are 6229 inhabitants in the municipality of Zhupa. See Z

ˇ upa Municipality webpage, available

online at:

,http://www.centarjupa.gov.mk/demografi.htm..

6. Turan, “Pomaks”, op. cit., p. 70.
7. What is more interesting is that many Torbeshes that I met expressed that they do not enjoy the term

Torbesh since they take it as an insult. The name is somewhat pejorative and derogatory sounding
“vagrant, miserable, dishevelled and uncivil”. Some of them stated that the reason for their discontent
is that the Torbesh and Pomak terms had been given by their Christian neighbors to degrade the Slavs
who converted to Islam. Oppression and the intimidation under the former Republic of Yugoslavia
also contribute to the formation of a “sense of shame” vis-a`-vis their Torbesh identity. However,
the term “Muslim Macedonians” is used by Macedonian authorities and scholars to engage the Tor-
beshes in their republic in the process of Macedonian nation building. Therefore, I will employ the
term Torbesh to refer to the “Macedonian-speaking Muslim Community” instead of the questionable
“Macedonian Muslim” (Makedonski Muslimani) or “Muslim Macedonian” (Muslimanski Makedoni).
However, the Macedonian Muslim term will be quoted as the source originally implied. Similarly
another pejorative term used for Torbeshes is poturi/poturlu. “It was generally used to refer to Islami-
cized or Turkicized Bosnian Slavs of a rather rustic and provincial kind, who may have retained some
Christian practices.” See Noel Malcolm, Bosnia: A Short History, 2nd edn., London: Macmillan,
1996, pp. 59 – 60.

8. Jean-Arnault De´rens, “Winners and Losers among the Minority Groups in Former Yugoslavia: For-

gotten Peoples of the Balkans”, Le Monde Diplomatique, August 2003, available online at:

,http://

mondediplo.com/2003/08/04Derens.; Hu

¨ seyin Memis¸og˘lu, “Pomaklar (Pomaks)”, in Balkanlar

El Kitabı (Balkans Handbook), eds. Osman Karatay and Bilgehan A. Go¨kdag˘, Vol. II, C

¸ orum-

Ankara: KaraM&Vadi Publishing, 2007, pp. 523 – 535.

9. See also Turan, “Pomaks”, op. cit., p. 69.

10. Hugh Poulton, “Non-Albanian Muslim Minorities in Macedonia”, in The New Macedonian Question,

ed. James Pettifer, London: Macmillan Press, 1999, pp. 107 – 126. For instance, N. Skiryabin uses the
term Pomak for the people in Debar and Radika valley which are Torbesh regions. Quoted by Gligor

The Torbeshes of Macedonia

Todorovski, “Verskiot Faktor Kako Islamiziranite Makedonci” (The Factor of Religion on the
National Identity of Islamicized Macedonians), in Istorija Folklor i Etnologija na Islamiziranite Make-
donci (History, Folklore and Ethnology of Islamicized Macedonians), Skopje: Scientific-Cultural
Activities of Islamicized Macedonians in Macedonia, 1987, p. 70.

11. Aneta Svetieva, “Politicisation of the Ethnic Identity of the Torbesh (the Nashinci)”,

available online at:

,http://www.iea.pmf.ukim.edu.mk/EAZ/EAZ_03/EAZ_2004_PDF/EAZ_

2003_Ponizeni_Balkan_Ang.pdf

12. Turan, “Pomaks”, op. cit., p. 69; Kemal Go¨zler, “Osmanlı Tahrir Defterlerine Go¨re Lofc¸a Pomak

Ko¨ylerinin I˙lk Mu

¨ slu

¨ man Sakinleri: 1479 – 1579” (Pomak Villages of Lofc¸a in 15th and 16th Centu-

ries According to Ottoman Tahrir Defters: 1479 – 1579), available online at:

,http://www.anayasa.

gen.tr/pomteb.htm#_ftnref5..

13. Erhan Tu

¨ rbedar, “Balkanlar’da Mu

¨ slu

¨ man Topluluklar ve Tu

¨ rkiye” (Muslim Communities in

Balkans and Turkey), available online at: <http://www.balgoc.org.tr/2004/bmtseminer/bursate-
blig.doc>. The Gorans are a small group of Muslim people who live in the mountains in the far
south of Kosovo and speak a Slavonic language closely related to Macedonian. There is another argu-
ment that the Macedonian governments are trying to record these people as “Macedonians” by offer-
ing them Macedonian citizenship and passports. See Taner Gu

¨ c¸lu

¨ tu

¨ rk, “Go¨c¸ ve Terk Edilmis¸likle

¨ tu

¨ nles¸enler: Gora ve Goralılar” (Those who Integrate with Migration and Neglect: Gora and

Gorans), Yeni Do¨nem (The New Era), Kosovo, available online at:

,http://www.balgoc.org.tr/

email/gora.html..

14. Poulton, “Non-Albanian Muslim Minorities”, op. cit., p. 117.
15. Bilal Eryılmaz, Osmanlı Devletinde Millet Sistemi (Millet System in Ottoman State), I˙stanbul: Ag˘ac¸

Publishing, 1992, p. 13.

16. Kemal Karpat, Ottoman Population 1830 – 1914: Demographic and Social Characteristics, London:

University of Wisconsin Press, 1985, p. 55.

17. Karpat mentions only the Turks, Albanians, Bosnian Muslims (Bosniacs) and the Pomaks as Muslim

populations in the Balkans. In some cases, however, the Ottoman principle of regarding people in
terms of their religious identity was violated due to requirements of the administration, state manage-
ment or the military. See ibid., pp. 22 – 23.

18. H. R. Wilkinson, Maps and Politics: A Review of the Ethnographic Cartography of Macedonia, Liverpool:

Liverpool University Press, 1951, pp. 162 – 163.

19. P. Cilev, “Obikolka iz Albanski Selica v Pristinako, Prizrensko, Debarsko i Ohridsko” (The Settle-

ment of Albanian Villages in Ohrid, Debre, Prizren and Pristina), Izvestija na Narodnija Etnografski
Muzej v Sofia (The Yearbook of Sofia Museum of Ethnography), Vol. V – VI, Sofia, 1926, p. 10,
quoted by Turan, “Pomaks”, op. cit.

20. Emil Zafirovski, “Muslims Ache with Macedonian Tears”, Media Diversity Institute, available online at:

,http://www.media-diversity.org/articles_publications/articles_macedonian%20multiethnic%20team
%20reporting%202001/MUSLIMS%20ACHE%20WITH%20MACEDONIAN%20TEARS.htm..

21. Jovan Hadzhi Vasilevich, Muslimani nashje krvje vo Juzhnoj Srbiji (Muslims of our Blood in Southern

Serbia), Belgrade: Bratsvo, 1924, p. 34.

22. A sweet prepared with sesame oil, various cereals, and syrup or honey.
23. Galaba Palikuruseva, “Islamizacija na Torbesite i Torbeskata Subgrupa” (The Islamization of Torbes

and Torbes Subgroups), unpublished PhD thesis, University of Cyril and Methodius, Skopje, 1965,
pp. 132 – 137.

24. The Janissaries (or janizaries; corrupted from Turkish: Yenic¸eri, meaning ‘New Troops’) comprised

infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan’s household troops and bodyguard. The Janissaries
were a renowned, organized and elite corps of the Ottoman army, founded in the fourteenth
century. It was abolished by Sultan Mahmud II in 1826.

25. Dimitar Angelov, Bogomilstvoto v Bulgarija (The Bogomils in Bulgaria), Sofia: Nauka i izkustvo, 1969,

p. 150. See also Dragan Taskovski, Bogomilskoto Dvizenje (The Bogomil Movement), Skopje: Nasha
Kniga, 1970, pp. 148 – 149.

26. Svetieva, “Politicisation of the Ethnic Identity”, op. cit.
27. S

¸ , s¸ pronounced sh as in ship. So, Torbesh (Eng.) ¼ Torbes¸ (Tur.).

28. Yusuf Hamzaog˘lu, Balkan Tu¨rklu¨g˘u¨ (Turkish Identity in Balkans), Ankara: Ku

¨ ltu

¨ r Bakanlıg˘ı Publish-

ing, 2000, p. 453.

29. Yas¸ar Kalafat, Makedonya Tu¨rkleri Arasında Yas¸ayan Halk I˙nanc¸ları (Turkish Folk Beliefs among the

Turks in Macedonia), I˙stanbul: Tu

¨ rk Du

¨ nyası Aras¸tırma Vakfı Publishing, 1994, pp. 18 – 20.

Ali Dikici

30. It is known that the Torbesh name appears also as denoting territory of origin such as the village of

Torbach in Golo Brdo—the part which is in Albania.

31. Turan, “Pomaks”, op. cit., p. 70.
32. Tu

¨ rbedar, “Balkanlar’da Mu

¨ slu

¨ man Topluluklar ve Tu

¨ rkiye”, op. cit.

33. Milivoj Pavlovic, Skopski Torbesi-Najstrarije Pleme na Balkanskom Poluostrvu (The Oldest Skopje Tor-

beshes Who Come from Serbian Origin in the Balkan Peninsula), Skopje: Juzna Srbija, 1939; Vera
Mutafchieva and Antonina Zhelyazkova, Turcija (Turkey), Sofia: Open Society Publishing House,
1994, p. 10; Center for Documentation and Information on Minorities in Europe—Southeast
Europe (CEDIME-SE), “Minorities in Southeast Europe: Muslims of Macedonia”, updated August
2000,

available

online

at:

,http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/english/reports/CEDIME-Reports-

Minorities-in-Macedonia.html

34. Turan, “Pomaks”, op. cit., pp. 70 – 71.
35. Stanford J. Shaw, “Osmanlı I˙mparatorlug˘u’nda Azınlıklar Sorunu” (The Problem of Minorities in the

Ottoman Empire), in Tanzimat’tan Cumhuriyet’e Tu¨rkiye Ansiklopedisi (Encyclopedia of Turkey from
Tanzimat to the Republic), Vol. V, I˙stanbul: I˙letis¸im Publishing, 1986, pp. 1002 – 1006.

36. Eran Fraenkel, “Turning a Donkey into a Horse: Paradox and Conflict in the Identity of Macedonci

Muslimani”, Balkan Forum, Vol. 3, No. 4, 1995, pp. 153 – 163.

37. Maria Todorova, “The Ottoman Legacy in the Balkans”, in The Balkans: A Mirror of the New Inter-

national Order, eds. Gu

¨ nay Go¨ksu O

¨ zdog˘an and Kemal Saybas¸ılı, I˙stanbul: Eren Publications, 1995,

p. 72.

38. Dmitri Obolensky, The Bogomils: A Study in Balkan Neo-Manichaeism, Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 1948, p. 167.

39. Hamzaog˘lu, Balkan Tu¨rklu¨g˘u¨, op. cit., p. 454; Turan, “Pomaks”, op. cit., p. 71.
40. Hu

¨ seyin Memis¸og˘lu, Pomak Tu¨rklerinin Tarihi Gec¸mis¸inden Sayfalar (Pages of History of Pomak

Turks), Ankara: S

¸ afak Publishing, 1991, pp. 11 – 12; Asen Balıkc¸ı, “Pomak Identity: National Pre-

scriptions and Native Assumptions”, Ethnologia Balkanica, Mu

¨ nchen: Waxmann Verlag, No. 03,

1999, pp. 51 – 57. The name of some locations such as Kumanova in Macedonia is given as the
proof of this opinion.

41. Hugh Poulton, “Changing Notions of National Identity among Muslims in Thrace and Macedonia:

Turks, Pomaks and Roma”, in Muslim Identity and the Balkan State, eds Hugh Poulton and Suha Taji-
Farouki, London: C. Hurst, 1997, p. 93.

42. In a search on “tendencies rejecting the behaviors against the religion and moral values”, Torbeshes

and Pomaks have the highest and most severe reaction ratio in comparison to other Muslim minorities
in the Balkans. See Musa Musai, “Balkan Mu

¨ slu

¨ manlarında Din-Kimlik Bu

¨ tu

¨ nles¸mesi” (Religion-

Identity Integration of Balkan Muslims), Hikmet, No. 6, Gostivar: ADEKSAM, 2005, pp. 7 – 25.
Relative to the others, Torbeshes displayed the highest desire (68.8%) to live in a country having
full freedom of religion and conscience, and this is directly related to their definition of identity on
the basis of religion. See ibid., p. 23.

43. Halim C

¸ avus¸og˘lu, “Yugoslavya-Makedonya’dan Tu

¨ rkiye’ye 1952 – 67 ‘Kitlesel’ Go¨c¸u

¨ ve Bursa’daki

Go¨c¸men Kesimi” (The “Mass” Migration in 1952 – 67 from Yugoslavia – Macedonia to Turkey and
the Part of Immigrants in Bursa), Karadeniz Aras¸tırmaları (Black Sea Studies), Vol. 3, No. 10,
2006, pp. 107 – 147.

44. Turan, “Pomaks”, op. cit., p. 75.
45. C

¸ avus¸og˘lu, “Yugoslavya-Makedonya’dan Tu

¨ rkiye’ye”, op. cit., p. 120.

46. Ibid., p. 120.
47. Dıs¸is¸leri Bakanlıg˘ı (The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey), “No: 183, 843/412/3186, 6 Temmuz

1963, Belgrad Bu

¨ yu

¨ kelc¸ilig˘i’nden Dıs¸is¸leri Bakanlıg˘ı’na” (From Turkish Embassy in Belgrade to the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey), Dıs¸ Tu¨rkler (Belgeler)—Turks in Abroad (Documents), Ankara:
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, 1969, pp. 642, 649 – 650.

48. Spiridon Gopcˇevic´, Stara Srbija i Makedonija (Old Serbia and Macedonia), Belgrade: Ilije

M. Kolarca, 1890, p. 58.

49. Turan, “Pomaks”, op. cit., p. 72.
50. Mario Apostolov, “The Pomaks: A Religious Minority in The Balkans”, Nationalities Papers, Vol. 24,

No. 4, 1996, pp. 727 – 742. Also available online at: Columbia International Affairs Online,

,http://

www.ciaonet.org/conf/iec03/iec03_14-96.html#txt7..

51. Nijazi Limanovski, Islamizacijata i etnicˇkite promeni vo Makedonija, Makedonci Muslimani (Macedo-

nian Muslims, Ethnic Changes and Islamization in Macedonia), Skopje: Makedonska Kniga,
1984, p. 54.

The Torbeshes of Macedonia

52. Atanas Benderev, Voenaja Geografija i Statistika Makedoniji (The Military Geography and Statistics in

Macedonia), St. Petersburg, 1890, p. 592, quoted by Turan, “Pomaks”, op. cit., p. 83. Benderev gives
the figures of “Islamicized Macedons” living in the towns which are found within Macedonia today:
in Dojran, 2763; in Strumitsa, 11,823; in Tikvesh, 47,938; in the district of Skopje, 20,870; in Kuma-
novo, 800; in Radovish, 5387; and in Kochani, 7930. In the district of Manastir their number was
35,423; in Prilepe, 8000; in Resen and Prespa, 4000; and in Debre-i Zire, 6000. Although other
Muslim minorities like Pomaks are included in these figures, they reflect mostly the population of
the Torbeshes.

53. Stefan M. Verkovic, Topograficesko-Ethnograficeskij ocerk Makedonii (Ethnography and Topography of

Macedonia), St. Petersburg: Voennaja tip, 1889, p. 238. According to Verkovic, the Muslim Mace-
donians in selected towns in present-day Macedonia number as follows: in Koprulu, 4646;
in Strumica, 7497; in Ohrid, 1523; in Kichevo, 5690; in Resen, 2806; in Monastir, 5177; in
Prilep, 4695; in Debar, 8046; in Tikvesh, 15,685; in Tetovo, 8149; in Skopje, 5509; in Shtip,
3468, and in Kochana, 3790, etc.

54. Jordan Nikolov Ivanov, Bulgarite vi Makedonija (Bulgars in Macedonia), Sofia, 1915, quoted by

Turan, “Pomaks”, op. cit., p. 73.

55. Dıs¸is¸leri Bakanlıg˘ı (The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey), “No: 183, 843/412/3186, 6 Temmuz

1963, Belgrad Bu

¨ yu

¨ kelc¸ilig˘i’nden Dıs¸is¸leri Bakanlıg˘ı’na”, op. cit., p. 645.

56. For a thesis regarding their lifestyle and customs in Turkey, see Metin Demir, “Manisa’da Yas¸ayan

Torbes¸ler’in Du

¨ g˘u

¨ n Adet ve Gelenekleri” (Wedding Ceremonies and Customs of Torbeshes Living

in Manisa), unpublished Master thesis, Turkish Folk Science Department, Hacettepe University,
Ankara, 1990.

57. Ivo Banac, The National Question in Yugoslavia: Origins, History, Politics, New York: Cornell University

Press, 1989, p. 50.

58. Poulton, “Non-Albanian Muslim Minorities”, op. cit., p. 115.
59. Baskın Oran, “Religious and National Identity among the Balkan Muslims: A Comparative Study on

Greece, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Kosova”, Cahiers d’e´tudes sur la Me´diterrane´e orientale et le monde
turco-iranien (Study documentation

/research findings on the Oriental Mediterranean and Turkish-

Iranian civilization), No. 18, Juillet – De´cembre 1994, available online at:

,http://www.ceri-science-

spo.com/publica/cemoti/textes18/oran18.pdf..

60. Oran, “Religious and National Identity among the Balkan Muslims”, op. cit.
61. Tom Gallagher, The Balkans in the New Millennium: In the Shadow of War and Peace, London and

New York: Routledge, 2005, p. 85.

62. Necati C

¸ ayırlı, “Makedonya Tu

¨ rkleri” (Turks in Macedonia), in Tu¨rkler Ansiklopedisi (Encylopedia of

Turks), Vol. 20, Ankara: Yeni Tu

¨ rkiye Publishing, 2002, pp. 444 – 454.

63. Murat Oral, Makedonya Cumhuriyeti U

¨ lke Profili (The Profile of Republic of Macedonia), Skopje: The

Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA), February 2005, available
online at:

,http://www.tika.gov.tr/Dosyalar/Makedonya.doc..

64. Tu

¨ rbedar, “Balkanlar’da Mu

¨ slu

¨ man Topluluklar ve Tu

¨ rkiye”, op. cit.

65. Zafirovski, “Muslims Ache”, op. cit.
66. Hamzaog˘lu, Balkan Tu¨rklu¨g˘u¨, op. cit., p. 453.
67. C

¸ avus¸og˘lu, “Yugoslavya-Makedonya’dan Tu

¨ rkiye’ye”, op. cit., p. 121.

68. Poulton, “Changing Notions of National Identity”, op. cit., p. 94. Another author gives the full name

of this association as “The Culture and Science Center of Macedonian Muslims”; see Oran, “Reli-
gious and National Identity among the Balkan Muslims”, op. cit. In addition to these attempts to
bring them back to the “Macedonianness”, especially in the 1970s “there were also political attempts
to make the Christian Macedonians accept the Macedonian Muslims as their co-nationals. However,
this process has been rather difficult. Although the two communities share the same language, Mace-
donian Christians presume one cannot be ‘Macedonian’ without being Orthodox Christian. They
view Orthodoxy as a necessary, if not a sufficient, component of the Macedonian cultural and com-
munal identity.” See Fraenkel, “Turning a Donkey into a Horse”, op. cit., p. 154. Therefore, “the
emphasis of Macedonian nationalist politicians on the connection between the Macedonian Ortho-
dox Church and Macedonian nationality has further alienated some Macedonian Muslims. However,
the current dispute is thus not a new one. The precipitous banning of the Muslim veil (zar and feredzˇe)
in the early 1950s also created significant alienation of some Macedonian-speaking Muslims from the
state and increased their sense that Macedonian identity was a Christian identity.” See Victor
A. Friedman, “Language Policy and Language Behavior in Macedonia: Background and Current

Ali Dikici

Events”, in Language Contact, Language Conflict, eds. Eran Fraenkel and Christina Kramer,
New York: Peter Lang, 1993, pp. 73 – 99.

69. Oran, “Religious and National Identity among the Balkan Muslims”, op. cit.
70. Limanovski, Islamizacijata i Etnickite Promeni vo Makedonija. Makedonci Muslimani, op. cit., p. 29.
71. Ibid., pp. 35 – 36.
72. These materials were given by Gligor Todorovski, Alexander Matkjovski, Nijazi Limanovski and

Stojche Dojcihnovski-Rosokloja during the first scientific Muslim Macedonian Symposium held in
Kichevo on 3 – 4 October 1981. See Center for Documentation and Information on Minorities in
Europe—Southeast Europe (CEDIME-SE), “Minorities in Southeast Europe: Muslims of
Macedonia”, updated August 2000, available online at:

,http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/pdf/

cedime-se-macedonia-muslims.doc

73. Xavier Bougarel, “Islam and Politics in the Post-Communist Balkans”, available online at:

,http://

www.ksg.harvard.edu/kokkalis/GSW1/GSW1/13%20Bougarel.pdf..

74. Oran, “Religious and National Identity among the Balkan Muslims”, op. cit.
75. Inma Pe´rez Rocha, “Power-sharing in the FYR of Macedonia after the Ohrid Framework Agreement

and its Impact on the Turkish Community”, unpulished Master thesis, UNESCO Chair on Edu-
cation for Human Rights and Peace, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, June 2003,
p. 48.

76. Bougarel, “Islam and Politics in the Post-Communist Balkans”, op. cit.
77. De´rens, “Winners and Losers among the Minority Groups in Former Yugoslavia”, op. cit.
78. Musai, “Balkan Mu

¨ slu

¨ manlarında Din-Kimlik Bu

¨ tu

¨ nles¸mesi”, op. cit., p. 24.

79. Poulton, “Changing Notions of National Identity”, op. cit., pp. 94 – 95.
80. Ibid.
81. Duncan M. Perry, “The Republic of Macedonia: Finding its Way”, in Politics, Power and the Struggle

for Democracy in South-East Europe, eds. Karen Dawisha and Bruce Parrott, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1997, p. 256. This is interpreted as “a process of Albanization of the part of the
population practicing Islam (through increasing the level of the Albanian language in the religious
practis[sic], the religious service and the education of the preachers)”. See “Report on Minority
Rights in the Republic of Macedonia”, Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in the Republic of
Macedonia, Skopje, September 1999, available online at:

,http://www.minelres.lv/reports/macedonia/

macedonia_NGO.htm#return_7

82. Bougarel, “Islam and Politics in the Post-Communist Balkans”, op. cit.
83. “Protest against the Denationalisation of Macedonian Moslems”, The MILS News (Macedonian

Information and Liaison Service), Skopje, 23 October 1996, also available online at:

,http://

www.hri.org/news/balkans/mils/1996/96-10-23.mils.html#11..

84. Current mayors of two Torbesh towns Dzupa and Plasnitsa, Dr. Nuzi S

¸ ahin and Dr. Fidail Salifoski

respectively, are members of TDP. Before parliamentary elections of July 2006 a new party was
formed by a Torbesh businessman, Fiat Canovski, and he was elected as a parliamentarian.

85. Oran, “Religious and National Identity among the Balkan Muslims”, op. cit.
86. C

¸ avus¸og˘lu, “Yugoslavya-Makedonya’dan Tu

¨ rkiye’ye”, op. cit., p. 132.

87. Poulton, “Non-Albanian Muslim Minorities”, op. cit., p. 116. When I was working for the Organiz-

ation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje, many
Torbeshes told me that they want to learn Turkish, and in the past their grandparents spoke
Turkish secretly in their homes and implied that their parents were seeking to return the children
to their roots.

88. Oran, “Religious and National Identity among the Balkan Muslims”, op. cit.
89. Nova Makedonija (The New Macedonia), 7 – 10 January 1993.
90. Mario Apostolov, “The Pomaks: A Religious Minority in the Balkans”, op. cit.
91. “A Threat to ‘Stability’, Human Rights Violations in Macedonia”, Human Rights Watch/Helsinki

Human Rights Watch, available online at:

,http://hrw.org/reports/1996/Macedoni.htm..

92. Ibid.
93. Nedim Yalc¸ın, “Tu

¨ rkc¸e ic¸in ac¸lık Grevi” (Hunger Strike for Turkish Language), Aksiyon, No. 97, 12

October 1996, available online at:

,http://www.aksiyon.com.tr/detay.php?id¼19215..

94. Many Torbesh cadets enlisted themselves as Turkish with the OSCE Police Academy.
95. De´rens, “Winners and Losers among the Minority Groups in Former Yugoslavia”, op. cit.

The Torbeshes of Macedonia