Center for Documentation and Information

on Minorities in Europe - Southeast Europe (CEDIME-SE)

MINORITIES IN SOUTHEST EURO!E
Mus"ims of Macedonia
Acknowledgements
This report was researched and written by Maria Koinova, Researcher of CEDME!"E# t
was edited by $anayote Dimitras, Director of CEDME!"E and %afsika $apanikolatos,
Coordinator of CEDME!"E# English &ang'age Editors of CEDME!"E Mariana
&enkova and Caroline &aw# CEDME!"E wo'ld like to e(press its deep appreciation to
the e(ternal reviewers of this report, Eran )raenkel, E(ec'tive Director of "earch for
Common *ro'nd in Macedonia, and +'gh $o'lton, Cons'ltant, Article ,- and Minority
Rights *ro'p nternational, who, with their critical comments, contrib'ted s'bstantially to
its .'ality# CEDME!"E wo'ld also like to thank all persons who genero'sly provided
information and/or doc'ments, and/or gave interviews to its researcher# The responsibility
for the report0s content, tho'gh, lies only with CEDME!"E# 1e welcome all comments
sent to2 office3greekhelsinki#gr
M#OR CHRCTERISTICS
4pdated A'g'st 5666
State
Rep'blic of Macedonia
Name (in En$"ish% in the dominant "an$ua$e and -if different- in the minorit&
"an$ua$e)
M'slims
Is there an& form of reco$nition of the minorit&'
The slamic Comm'nity and the slamic Dervish Religio's Comm'nity are officially
registered by the state#
Cate$or& (nationa"% ethnic% "in$uistic or re"i$ious) ascri(ed (& the minorit& and% if
different% (& the state)
Religio's
Territor& the& inha(it)
M'slims in Macedonia belong to five ethnic gro'ps# These are Albanians, T'rks, Roma,
M'slim Macedonians 7 also known as Torbeshi, $omaks or $ot'rs8 and 9osnians#
Albanians live in compact areas in the western part of Macedonia, bordering Albania#
They also live in the northwest, close to :'goslavia0s province of Kosovo, and in the
capital "kop;e 71orld Directory of Minorities, ,--<25=>8# n some towns, s'ch as
*ostivar and Tetovo close to the Albanian border, they constit'te the ma;ority of the
pop'lation# The ethnic T'rks live in the western and northwestern parts of the co'ntry too
7$o'lton, ,--=2?8# There is a big concentration of T'rks in "kop;e, the towns of Debar,
*ostivar and "tr'mitsa 7Milosavlevski, Tomovski, .'oting cens's data, ,--<25->8# 9ig
comm'nities of Macedonian Roma are present in the towns of Chair, Tsentar, $rilep,
Debar, @inica and also in the capital "kop;e 7Milosavlevski, Tomovski, .'oting cens's
data, ,--<2 5-A8# )or the most part, the Macedonian M'slims 7Torbeshi8 live in the
western part of the co'ntry 7+R1, ,--B2?68# The *orans !!a gro'p closely associated
with them!! lives in the 'pland regions of "har $lanina in 1estern Macedonia 7$o'lton,
,--?2,B8# 9osnians live between "kop;e and @eles in central Macedonia 7)raenkel, ,---8#
!opu"ation
The last ,--> pop'lation cens's recorded A?,,56= M'slims in Macedonia o't of a total
pop'lation of ,,-=A,6=> 7lievski, ,--?2,,8# >>,,,6> of them are Albanians 755#-C of the
total pop'lation8, <?,6,- T'rks, >=,<6< Roma, B,?5- 9osnians 7)riedman, @#, .'oting
,--> cens's data, ,--?258 and ,A,>,? M'slim Macedonians 7lievski, ,--?2,,8# t m'st
be noted that the cens's registered only citiDens and not residents# +owever, many
minority representatives have faced enormo's political and technical problems in ac.'iring
citiDenship after Macedonia0s independence# t is diffic'lt to give independent data on the
real n'mber of the M'slims in Macedonia# The leaders of the respective ethnic
comm'nities give the following estimates2 Albanians constit'te >6 per cent of the
pop'lation 7C"CE, ,--52,=8, T'rks !! between ,<6,666 and 566,666 people 7+R1,
,--B2B?8, and 9osnians !! aro'nd B6,666!?6,666 people 7M'hic, ,---8# 4nofficial
2
estimates state that there are some 566,666 Roma 7MR*, ,--<25=A8# Macedonian M'slim
activists claim that the n'mber of their religio's brethren is m'ch larger, especially when
one keeps in mind that there are no data on some of them, e#g# the *orans 7+R1,
,--B2?68#
Name of the "an$ua$e(s) spo*en (& the minorit& (in En$"ish% in the minorit&
"an$ua$e and -if different- in the dominant "an$ua$e))
Albanian, T'rkish, Macedonian, Romani, 9osnian#
Is there an& form of reco$nition of the "an$ua$e(s)'
Dominant "an$ua$e of the territor& the& inha(it)
Macedonian
Occasiona" or dai"& use of the minorit& "an$ua$e)
ccess to education correspondin$ to the needs of the minorit&)
Re"i$ion(s) practiced)
slam# The ma;ority adheres to "'nni slam, while some belong to the "hiite 9ektashi
order#
Is there an& form of reco$nition of the re"i$ion(s)'
9oth religio's comm'nities !!of the "'nni and the "'fi 7Dervish8 orders!! are officially
registered by the state# Religio's instr'ction is officially allowed in the private religio's
schools, b't not in the p'blic schools#
Communities ha+in$ the same characteristics in other territories,countries)
M'slims predominate in aro'nd =6 to >6 co'ntries# They are present from the Atlantic to
the $acific Eceans, along the belt that stretches across northern Africa to the so'thern
borders of the former "oviet 4nion, and the northern regions of the ndian s'bcontinent#
Arabs acco'nt for less than one fifth of all M'slims 7Encyclopedia 9ritannica, ,--52,658#
M'slims in the 9alkans are a ma;ority in Albania, 9osnia!+erDegovina and T'rkey, while
they are minorities in the predominantly Erthodo( co'ntries 9'lgaria, Cypr's, *reece,
Macedonia, Romania and :'goslavia, as well as in the predominantly Roman Catholic
co'ntries Croatia and "lovenia#
!opu"ation of these communities in other territories,countries
There were aro'nd >66 million M'slims in the world at the time of the "econd 1orld
1ar, whereas there were aro'nd , billion of them in ,-?A 7Atlas on Religions of
Encyclopaedia 4niversalis, ,--62,>8# n the neighboring states2 M'slims in Albania make
'p <6 per cent 7+'man Rights 1itho't )rontiers, ,--B2-8 o't of a total pop'lation of =#>
million# There are aro'nd ,,,,6,5-A M'slims in 9'lgaria, o't of a total pop'lation of
?,>?<,=,< people, according to the last ,--5 pop'lation cens's 7Cohen, Kanev, ,--?8# n
*reece there are aro'nd ,66,666 M'slims living in 1estern Thrace, aro'nd A66,666 in
the rest of the co'ntry, mainly living Athens and Thessaloniki and who are composed of
immigrant pop'lations#
3
4
!RESENTTION
-) HISTORIC. /C01ROUND
-)-) Important historical developments
Muslim Communities, Islam and the Ottoman Empire: The Ettomans con.'ered the
9alkans in the late ,>
th
cent'ry# The con.'est introd'ced slam to the formerly Christian
land in line with the Ettoman "tate0s main concept of forging a Fholy warG for the spread
and defense of slam# Despite the interest in Freligio's war,G however, the goal of the
con.'est was not to destroy the s'b;ected peoples, b't to dominate them in a manner that
is advantageo's to slam# Th's, if a city or a region s'rrendered witho't resistance, the
pop'lation was allowed to retain its religion, otherwise it ran the risk of being enslaved or
massacred 7Helavic, ,-?=2=-8#
There are generally three different theories on the spread of slam in the 9alkans# The first
one s'ggests that the Ettoman con.'est was followed by genocide over the indigeno's
pop'lations and, thereafter, by an intensive coloniDation by T'rks from Anatolia#
7IhelyaDkova, ,--<2,>8# Another thesis !!s'pported by a n'mber of nationalist 9alkan
writers!! s'ggests that slam was spread in a coercive way# This thesis p'ts a lot of
emphasis on the forcef'l recr'itment of Christian boys 7devshirme8 to participate in the
Ettoman janissary instit'tion 7,>
th
!,?
th
c#8 7M'tafchieva, ,-->2,68# A third thesis
s'ggests that conversion took place only on a vol'ntary principle, beca'se non!M'slim
s'b;ects had economic incentives to do so# 9y adopting the new religion, they eliminated
several restrictions disc'ssed below 7Helavic, ,-?=2>68# This thesis is s'pported by a
s'bstantial n'mber of western scholars#
The Ettoman Empire divided its s'b;ects along confessional lines, and not along their
ethnicity or lang'age# There were fo'r administrative 'nits, the millets, which reg'lated
the religio'sly different s'b;ects# The Umma dealt with the affairs of the M'slims
7$o'lton, ,--A25?8# There were also the Christian, Armenian and Hewish millets, which
were given a relative a'tonomy to manage their own affairs 7$o'lton, ,--?2?8#
M'slims and non!M'slims were not treated e.'ally# The Ettoman legal system
incorporated two kinds of laws !! slamic law 7sheriat8 and Civil law# The first one, based
on ecclesiastical te(ts, applied only to M'slims# The second one was designed to cover
other details that evolved in the political life of the state and was p'rs'ed by the decrees of
the "'ltan, which were called kanuns 7Helavic, ,-?A2>68# n many cases the kanuns were
the ones that laid the fo'ndation for the discrimination of the non!M'slim pop'lation
7Kanev, ,---8# Moreover, the cizye ta( was imposed on every non!M'slim in the Empire#
This ta( was .'ite high and provided a third to a half of the state b'dget 7Eminov,
,--<2=<8# %on!M'slims were also not allowed to ;oin the military and the high!level state
administration# These posts co'ld provide them with a higher social stat's, b't they had
no access to these professions#
+owever, the Ettoman official records did not divide the M'slims according to their
ethnic or ling'istic affiliation 7Karpat, ,-?A2AA8# Therefore, it is .'ite diffic'lt to determine
5
the real n'mber of the different ethnic gro'ps that comprised the slamic comm'nity in the
Ettoman period# n some cases, however, the Ettoman principle of regarding people in
terms of their religio's identity was violated d'e to re.'irements of the administration,
state management and the military# )or their needs, the cadasters offered a more precise
information, giving data even on the ethnic identity of the described people# Conse.'ently,
M'slim Roma were differentiated from the others and th's they were levied the cizye ta(
along with the other FinfidelG s'b;ects 7IhelyaDkova, ,--<2>A8#
D'ring the Ettoman time, territorial Macedonia belonged to R'melia, the E'ropean
province of the Empire# n the ,>
th
cent'ry, frontier regions s'ch as Thrace, Eastern
9'lgaria, Macedonia and Thessaly became Dones where T'rkish emigration and c'lt're
predominated 7nalcik, ,-->2,>8# Different forces drove the spread of slam in those areas#
The cities !!s'ch as "kop;e!! were mostly settled by "'nni M'slims, while the vario's
adherents of folk slam started settling in the r'ral areas 7)raenkel, ,---8# They belonged
to different "'fi orders 7tarikates)# "'fi orders that fo'nd fertile soil for their activities in
Macedonia were the +elveti, %aksh!9andi, R'fa0i, Jadiri, Malami, etc# The 9ektashi,
'nlike the other "'fi orders in the 9alkans, tho'gh officially "'nni, are to be regarded as
essentially "hiite 7%orris, ,--=2?-8#
Most of the mos.'es on the territory of the present!day Rep'blic of Macedonia were
erected between the ,A
th
and the ,B
th
cent'ries# The most prominent of them are the sa
9eg Mos.'e, the M'stafa $asha Mos.'e and the "'ltan M'rat Mos.'e in "kop;e, and the
AladDha Mos.'e in Tetovo# Among the most prominent of the "'fi orders0 religio's
ob;ects !! tekkes 7a lodge of a "'fi order, inhabited by the "he;h or the 9aba of the
dervishes8 and turbes 7ma'sole'm of a "he;h8 !! are the +elveti Tekke!Mos.'e in "tro'ga
7slamic Comm'nity 9roch're, ,--<2<-8 and the 9ektashi!Tekke in Tetovo#
n the ,?=6s, the Ettoman Empire started reorganiDing itself politically in order to cope
with its domestic political and economic problems res'lted from the mo'nting E'ropean
press're and the reperc'ssions of the R'sso!T'rkish wars# This reform process is known
as the FTanDimatG reforms, marked by the reform edicts of ,?=- and ,?AB and the
Constit'tion of ,?<B# These legal acts committed the government to a policy of change,
greater ;'stice, e.'ality among the citiDens, and the r'le of law 7J'ataert, ,-->2<B5!<BA8#
Th's, with the granting of f'll legal e.'ality between M'slims and non!M'slims d'ring the
TanDimat era, M'slims started to lose their privileged stat's in the Empire#
Their stat's deteriorated f'rther when they became minorities in the newly established
9alkan states# "ince territorial Macedonia remained 'nder Ettoman r'le 'ntil the 9alkan
1ars 7,-,5!,-,=8, it became a FmagnetG for the Ettoman M'slim s'b;ects, who either
stayed in Macedonia for short or longer periods of time, or so'ght their way into the
heartland of the Empire#
Muslim Communities rom the !alkan "ars #$%$&'$%$() until the End o Communism2
Macedonia became a ma;or battlefield d'ring the 9alkan 1ars and the two 1orld 1ars#
n ,-,- it was 'ltimately divided between 9'lgaria, *reece and the Kingdom of the "erbs,
Croats and "lovenes 7Royal :'goslavia8# @ardar Macedonia, which became the basis for
the independent Rep'blic of Macedonia, remained 'nder the r'le of Royal :'goslavia, b't
was considered Fso'thern "erbiaG by that time#
6
The religio's organiDation of the M'slims in Royal :'goslavia was originally divided into
three regions# The M'slims of 9osnia and +erDegovina, Croatia, and "lovenia were
administered by the )eis'ul'Ulema in "ara;evo, whereas the "erbian and Macedonian
M'slims fell 'nder the ;'risdiction of the )eis'ul'Ulema in 9elgrade# The muti 7district
head8 of "tari 9ar was the leader of the Montenegrin M'slims# +owever, in ,-=6, as part
of King Ale(ander0s centraliDation program, M'slim religio's interests were 'nited in the
"'preme Co'ncil of the slamic Religio's Comm'nity located in 9elgrade# Two
leaderships were maintained in "ara;evo and in 9elgrade 'ntil ,-=B, when the vario's
instit'tions were merged into one organiDation based in "ara;evo 7)riedman, )#,
,--B2,6<8#
n Royal :'goslavia, even tho'gh there was no official state ch'rch, there was no
separation between ch'rch and state# The ma;or religions 7incl'ding slam8 performed
different f'nctions for the state# They kept the registers for birth, marriages and death and
had ;'risdiction over matrimonial disp'tes# The ch'rches maintained also some primary
and secondary schools# )reedom of creed was g'aranteed and religio's ed'cation !!in the
faiths of the recogniDed minorities!! was a comp'lsory s'b;ect in these schools
7Ale(ander, ,-<-256-8# +owever, religio's freedom was only limited, since the ,-=,
Constit'tion banned proselytism 7Kanev, ,---8#
D'ring the Comm'nist period, the doctrine of F:'goslavism,G based on the principle of
bratstvo i jedinstvo 7Fbrotherhood and 'nityG8, was represented in the federation0s
constit'tions# CitiDens had e.'al rights and d'ties regardless of their ethnicity or religion#
7&ampe, ,--B25=58# The ethnically diverse pop'lations were ranked in line with a three!
tier system# )irst were the Fpeoples,G which had their rep'blics within :'goslavia# The
Macedonians belonged to this layer# "econd came the Fnationalities,G which had kin!states
o'tside the borders of :'goslavia# "'ch were the M'slim Albanians and T'rks# Third
were the Fethnic gro'psG s'ch as the Roma !!the ma;ority of whom are M'slim!! who had
their own ethnic identities, b't no kin!states#
The M'slims of Macedonia were an integral part of the :'goslav M'slim comm'nity,
headed by the )eis'ul'Ulema in "ara;evo# The slamic Comm'nity in :'goslavia was
divided into fo'r administrative regions2 the "ara;evo region, the $ristina region, the
"kop;e region and the Titograd region 7$o'lton, ,--=2>,8# The three main gro'ps of
slamic minorities in socialist :'goslavia lived in 9osnia!+erDegovina, Kosovo and
Macedonia# n 9osnia!+erDegovina, the M'slims amo'nted to more than one and a half
million people 7$opovic, ,--625A8 and in ,--,, there were ,,-6A,?5- of them 7MR*,
,--<256B8# n Kosovo, the M'slims were mostly Albanians, amo'nting to at least two
million people 7MR*, ,--<25A58 and there were aro'nd ten tho'sand T'rks 7$opovic,
,--625A8# n Macedonia, there were 5<-,?<, Albanians, ?B,A-, T'rks and =-,A,=
Macedonian M'slims 7,-?, cens's data, .'oted by )riedman, @#, ,--?258# n addition,
there were ?-,-=5 M'slims 7,--, cens's data, .'oted by MR*, ,--<25A>8 and >6,666
Albanians in Montenegro 7$o'lton, ,--=2<A8# There were also several tho'sands of
M'slim Roma all over :'goslavia 7$opovic, ,--625A8#
M'slims in :'goslavia en;oyed greater level of freedom than their co!religionists of the
other socialist co'ntries# 9etween ,->A!,->?, all religions in :'goslavia were treated
7
almost on the same footing as in other socialist co'ntries, according to the comm'nist
slogan Freligion is opi'm for the peoples#G +owever, after the "talin!Tito split of ,->?,
the sit'ation changed 7$opovic, ,--62568# Relative religio's liberalism was la'nched,
beca'se thro'gh promoting a religio's identity, the a'thorities were able to control the
development of the different ethnic identities in the m'lti!c'lt'ral :'goslavia#
There were at least two other reasons for the toleration of slam in :'goslavia# )irstly,
there was the domestic reason in the case of 9osnia!+erDegovina# The rep'blic of 9osnia!
+erDegovina was created specifically as a modus vivendi for the three main gro'ps living
there !! Erthodo( "erbs, Catholic Croats and M'slim "lavs# +istorically, they have been
ethnically mi(ed and both "erbia and Croatia claimed that those territories and people
belonged to them# n the ,-<6s, the M'slim nationality !!as a distinct :'goslav
nationality!! was created in order to co'nter "erbian and Croatian claims over the "lav
M'slims in :'goslavia 7$o'lton, ,--=2=-!>,8# "econd, the Cold 1ar p't :'goslavia in a
pec'liar position between the East and the 1est# Th's, it searched for political space
among the Findependent statesG beyond the East!1est block confrontation model, and
many of those states were slamic ones 7$opovic, ,--6256!5,8#
+owever, some claim that M'slims in "ocialist Macedonia were not given a lot of leeway
to promote their religio's identity# This is possibly beca'se with the creation of the
Macedonian Erthodo( Ch'rch !!which did not e(ist before the formation of the ")R:,
and it was separated from the "erbian Erthodo( Ch'rch in ,-B<!! Macedonia0s Erthodo(
pop'lation started to en;oy special treatment# The Erthodo( religion was 'sed to foster a
Macedonian ethno!national identity and loyalty to :'goslavia# +owever, this did not
apply to the M'slims 'nder Tito0s regime 7)raenkel, ,---8#
After Tito0s death in ,-?6 and the collapse of the :'goslav economy, :'goslav politics
started to become more and more FethniciDed#G n the late ,-?6s, the regime of "erbia0s
president "lobodan Milosevic changed the ethnic and religio's balance in "erbia 7MR*,
,--<25A,8# A special target of the a'thorities was the rising Albanian nationalist
discontent, which had its roots somewhere in the ,-<6s# The Albanians0 demands for the
rep'blican stat's of Kosovo were violently s'ppressed d'ring the ,-?, 'nrest in $rishtina#
Th's, in ,-?-, the "erbian $arliament went so far as to revoke the a'tonomo's stat's of
Kosovo and @o;vodina granted by the ,-<> Constit'tion 7MR*, ,--<25A,, $o'lton,
,--=2B6!B,8#
n the ,-<6s!,-?6s, the Macedonian a'thorities la'nched a n'mber of initiatives to
prevent the M'slim comm'nity of Macedonia from being FAlbanianiDed#G The fears came
from the rise of Albanian nationalism in Kosovo and the fact that the Albanians in
Macedonia were the biggest M'slim minority which s'pposedly co'ld e(ert press're on
the smaller M'slim minorities along religio's lines# n ,-<6, the Association of the
Macedonian M'slims was formed with the blessing of the a'thorities 7$o'lton, ,--<2->8#
n ,-?,, a scientific circle was established in *ostivar in order to research on the M'slims
in Macedonia# The Fsa 9egG Medrese was reopened in "kop;e# A M'slim newspaper !!El
*ilal!! was la'nched in three lang'ages2 Macedonian, Albanian and T'rkish# The official
state T@!"kop;e iss'ed a doc'mentary on the M'slims in Macedonia 7$opovic, ,--625A!
5B8#
8
After the ,-?- political changes and the ,--, proclamation of Macedonia as an
independent rep'blic, the slamic comm'nity of Macedonia split from the slamic
comm'nity administered from "ara;evo 7"elimoski, ,---8# The instit'tional break!'p
bro'ght serio's problems to the registration of the new slamic comm'nities within
Macedonia 7"ee more in >#,#>#8#
-)2) Economic and demographic data
Demographic data: D'ring the Ettoman r'le, big demographic changes occ'rred in the
9alkans# 1ith the Ettoman con.'est of the late ,>
th
cent'ry, big waves of T'rkic nomadic
tribes came from Anatolia and settled in the 9alkans# Many of them were 'sed as cannon!
bearers by the Ettoman army or navy 7Dimitriadis, ,-?B2,58# "cholars still arg'e on the
reasons behind this migration, it is 's'ally referred to as Fthe T'rkish coloniDation#G The
9'lgarian historian IhelyaDkova claims that their migration was spontaneo's and was
provoked by the diffic'lt political and social sit'ation in Anatolia, while T'rkish
historiography views the coloniDation as a conse.'ence of a special demographic policy of
the Ettoman Empire 7IhelyaDkova, ,--<2,B8# According to the Macedonian historian and
a leading M'slim Macedonian fig're &imanoski, the coloniDation was p'rs'ed both in a
forcef'l and in a vol'ntary way 7&imanoski, ,-?>2,-8# n the ,<
th
cent'ry, :Kr'ks in
R'melia 7the E'ropean provinces of the Ettoman Empire incl'ding the capital8 are
estimated to have amo'nted to ,-6,666!556,666 people 7IhelyaDkova, .'oting
&imanoski, ,--<2568#
The coloniDation bro'ght different pop'lations into the r'ral and the 'rban areas# The
appearance of slam in the r'ral areas was bro'ght by the :Kr'ks, *haDis and vario's
adherents to folk slam 7)raenkel, ,---8# n the regions, which are part of the present!day
Rep'blic of Macedonia, a large n'mber of :Kr'ks settled aro'nd Evche $ole, "tro'mitsa,
Kochani, Radovish 7eastern Macedonia8, and aro'nd *orna and Dolna Ih'pa and Debar
7western Macedonia8 7&imanoski, ,-?>2,-!568# The Ettoman coloniDation had its greatest
impact on the 'rban centers# The latter became focal points of the T'rkish administration,
while the Christians grad'ally moved to the mo'ntains 7Eminov, ,--<25<!5?8# The
coloniDing pop'lation was mainly "'nni M'slim 7)raenkel, ,---8# The ,<
th
cent'ry,
towns, s'ch as "htip, Kratovo, Kost'r, 9itola, Kriva $alanka, were defined as Fp'rely
T'rkishG towns# The T'rkish coloniDation ended in the ,?
th
cent'ry with the beginning of
the Ettoman Empire0s demise 7&imanoski, ,-?>2,-!568#
A process of FslamiDationG took place d'ring the Ettoman period# $art of the indigeno's
"lavs, Albanians and Roma were converted to slam# The Ettoman state had a twofold
interest in that process2 first, to increase the loyalty of its s'b;ects on its E'ropean
territory and, second, to enlarge its army, which was re.'ired for its westward e(pansion#
slamiDation was enforced 's'ally in two ways !! thro'gh coercion and thro'gh the offer
of economic benefits# The first way is strongly emphasiDed by the national poetry and
literat're of the 9alkan peoples# A special attention is paid to the military recr'itment of
Christian boys 7devshirme8 for the Ettoman janissary instit'tion e(isting between the ,>
th
and the ,?
th
cent'ries# The second way of slamiDation is a s'b;ect of a relative consens's
among more open!minded historians, who call it also a Fvol'ntaryG one# They agree that a
Christian had interest to convert to slam, since with the conversion, he was relieved from
the cizye ta( and got a chance to ;oin and grow in the administration and the army
9
7Eminov, ,--<2==!>?L M'tafchieva, ,-->2-!,6L IhelyaDkova, ,--<2,>8# n line with these
arg'ments, another thesis s'ggests that the Ettomans were even more interested in
retaining their Christian pop'lation precisely beca'se of the higher ta(ation rate#
Conversion was generally disco'raged# +owever, it was not always possible for the
central a'thorities to monitor this, since stanb'l lost ever!greater control over the
provinces and the provincial governors, which pro;ected a strong tendency to impoverish
the Christians thro'gh over!ta(ation 7)raenkel, ,---8#
slamiDation reached mass dimensions in the second half of the ,B
th
cent'ry and became
even stronger in the ne(t two cent'ries# "'ccessive Ettoman military defeats by the
+absb'rg Monarchy and R'ssia in the late ,<
th
and ,?
th
cent'ry weakened the Empire
internally# The conse.'ences were the increase in ta(ation and an ineffective government
7"okolski, ,-?>2B>!B?, Helavich, ,-?A2,,6!,,=8# The pop'lation, which was pressed
financially, started converting to slam en masse, in order to avoid the economic
hardships, as well as the pl'nder, e(erted on the Christian pop'lation by the janissaries
and the Ettoman administrators, who became less and less controllable by the central
a'thorities 7"okolski, ,-?>2B>!B?8#
The demographic pict're of the Macedonian land changed even more with the Albanian
coloniDation# According to Macedonian so'rces, .'oting 9'lgarian historians from the
first half of the 56
th
cent'ry, M'slim Albanians settled in the place of the "lavic
pop'lation, which migrated from "erbia and northern Macedonia to the +absb'rg
territories after the Ettoman!+absb'rg war of ,B?-!,B-6 7&imanoski, ,-?>2558# Mass
Albanian migrations to Macedonia started only in the second half of the ,?
th
cent'ry# 9y
the end of that cent'ry, ,,A66 families settled in =6 settlements in western Macedonia#
Another wave of A6,666 settlers arrived in western Macedonia in the mid!,-
th
cent'ry
7&imanoski, ,-?>255L $'rvanov, ,--52,>5!,>=8# +owever, when considering these data
one sho'ld take into acco'nt that Albanian so'rces offer historical and historical ling'istic
arg'ments that s'ggest Albanians were present in geographical Macedonia in pre!"lavic
time 7)raenkel, ,---8#
The Ettoman loss of its northeast territories in the late ,<
th
cent'ry led to the migration of
many M'slims from the north to the so'th in the ne(t cent'ries# After "erbia received its
a'tonomo's stat's in ,?=6, ethnic T'rks and other M'slims arrived in Kosovo and
Macedonia where slam prevailed, since the Ettoman Empire was still the r'ling state
there 7IhelyaDkova, ,--<25,8#
This drain of the M'slim element in the Empire was co'ntered by an incoming migration
of Tatars and CherkeD 7Circassians8 from Crimea and the Ca'cas's after the Crimean 1ar
7,?A=!,?AB8# CDarist R'ssia defeated the Ettoman Empire in that war# %evertheless,
victor and van.'ished fo'nd a common interest# R'ssia was keen on the e(p'lsion of a
large n'mber of M'slim people from the newly ac.'ired land, while the Ettoman Empire
wanted to strengthen the M'slim element in its E'ropean territory 7$andevska, ,--=2??,
Kaprat, ,-?A2<68# Many s'ch M'slims were th's settled in present!day 9'lgaria, while
mainly the CherkeD migrated f'rther so'thwest and reached different parts of the
Macedonian land# There is no reliable historical data on whether the Tatars reached
Macedonia 7$andevska, ,--=2?<!-,8#
10
The demographic pict're in Macedonia was f'rther changed by the migration of M'slim
"lavs from 9osnia!+erDegovina# After the 9erlin Treaty of ,?<? stated that A'stria!
+'ngary had the right to interim r'le over 9osnia!+erDegovina, the 9osnian M'slims,
who had en;oyed a privileged position among all the M'slims in the empire in Ettoman
time, were not comfortable with the prospect of A'stro!+'ngarian r'le# Therefore,
aro'nd A6,666 of them emigrated to the so'theast, targeting the Ettoman heartland via
Macedonia# "ome of them settled in Macedonia permanently 7$andevska, ,--=2,6,!,6>8#
D'ring the R'sso!T'rkish 1ar and the period immediately after the ,?<? 9erlin Treaty
which left the Macedonian land 'nder Ettoman r'le, many M'slims from the newly freed
9'lgaria and "erbia again fo'nd ref'ge in the so'th# Many CherkeD, "lav M'slims, T'rks
and Albanians settled in the "andDhak and Kosovo, while others reached the Macedonian
region# )rom 9'lgaria, they emigrated via Ky'stendil and D'pnitsa 7in $irin Macedonia8
to Kriva $alanka and "kop;e 7in @ardar Macedonia8# The overall n'mber of the M'slim
ref'gees in the Macedonian towns and villages of that time can be estimated at aro'nd
A6,666 to B6,666 people 7$andevska, ,--=2,6>!,,A8#
"teady migration of M'slims to the Ettoman 7and later T'rkish8 heartland via Macedonia
contin'ed thro'gho't the first half of the 56
th
cent'ry# 9osnian M'slims migrated after the
anne(ation of 9osnia and +erDegovina by the +absb'rg Empire in ,-6?# D'ring the
9alkan 1ars 7,-,5!,-,=8, as well as by the end of the )irst 1orld 1ar, when Macedonia
was partitioned between 9'lgaria, "erbia and *reece, many M'slims living on its territory
left for Asia Minor 7$andevska, ,--=2,6,!,>=8# Another mass emigration wave of
M'slims was observed in ,-5=!,-5># A *reco!T'rkish Convention on the Ebligatory
E(change of $op'lations in ,-5= made some =-6,66 M'slims !!mostly T'rks, b't also
some $omaks 7Torbesi8!! leave for T'rkey 7Ertakovski, ,--<2,==8#
9etween ,-A= and ,-BB, there was a big emigration wave of T'rks from :'goslavia to
T'rkey# According to :'goslav so'rces, aro'nd ?6,666 people emigratedL according to
T'rkish so'rces, aro'nd ,A6,666# +owever, many of them did not know T'rkish and
were either M'slim Albanians or "lavs, who presented themselves as T'rks in order to
leave the co'ntry 7$o'lton, ,--A2,=?8# "ome scholars claim that Albanians did not
vol'ntarily present themselves as FT'rks,G b't were forced to do so by the nterior
Minister Ale(ander Rankovic, who was interested in e(pelling as many Albanians as
possible to any place b't Albania# The only way Albanians co'ld get e(it visas was to
declare themselves T'rks# En ro'te to T'rkey, many of these Albanians came from
Kosovo to Macedonia and remained in Macedonia 7)raenkel, ,---8# As far as the T'rks
are concerned, this emigration is generally attrib'ted to their discontent with the
nationaliDation of their property# T'rks had been rich town!dwellers since the Ettoman
time#
The independent Rep'blic of Macedonia 7internationally recogniDed in ,--58 has received
M'slim ref'gees from the recent two wars in the former :'goslavia# Aro'nd =6,666
9osnian ref'gees arrived in Macedonia d'ring the war in 9osnia!+erDegovina in the early
,--6s and settled between "kop;e and @eles# The ma;ority of them have been already
repatriated, e(cept for some orphans, who still live in camps for children 7)raenkel, March
,---8# Another wave of between 566,666 and =B6,666 Kosovo Albanian ref'gees arrived
in ,--- 7C* Report on Macedonia, ,< May ,---L )raenkel, December ,---8 d'ring the
11
large!scale ethnic cleansing operations la'nched by the regime of the "erbian $resident
"lobodan Milosevic# After the end of the war in H'ne ,---, the ma;ority of the Kosovo
ref'gees, accommodated in camps in Macedonia, ret'rned# Roma ref'gees have stayed
behind, and have even increased since the end of the war# +owever, they represent a very
small increase in the overall n'mber of Roma in Macedonia 7)raenkel, ,---8#
Economic data3 D'e to their slamic religion, the M'slims in the Ettoman Empire
en;oyed a privileged stat's in comparison to the Christian, Hewish or Armenian
pop'lations# They did not pay the cizye ta(, 'nlike the other non!M'slim s'b;ects of the
empire, and were also allowed to ;oin the army and to occ'py positions in the state
administration# M'slims gained economic advantage from both the social and religio's
division of the society# 4nder the Ettoman regime, the pop'lation was divided mainly into
two social gro'ps# En the one hand, the Ettomans 7askeri8 were town dwellers who were
M'slim whether by birth or by conversion# They were the military and administrative
class, which performed p'blic f'nctions s'ch as the delegates of the "'ltan, and therefore
did not pay ta(es# En the other hand, the non!Ettomans 7reaya) incl'ded most r'ral
M'slims and the Christians, who were merchants, artisans and peasants# "ince they
p'rs'ed prod'ctive activities, they had to pay ta(es 7)raenkel, ,--=25?!5-L nalcik,
,-->2,B8#
Altho'gh the general principle was that individ'als sho'ld remain in their stat's gro'ps,
there was a certain degree of mobility between these gro'ps# There were recogniDed ways
for the reaya, both M'slim and Christian, to become military# Ene of the ways was the
devshirme system, which gave Christian boys the opport'nity to ;oin the military janissary
corps by converting to slam# The M'slim reaya, on the other hand, was able to ;oin the
military by a special decree of the "'ltan, if they wanted to be vol'nteers along the
Empire0s borders, or if they had done something o'tstandingly co'rageo's 7nalcik,
,-->2,B!,<8#
The Ettomans benefited also from the high level of corr'ption spread within the p'blic
sphere# The selling of offices became part of the p'blic administration system and a so'rce
of p'blic reven'e# The logic behind those dealings was shaped by the perception that
p'blic service was a privilege sec'ring material gain, and th's was negotiable for
compensation 7nalcik, ,-->2<>8# 1ith the decline of the Ettoman Empire aro'nd the end
of the ,<
th
cent'ry, the level of corr'ption in the state administration increased
significantly#
The different M'slim ethnic gro'ps earned their living from activities connected to the
'rban and r'ral styles of life# The Ettoman T'rks occ'pied positions mainly in the
administration of the cities 7Eminov, ,--<25<!5?8# The :Kr'ks !!a T'rkish nomadic tribe
that started settling down in the ,<
th
cent'ry!! were predominantly r'ral M'slims 7Eminov,
,--<25<!5?8# Many Albanians settled in big farms and ;oined the landowning class
79railsford, ,-<,2?68# "ome of them converted to slam in order to g'ard their wealth,
others gained wealth after converting, while a third part of them did not do either
7)raenkel, ,---8# +owever, there were some Albanians who had the title of beys and r'led
over the "lav villagers in some of the most fertile provinces on the territory of present!day
Macedonia 79railsford, ,-<,2?68#
12
D'ring comm'nism three ma;or processes changed the overall economic sit'ation in
Macedonia, affecting the M'slim minorities as well# )irst, with the nationaliDation laws
iss'ed between ,->B and ,-A?, the land and other real estate were e(propriated
7Ale(ander, ,-<-25,6!5,-8# This policy affected many T'rks who had been well off
citiDens since the Ettoman period# To a great e(tent, nationaliDation was the reason behind
the large emigration wave of T'rks and other M'slims from Macedonia and other parts of
the former :'goslavia to T'rkey in the ,-A6s and ,-B6s# "econd, 'rbaniDation intensified
in the ,-A6s, altho'gh it was present in Macedonia even earlier# n search for better living
conditions, many r'ral M'slims so'ght employment in the towns# Third, many male T'rks,
Roma and Albanians, along with other :'goslav citiDens, took advantage of the
opport'nity to work as Fg'est workersG in *ermany and other western co'ntries# Th's,
many of them made money on low .'alification ;obs, beca'se they were paid well
according to the :'goslav standards 7+R1, ,--B2?-!-B, ERRC, ,--?2,=8# +owever, it
m'st be noted that the +urbet 7Fworking abroadG8 tradition in Macedonia pre!dates the
socialist time and can be traced back at least to the t'rn of the 56
th
cent'ry 7)raenkel,
,---8#
-)4) Defense of identity and/or of language, and/or of religion.
According to the historian and leading M'slim Macedonian fig're %i;aDi &imanoski,
d'ring the Ettoman time, in some cases slamiDed Christians remained bi!confessional for
as long as aro'nd a cent'ry# n p'blic, the converts declared themselves as FM'slims,G
while at home they 'sed their Christian names, and even let the Erthodo( Christian clerics
baptiDe their children# n other cases, it was only the head of the family who converted to
slam in order to relieve his family from the ta(es, while the rest remained Christian in
faith 7&imanoski, ,-?>2=A!=B8#
"ince the ,-<6s, the Macedonian M'slims 7Torbeshi8 made some attempts to defend their
identity from the assimilation carried on by other M'slim minorities# 1ith the blessing of
the a'thorities, in ,-<6 they formed an Association of the Macedonian M'slims# The
organiDation claimed that since the "econd 1orld 1ar other M'slim gro'ps had
assimilated more than <6,666 Macedonian M'slims, most notably by the Albanians
7$o'lton, ,--<2->!-A8# A ,-<- meeting set 'p the organiDation of the so!called
Fmanifestations of scientific and c'lt'ral activitiesG of the Macedonian M'slims# The
period between ,-<-!,-?> was very intensive in this respect# There were fo'rteen
meetings on c'lt'ral, scientific and folklore topics# They were attended by the Comm'nist
a'thorities or were developed in cooperation with their respective instit'tions# The leader
of that movement was the above!mentioned Macedonian M'slim historian and activist
&imanoski 7Todorovski, et al#, ,-?>2A!,68# 7En another FAlbaniDationG attempt see in the
ed'cational section in B#A#5#8#
Altho'gh the FmanifestationsG seemed to be relatively s'ccessf'l in the early ,-?6s, a
feeling of an Fassimilation threatG became persistent# n A'g'st ,--6 the chairman of the
Torbeshi association wrote a letter to the chairman of the $arty for Democratic $rosperity,
dominated by ethnic Albanians# n this letter he acc'sed the $D$ of ab'sing slam for
political ends and 'sing it for the F.'iet assimilationG of the Torbeshi and the
FKosoviDationG and FAlbaniDationG of 1estern Macedonia 7$o'lton, ,--<2->!-A8#
)'rthermore, in early ,--= the presidi'm of the M'slim Macedonian0s organiDation iss'ed
13
a statement alleging that the Democratic $arty of the T'rks stood behind the Fpan!
T'rkishG ideas professed in a school in the Debar region# n ,--5, a n'mber of Tobershi
re.'ested schooling in T'rkish, not in Macedonian, which is the lang'age they speak# The
state a'thorities t'rned down that re.'est 7$o'lton, ,--A2,-A8#
2) ETHNIC OR NTION. IDENTIT5
2.1. Describing identity
2)-)-) Cu"tura" characteristic(s) differentiatin$ it from the dominant $roup
2)-)2) De+e"opment of the minorit&6s a7areness of (ein$ different
2)-)4) Identif&in$ this difference as ethnic or nationa"
2.2. Historical development of an ethnic or a national identity
2)2)-) The minorit&6s resistance to or acceptance of assimi"ation
2)2)2) The minorit&6s resistance to or acceptance of inte$ration
2)2)4) 7areness of ha+in$ an ethnic or a nationa" identit&
2)2)8) .e+e" of homo$eneit& in the minorit&6s identit&
2.. !ctual political and social conditions
2)4)-) Re"ations 7ith the state
2)4)2) Re"ations 7ith the dominant ethnic,nationa" $roup in societ&
2)4)4) Re"ations 7ith other minorities if an&
2)4)8) Re"ations (et7een the re$ions inha(ited (& the minorit& and the centra"
authorities
The last ,--> pop'lation cens's shows that there are A?,,5-= M'slims in Macedonia#
According to cross!calc'lated data from the same cens's, there are >5A,5,? M'slims
among the Albanians 7o't of total of >>,,,6> Albanians8, <=,B== M'slims among the
T'rks 7o't of a total of <?,6,- T'rks8, >6,6=A among the Roma 7o't of a total of >=,<6<
Roma8, ,A,,,6 among the Macedonians, they are also known as the Torbeshi or $ot'rs
7o't of a total of ,A,>,? M'slim Macedonians8# The rest are 9osnians, Macedonians and
"erbs 7)riedman, @#, .'oting ,--> cens's data, ,--?25 and lievski, ,--?2,,8# The data of
the M'slims among the ethnic gro'ps are obtained thro'gh e(tracting the percentage of
the n'mber of the M'slims from the total n'mber of the respective ethnic gro'ps as
.'oted by lievski 7lievski, ,--?2,,8#
t m'st be noted that the cens's registered citiDens and not residents# This meant that after
Macedonia0s independence in ,--5, many M'slim minority representatives have faced
serio's political and technical problems in ac.'iring citiDenship# That is the first reason
why almost all M'slim comm'nities claim to have a greater n'mber of members in their
gro'ps than the ones that are in the cens's# +owever, there is another reason as well#
Many minorities, especially the Roma, claim two identities sim'ltaneo'sly, or in parallel,
which they ;'stify with different arg'ments# Roma claim to be T'rks, Albanians or
Macedonians instead of Roma, in order to avoid the social stigma 7Kanev, ,---8# Many
other M'slims claim to be T'rks, beca'se of the elevated social stat's this gives them#
14
This is valid even for some vocal nationalist Albanians who come from families that spoke
T'rkish at home 7)raenkel, ,---8#
The Albanians are the ones who have consistently claimed that their absol'te n'mber is
greater than the one in the cens's 7)raenkel, ,---8# Aro'nd ,A6,666 people,
predominantly Albanians, were not registered by that cens's, since they were not able to
meet the re.'irements for ac.'iring the Macedonian citiDenship 7*aber, ,--<2,6>8# The
ma;ority of Albanians are M'slim# +owever, there are some e(ceptions2 some Erthodo(
Christian Albanians live in a few villages aro'nd &ake Ehrid and the town of "tro'ga, and
some Roman Catholics live in 9inach 7@itina District8, aro'nd "kop;e# The late Mother
Teresa is the best known among the Roman Catholics in 9inach 7*aber, ,--<2,6=L
$o'lton, ,--=2<,8, altho'gh she was also claimed by the Roma as being a Rom 7$o'lton,
,---8#
The T'rks are the second largest national minority in Macedonia# H'st as in the case of the
other ethnic gro'ps, the T'rkish minority0s leaders claim that their real n'mber is m'ch
higher# Erdogan "arac, *eneral "ecretary of the Democratic $arty of the T'rks, claims
that they n'mber between ,<6,666 and 566,666 people 7+R1, ,--B2B?8# Ethers estimate
them at aro'nd ,66,666 people 79r'nner, ,--B2<B8# n religio's terms, the T'rks are more
homogeneo's in their M'slim identity than the Albanians#
Roma are an ethnic minority, which originated in ndia and migrated to the 9alkans from
Asia before and d'ring the Ettoman con.'est# The vast ma;ority of the Roma are M'slims
by religion !! aro'nd -,,B per cent 7lievski, ,--?2,,8# There are some Erthodo( Christian
Roma, as well as Adventist Roma, 9aptists or Hehovah0s 1itnesses 7M'stafa, ,---8# Also
the Roma leaders claim that their comm'nity e(ceeds the official n'mber# 4nofficial
estimates p't the n'mber of Roma in Macedonia at 566,666 people 7MR*, ,--<25=A8#
The Macedonian M'slims 7Torbeshi8 are officially recogniDed as a separate ethnic gro'p
by the Macedonian state, 'nlike their ethnic brothers the $omaks in 9'lgaria and *reece#
The Torbeshi are a "lavic, Macedonian!speaking pop'lation, which converted to slam
d'ring the Ettoman period#
There are also some 9osnians in Macedonia# "ome of them have been living in territorial
Macedonia since the ,-
th
cent'ry 7M'hic, ,---8# M'slim so'rces in the "andDhak 7"erbia8
claim that many of the present!day Torbeshi are former "erbo!Croat!speaking migrants
from 9osnia!+erDegovina and the "andDhak# Many of them went to Macedonia in order to
take advantage of the ,-A6 emigration agreement with T'rkey, b't on their way, they
decided to settle in Macedonia for good 7$o'lton, ,--<2-=8# There were also abo't
=6,666 war ref'gees in the early ,--6s 7+), Ann'al Report, ,--58, b't the ma;ority of
them have already left Macedonia 7)raenkel, ,---8#
The ,--> cens's registered B,?5- 9osnians 7)riedman, ,--?258# +owever, they were
co'nted only 'nder the col'mn of FEthers,G since the Macedonian state is rel'ctant to
recogniDe them as an ethnic gro'p separate from that of the Torbeshi 7$o'lton, ,--<2-BL
M'hic, ,---8# n ,--=, a M'slim Congress had taken place in 9osnia!+erDegovina# t
changed the former :'goslav FM'slimG identity into the F9osnianG one# n line with these
15
new developments, some of the "lavic!speaking pop'lations in Macedonia became
F9osnian,G while others contin'ed to pro;ect their old FM'slimG identity 7M'hic, ,---8#
n Macedonia, there is also a small gro'p of "lav M'slims who call themselves *orans#
Their n'mber is 'nknown# They live in the 'pland regions over "ar $lanina in western
Macedonia 7and above $riDren in Kosovo, the )ederal Rep'blic of :'goslavia8# They see
themselves as different from the Torbeshi, b't share many c'stoms with them# Their
identity is based on their religion and on their narrow village comm'nities# Their lang'age
is "lavic !! a mi(t're of Macedonian, "erbo!Croatian and also incl'des some Arabic
words 7$o'lton, ,--?2,B8#
4) .N1U1E
. 1. Describing the language
4)-)-) .in$uistic fami"&
4)-)2) Dia"ects and unit&9 "in$uistic a7areness
4)-)4) Instruments of *no7"ed$e3 description of the "an$ua$e and norms (histor& of
the 7ritten form and of its standardi:ation)
.2. History of the language
4)2)-) Ori$ins
4)2)2) E+o"ution
4)2)4) Cu"tura" production in the "an$ua$e ("iterature% ora" tradition)
.. !ctual sociolinguistic data
4)4)-) Territor& in 7hich the "an$ua$e is used
4)4)2) Num(er of persons usin$ this "an$ua$e (in territor& and amon$ emi$rants)
.". #reedom of e$pression in the minority language
4)8)-) .e+e" of acceptance or resistance to the minorit&6s "an$ua$e
4)8)2) ;a&s in 7hich the state protects or impedes the use of the minorit& "an$ua$e
&ang'age is one of the main pillars of ethnic, b't not religio's identification# The M'slims
in Macedonia do not speak ;'st one lang'age, since there are several ethnic gro'ps
professing slam# Albanian is 'sed mainly by the Albanians, b't also by some Roma# n the
so'thern reaches of Macedonia near the Albanian and *reek borders, the Tosk dialect of
Albanian is the native lang'age of several Roma comm'nities 7)raenkel, ,--=2=>8# The
*heg and the Tosk dialects are the two ma;or dialects of the Albanian lang'age, b't there
are also some regional s'b!dialects within both of them 7)raenkel, ,---8# T'rkish is 'sed
mainly by the ethnic T'rks, b't also by some T'rkish!speaking Roma in so'thern
Macedonia 7)raenkel, ,--=2=A8# The T'rkish spoken in Macedonia belongs to the so!
called 9alkan dialects of the T'rkish lang'age# Romani is spoken only by the Roma in
Macedonia# Romani has been in a process of modern codification since the 1orld Romani
16
Congress in ,-<5 7)raenkel, ,--=2-A8# The ,rlija dialect is spoken by the ma;ority of the
Roma in Macedonia, b't there are also three other dialects !! the -hzambaz, .urbet and
!u+urdhzia ones 7)riedman, ,--?2B8# The 9osnians speak the "lavic 9osnian lang'age
7Re(hepi, ,---8#
8) RE.I1ION
8)-) Identif&in$ a re"i$ious minorit&
The M'slims in Macedonia are a religio's minority# Among the ,? religio's comm'nities
and religio's gro'ps e(isting legally in Macedonia at present, the Macedonian Erthodo(
Ch'rch predominates with aro'nd ,,=A6,666 worshippers 7or BB#BB per cent8, seven
dioceses and aro'nd 5666 ch'rches, monasteries and chapels, incl'ding those which have
been b'ilt in A'stralia, Canada and the 4" 7%ikolovski!Katin, ,--<2-5L %ikolovski!Katin
,---8# 9y contrast, the M'slim comm'nity has only A?,,56= worshipers, according to the
last ,--> cens's# The n'mber of their ho'ses of worship is ><6, some of which are still
'nder constr'ction 7lievski, ,--?2,,!,58#
The M'slims in Macedonia are not homogeneo's in religio's terms# The ma;ority of them
are "'nni M'slims, belonging to the +anafiyya slamic school# A minority of them, of
which there are no official n'mber, belong to si( "'fi 7"'nni8 orders !! the +elveti, Jadiri,
"inani, R'fa0i, %a.sh!9andi, Malami 7"he;h brahim M'rteDa, ,---8# There are also some
9ektashi, which are "hiite M'slims, altho'gh they have initially developed from "'nni
slam 7"elimoski, ,---8#
The slamic Comm'nity and the M'slim Religio's Comm'nity are the organiDations of the
"'nni0s# The "'fi Erders are organiDed in the Islamic -ervish )eli+ious Community/ n
practice, the !ektashi Community does not belong to any of those religio's organiDations,
b't has an independent stat's# %evertheless, the slamic Comm'nity !!which is the most
powerf'l religio's instit'tion of the M'slims!! claims to be the legitimate r'ler over all
M'slims in Macedonia# t has a dervish 7taricates) section, altho'gh the "'fi0s have their
own organiDation# This section is the Co'ncil of Dervish Elders 7Meshihat na 0arikatite8,
which is s'pposed to take care of all the "'fi orders, incl'ding the 9ektatshi in Macedonia
7Re(hepi, ,---8 7"ee more on the registration problems in >#5#=#8#
The officially registered slamic Comm'nity is r'led by its ,--> stat'te, which is its
highest normative act 7Re(hepi, ,---8# The slamic Comm'nity has fo'r main
organiDational bodies2 the nstit'tion of the )eis'ul'Ulema, the E(ec'tive Co'ncil
7Meclisi 1ura8, the )inancial!&egal Co'ncil 7Meclis8 and the M'fti0s Effices 7slamic
Comm'nity 9roch're, ,--<2B<8# The )eis'ul'Ulema is the head of the slamic Comm'nity
and has strong e(ec'tive power#
The E(ec'tive Co'ncil consists of 5= members and works in si( main sectors2 religio's
ed'cation, science and c'lt're, information and p'blications, administrative, financial
sector and the sector dealing with the property of the vakis 7pio's fo'ndations8 7slamic
Comm'nity 9roch're, ,--<2B<8# t is comprised of all the m'ftis, the Director of the
slamic +igh "chool, the Rector of the slamic Theological )ac'lty, the director of the
+'manitarian ErganiDation FEl +ilal,G all the directors of the si( sectors mentioned above,
17
the president of the Association of the mams, and five lay people, who are selected
personally by the )eis'ul'Ulema# They are e(perts in law, economy, social sciences,
politics and h'manitarian iss'es# The other administrative body, the )inancial and &egal
Co'ncil, is comprised of ,= members, who are only sec'lar people and professionals in
either the economic or the legal sphere# They are elected by the ,= M'fti0s Effices in
Macedonia 7Re(hepi, ,---8#
The stat'te of the slamic Comm'nity provides for a five!year mandate for all of its
organs# They are elected in the following way# )irst, the elections start from the
s'pporting body, the mos2ue council, which plays the role of the chain that connects the
worshipers with the clerics# The worshipers of every mos.'e elect the mos.'e co'ncil,
which m'st be approved by the M'fti0s Effice# "econd, the muti is elected by the council
#meclis) o the mos2ues !! another s'pporting body dealing with all mos.'es# The Meclis
consists of one imam 7the leader of the prayers8 and of the president of the mos.'e
co'ncil from each mos.'e# 7Th's, if in a given area there were ,66 mos.'es, the council
o the mos2ues wo'ld consist of 566 people, who wo'ld elect the M'fti#8 The M'fti takes
'p his post after he is approved by the )eis'ul'Ulema/ Third, the )eis'ul'Ulema is elected
thro'gh an interim organ, the Election Council, which consists of >, members2 fo'r of
them are the m'ftis from the diaspora in "witDerland, *ermany, the "candinavian
co'ntries and the 4"# The others are the ,= m'ftis from Macedonia, and the rest are
sec'lar people# The )eis'ul'Ulema is elected for five years and there are no restrictions
for the renewal of his mandate 7Re(hepi, ,---8#
The c'rrent )eis'ul'Ulema, +adDhi Re(hepi, claims that the slamic Comm'nity 'nifies all
M'slims in Macedonia, regardless of their ethnic origin or branch of slam2 "'nni, "'fi
Erders or 9ektashi# +owever, there are credible claims that his instit'tion 'nifies mainly
Albanians and m'ch less so of the people from other ethnic gro'ps d'e to its political
connection to the Albanian $arty for Democratic $rosperity 7$D$8#
Th's, the M'slim Religio's Comm'nity 7MRC8 is viewed as the rival organiDation to the
slamic Comm'nity 7C8, since the former not only 'nifies the Torbeshi, T'rks, 9osnians
and Roma, b't also some Albanians# +owever, the MRC has not been registered yet 7"ee
also >#5#=#8# MRC0s head is Hak'b "elimoski, who was the last spirit'al head !!)eis'ul'
Ulema!! for all M'slims in the )ormer :'goslavia 7between ,--, and ,--=8 and a Chief
M'fti in Macedonia before that period# +e claims that his organiDation finds the slamic
Comm'nity0s stat'te too a'thoritarian, allowing the )eis'ul'Ulema to have a lot of power
in his hands, since there are no efficient collective organs for the comm'nity0s
management# +e also claims that the slamic Comm'nity is too politiciDed, b't that even
the Albanians do not like a politiciDed religio's comm'nity# Th's, in recent years many
Albanians have allegedly ;oined his MRC# +e claims that there are mos.'es 'nder MRC0s
;'risdiction in "kop;e 7the "'ltan M'rat Mos.'e8 and in the regions aro'nd $rilep, 9itola,
Ehrid and Debar 7"elimoski, ,---8#
According to "he;h brahim M'rteDa, spirit'al head of a R'fa0i tekke in "kop;e, the
dervish orders 7taricates) of Macedonia are distrib'ted geographically as follows2 the
*elveti live in eastern and western Macedonia in Ehrid, "tro'ga, Kichevo, *ostivar,
Kochani, @initsa, "tip, Radovish and "tro'mitsa# n western Macedonia live the 3adiri
7Debar8 and the !ektashi 7Kichevo and Tetovo8# The rest live in eastern Macedonia2 the
18
4aks'!andi live in @eles and "tip, the Malami live in Radovish and "tro'mitsa and the
)ua5i live in @eles, Kochani, @initsa, Radovish and "tro'mitsa#
n regard to the organiDation of the taricates, it is yet 'nclear how many of them are
organiDed by the Co'ncil of the Dervish Elders within the slamic Comm'nity, and how
many of them belong to the other officially registered comm'nity in Macedonia, the
slamic Dervish Religio's Comm'nity 7DRC8#
"ignificant parts of the taricates are members of the DRC# These are the +elveti, Jadiri,
"inani, R'fa0i, %a.sh!9andi# The DRC has branches in the "kop;e district "h'to Erisari
7inhabited mainly by Roma8 and in eastern Macedonia !! $rilep, K'manovo, Kochani#
Ethnically, the DRC is comprised mostly of Roma, b't there are also some Albanians,
T'rks and Torbeshi 7DDemail, ,---8#
The DRC was established in ,--5# According to its stat'te, the head of the comm'nity is
called 1hejh'ul'Ulema and is elected for a term of fo'r years with the possibility to be
reelected# DRC0s fo'nder was "he;h "erbeD )aDli, who was also the first 1hejh'ul'Ulema#
n early ,--- there was no person occ'pying this position# The DRC has two collective
organs# The first is the Chairmanship organ, dealing with the administration of the
comm'nity and with all people who have not been initiated to dervishes yet 7dervish is a
person who is already spirit'ally initiated in the r'les of the "'fi order8# The second organ
is the Council o Elders 7Meshihat8, which f'lfills only religio's f'nctions and deals with
the dervishes# The Meshihat is elected by the "he;hs 7spirit'al heads of the dervishes, who
have a life!long occ'pation of that position8# The Meshihat, on its part, elects the 1hejh'
ul'Ulema 7DDemail, ,---8#
)inally, the 9ektashis deserve a special attention# They are organiDed in a separate
religio's entity altho'gh the latter is not registered yet# ts head, 9aba Tahir Emini, is
based in Tetovo# 9esides Tetovo, 9ektashis live also in *ostivar, Kichevo, Ehrid,
"tro'ga, Kanatlartsi, 9itola and Resen# Ethnically, most of the 9ektashis are Albanians#
There are also some T'rks and Torbeshi, b't no 9osnians# According to Emini0s
estimates, there are abo't A,666 9ektashis in Macedonia, b't there are no official statistics
on them 79aba Tahir Emini, ,---8#
4nlike the religio's services of the other taricates in Macedonia, the 9ektashis are closed
to the p'blic, b't open to the women within their order# 1omen can participate in the
religio's ceremonies together with men# This is not the case with the "'nni M'slims and
the "'nni "'fi Erders, where men and women are separated d'ring the prayers in different
parts of the mos.'e or in different rooms# Also the 9ektashis !!along with some of the
other "'fi Erders, b't 'nlike the "'nni M'slims!! allow the faces of M'slim saints to be
e(posed to the open in their tekkes 79aba Tahir Emini, ,---8#
The .'estion of the e(tent to which slam today 'nites M'slims in Macedonia remains
open# Ene thesis s'ggests that the widely prono'nced f'nction of slam to 'nify
worshipers from different ethnic gro'ps is not valid in present!day Macedonia 7M'hic,
,---8# This arg'ment is s'pported by the fact that there are n'mero's divisions within the
organiDation of the M'slims in Macedonia# Another thesis s'ggests that all M'slims are
19
'nited when confronted with Erthodo( Christianity, b't not necessarily internally among
the different schools of slam 7)raenkel, ,---8#
8)2) Re"i$ious freedom en<o&ed
nterviewed religio's leaders find that the religio's practices of the M'slims in Macedonia
are recogniDed and not impeded by the state# The ma;ority of the mos.'es in Macedonia
are open, and prayers are held five times a day# Most of the worshippers attend the )riday
prayer, and take part in the three main religio's festivities !! RamaDan, K'rban!9ayram
and "eker!9ayram# After the achievement of independence of Macedonia in ,--,, aro'nd
A6 mos.'es were renovated and another 56 new mos.'es were b'ilt 7Re(hepi, ,---8#
+owever, the state impedes slam in Macedonia in some administrative ways 7"ee more in
>#>##8#
There are some tensions among the different ethnic gro'ps of M'slims in Macedonia d'e
to a developing trend to 'se predominantly the Albanian lang'age in the mos.'es, even in
neighborhoods where the pop'lation is ethnically mi(ed 7"elimoski, ,---8# This is
especially visible in western Macedonia, where the Albanian pop'lation is the ma;ority
while there is also a large concentration of T'rks 7"heh, ,---8# There are serio's claims
that the slamic Comm'nity is politically connected to the Albanian $arty for Democratic
$rosperity 7$D$8, which was represented in the government of Macedonia 'ntil fall ,--?
7"elimoski, ,---8#
+owever, the leader of the slamic Comm'nity, +adDhi "'le;man Re(hepi, fiercely denies
s'ch allegations, saying that different lang'ages are 'sed according to the ethnic str'ct're
of the neighborhoods of the mos.'es# +e gives the following e(amples# E't of the ,?
f'nctioning mos.'es in "kop;e, there is one !!the "'ltan M'rat $asha Mos.'e!! where the
service is always in T'rkish, and another one !!the AladhDa Mos.'e!! where the service is
occasionally in T'rkish# "ervices are held in Macedonian in the villages of Tsvetovo,
DrDhilovo, Kolichani, Egniyantsi, where the pop'lation is Torbeshi, and in 9osnian in
some villages aro'nd "kop;e and $rilep, where the pop'lation is 9osnian 7Re(hepi, ,---8#
+adDhi Hak'b "elimoski, the leader of the 'nregistered M'slim Religio's Comm'nity,
'niting mainly Torbeshi, 9osnians, T'rks and Roma, claims that different lang'ages are
'sed in the mos.'es 'nder the ;'risdiction of his MRC# +e gives the following e(amples#
n the mos.'e of the village of 9anitsa near *ostivar in western Macedonia, where the
pop'lation is T'rkish, the service is held in T'rkish# n Kichevo, &isicheni and $lasnitsa,
where the pop'lation is Torbeshi, the service is carried o't in Macedonian, and in the
village of Kopanitsa near "kop;e, where the pop'lation is Albanian, the service is carried
o't in Albanian# n one of the mos.'es in Kichevo, where Albanians and Torbeshi live, the
service is carried o't both in Albanian and Macedonian# +e also claims that the F"'ltan
M'ratG Mos.'e in "kop;e !!where T'rkish is the lang'age of the services!! is 'nder the
;'risdiction of his MRC 7"elimoski, ,---8#
8)4) Re"ations 7ith the dominant re"i$ious communit& and the other communities
According to several Macedonian sociologists, the traditional high level of religio's
tolerance in Macedonia diminished in the period ,--5!,--= d'e to the emergence of a
20
myth combining the notions of FM'slim conspiracyG and Fendangered Erthodo(y#G This
political mythology appeared at a time when radical state and society transformations were
taking place and when certain political sol'tions were Fnot convincing eno'ghG for social
action to be provoked# Th's, a political mythology of the FenemyG 7the FM'slims
conspiracyG8 and the FvictimG 7the Fendangered Erthodo(yG8 was needed in order to
motivate action 7%a;ceska, et al#, ,--B2?>!??8#
There are two main reasons behind the emergence of that myth# )irst, Macedonia is a new
state, only being recogniDed internationally in ,--5# 1hen the world was still spec'lating
on how Macedonia sho'ld be recogniDed, the myth played the role of an integrative force
for the Macedonian people, who feared that their nation might disappear# The confessional
'nity of the Erthodo( Macedonians was m'ch easier to manip'late than was their national
identity# This was d'e to the fact that confessional 'nity prod'ced the image of F'nity
witho't optionsG which people related to very easily# "econd, the regional environment in
the early ,--6s provided fertile soil for the flo'rishing of that kind of mythology
7%a;ceska, et al#, ,--B2?B!??8# Macedonia is a co'ntry emerging from the former
:'goslavia# $oliticians in other former :'goslav Rep'blics, s'ch as "erbia, Croatia and
9osnia!+erDegovina, tied the concepts of FnationG and FreligionG and p't them into a
single nationalist Fmelting pot#G "imilarly, in Macedonia the opposition between Christian
and M'slim became an attractive element for political marketing# There were attempts to
appeal to the Erthodo( Macedonians that the M'slims, in this case the Albanians, were
the common enemy 7*aber, ,--<2,6B8#
%evertheless, this myth was a new import in Macedonia# 4nlike the other former
:'goslav co'ntries, Macedonia did not fall wholeheartedly into the trap of myth!
prod'cing politics# t only e(perienced the Fpolitical memory of the societyG manifesting
itself in the Fnational romanticism,G typical for co'ntries embarking on independence
7referring to 9'rke, %a;ceska, et al#, ,--B2?A8# Th's, the appeals, based on the mythology
of the Fendangered Erthodo(y,G grad'ally s'bsided and did not play a ma;or role in the
,--> general elections 7*aber, ,--<2,6B8#
%o matter how old or new that myth was, it had a damaging effect on the Christian!
M'slim relations# t led to the Fclosing inG of the confessional gro'ps, as well as to the
relative diminishing of the importance of the factor FnationalityG as compared to the factor
FreligionG 7%a;cevka, et al#, ,--B2??8# %evertheless, on the whole FethnicityG is the one
type of identity that overrides other identities, and therefore religion is secondary to
ethnicity in relations between people in Macedonia 7)raenkel, ,---8#
n ,--= and ,-->, the "kop;e!based Center on Ethnic Relations cond'cted opinion polls
on the pre;'dices among Christians and M'slims# 1hile the first poll .'estioned aro'nd
,,666 people, mainly Macedonians and Albanians as representatives of the respective
religio's comm'nities, the second poll foc'sed on aro'nd ,,566 citiDens drawn from all
the ma;or ethnic gro'ps !! Macedonians, Albanians, @lachs, "erbs, T'rks and Roma
7%a;ceska, et al#, ,--B2-,, *aber, ,--<2,6<8# A short s'mmary of their res'lts is available
below#
n ,--5!,--=, there was an increase of the inter!confessional pre;'dice, strongly indicated
by the change of attit'de towards mi(ed marriages# 1hile in ,--5 only 56 per cent of the
21
Erthodo( respondents had negative attit'de towards the Christian!M'slim marriage, in
,--= the fig're raised to <6 per cent for both Erthodo( Christians and the M'slims#
Clearly, the sharp rise of that percentage within one year indicates that the pre;'dice is not
religio's in nat're, b't is rather the res'lt of political manip'lation# This is beca'se the
s'rvey data also showed that a mere =6 per cent of the nominally Erthodo( pop'lation
can be perceived as devo't Christians 7%a;ceska, et al#, ,--B2??!-,8# +owever, one
sho'ld note that there are no end'ring c'lt'ral habits for mi(ed marriages in Macedonia#
)or e(ample, to marry a person from another ethnic origin or religio's affiliation was a
common practice in the territory of the old comm'nist :'goslavia# +owever, in
Macedonia there were not many mi(ed marriages 7*aber, ,--<2,6A8#
M'slims and Erthodo( Christians tr'st their own religio's organiDations, b't not those of
the other religio's comm'nities# -, per cent of the M'slims and B< per cent of the
Erthodo( Christians estimated that their religio's organiDations play a positive role in the
inter!ethnic relations# +owever, B= per cent of the M'slims and B> per cent of the
Erthodo( Christians tho'ght that the religio's organiDation of the other comm'nity plays
a negative role in the inter!ethnic relations 7%a;ceska, et al#, ,--B2-58# n ,-->, the tr'st
of the Macedonians and Albanians in their own religio's organiDations remained the same#
Roma showed a very positive approach towards both religio's comm'nities2 ?6 per cent
assessed positively the role of the Macedonian Erthodo( Ch'rch, and <? per cent did so
with regard to the slamic comm'nity# 9y contrast, the T'rks were ignorant of the role of
the two comm'nities# ?? per cent of them answered Fdon0t knowG on the role of the
Macedonian Erthodo( Ch'rch, and <? per cent of them answered Fdon0t knowG on the
role of the slamic religio's comm'nity 7*aber, ,--<2,6<!,,68#
Regardless of the somewhat negative pict're, there are some positive indicators# At least
<A per cent of the confessional gro'ps do not ref'se working for a private employer of
another nationality# Ever <6 per cent of both gro'ps declared that they do not feel hatred
towards the other confessional comm'nity# More than ?6 per cent of the Christian and the
M'slim pop'lations wo'ld never think of starting a conflict based on religion or ethnicity#
These n'mbers clearly indicate that the social distance is still on a s'perficial level
7%a;ceska, et al#, ,--B2-5!-=8#
Apart from the poll res'lts, which did not pay special attention to the Macedonian
M'slims 7Torbeshi8, one sho'ld also look into their place in the inter!confessional
relations in Macedonia# This pop'lation speaks Macedonian, b't is slamic in faith#
+istorically, they did not s'ffer from pre!mediated coercion, 'nlike the 9'lgarian
M'slims, altho'gh there were some attempts to bring them back to the
FMacedonianness,G especially in the ,-<6s 7"ee also ,#=#8# There were also political
attempts to make the Christian Macedonians accept the Macedonian M'slims as their co!
nationals# +owever, this process has been rather diffic'lt# Altho'gh the two comm'nities
share the same lang'age, Macedonian Christians pres'me one cannot be FMacedonianG
witho't being Erthodo( Christian# They view Erthodo(y as a necessary, if not a s'fficient,
component of the Macedonian c'lt'ral and comm'nal identity 7)raenkel, ,--A2,A>8#
n some cases, the Christian Macedonians tend also to ascribe a monolithic character to
slam as a religion to all M'slims# There is a common 'sage of the word FT'rkG referring
to all FM'slims#G This is not any ascription of race or lang'age, b't a symbol of the
22
ethnically 'ndifferentiated face of slam !! an attit'de inherited from the Ettoman time
7)raenkel, ,--A2,AB8#
The attit'de of the Macedonians towards slam as a way of life and to the M'slims as a
religio's gro'p is generally negative# Any rise of M'slim religiosity has been perceived by
the ordinary Macedonians and by the government a'thorities as an omen of
Ff'ndamentalismG or of Albanian Firredentism#G Macedonian press and political leaders
f'rther acc'se the Albanians and their politicians of coercing the Macedonian M'slims,
d'e to the Albanians0 interest to increase their constit'ency d'ring the vario's elections
7)raenkel, ,--A2,A<!,B,8#
8)8) ;a&s in 7hich the state protects or impedes minorit& re"i$ious acti+ities
The Macedonian state protects the M'slims within its territory in many respects# The
religio's practices of the M'slims are not impeded by the state# $rivate T@ stations have
M'slim religio's programs# The p'blication and printing of religio's materials face no
problems 7)raenkel, ,---8# Also, M'slim religio's leaders do not complain of the
restrictions on the import of slamic literat're# According to a law inherited from the time
when Macedonia was a rep'blic within the former :'goslavia, the police have the right to
seiDe printed material originating from abroad# n line with this law, in ,--<!,--?
doc'ments of h'man rights activists and Hehovah0s 1itnesses were confiscated 7+),
,--?2,>A8#
+owever, there are some administrative obstacles that hamper the normal development of
M'slims in Macedonia# These are the registration problems, the lack of legislation on the
restit'tion of the religio's comm'nities0 property and the lack of religio's instr'ction in
the m'nicipal schools#
)rom the instit'tional point of view, the government Committee for Relations with the
Religio's Comm'nities and *ro'ps 7henceforth referred to as FCommittee on the
Religio's ss'esG8 reg'lates the relations between the state and the religio's comm'nities
in Macedonia# 9esides the ones on the national level, there are also committees dealing
with religio's .'estions formed on the m'nicipal level, altho'gh they act mostly on an ad
hoc basis 7%a;ceska, ,-->2,B>8#
After the break!'p of the former :'goslavia and the formation of the independent
Rep'blic of Macedonia, the Ministry of the nterior was responsible for the registration of
the religio's entities# 1ith the new ,--< &aw on the Religio's Comm'nities and *ro'ps,
which s'bstit'ted the former :'goslav Religio's &aw, the government committee for the
religio's comm'nities and gro'ps became responsible for the registration# Thereafter, the
Ministry of the nterior handed the registration archives to the government committee#
The Constit'tional Co'rt iss'ed a Decision on December 5>, ,--?, which abolished the
article stating that the religio's comm'nities had to be registered by that government
committee# Th's, it opened a loophole in the legislation related to the iss'e of which
instit'tion sho'ld be responsible for the iss'ing of the registration in the new sit'ation
7"ee more on that decision and on the restrictive character of the ,--< law in A#5#8#
23
The Islamic Community and the Islamic -ervish )eli+ious Community were officially
registered with the governmental committee after the new religio's law was adopted in
,--< 7%ikolovski!Katin, ,---8# +owever, there are problems with the registration of the
Macedonian Muslim )eli+ious Community and the !ektashi Community/
The Muslim )eli+ious Community was registered with the Ministry of the nterior in
,--B, b't not with the governmental committee# The Ministry of the nterior did not hand
in the file of the M'slim Religio's Comm'nity 7MRC8 to the governmental committee
'ntil Han'ary ,--- 7"elimoski, ,---8# Th's, its registration has been prevented so far#
t seems that the a'thorities were not interested in registering the MRC d'e to two main
reasons# )irst, the MRC was legally viewed as a religio's entity parallel to the slamic
Comm'nity 7C8# The ,--< &aw, even after the ,--? amendments of the Constit'tional
Co'rt, does not allow more than one comm'nity to be registered for ;'st one
denomination# 9oth the C and the MRC organiDe mainly the "'nni slam worshipers,
'nlike the slamic Dervish Religio's Comm'nity, which organiDes the "'nni "'fi Erders#
"econd, there are claims that the C had close relations with the $arty for Democratic
$rosperity 7$D$8 of the Albanians, which participated in the previo's coalition
government with the "ocial Democratic &eag'e of Macedonia 7"D"M8 before the last
governmental change of %ovember ,--?# Th's, the legal motivation was reportedly based
on political reasons#
The !ektashis who had a registration in Kosovo in the former :'goslavia 7%ikolovski!
Katin, ,---8, applied for registration in ,--= with the Ministry of the nterior in line with
the old :'goslav Religio's law 79aba Tahir Emini, ,---8# +owever, the Macedonian
Ministry of the nterior only iss'ed a certificate that they have applied for registration, b't
did not register them# Their registration is still pending 7%ikolovski!Katin, ,---8#
Dep'ty Chairman of the Committee for the Religio's Comm'nities "lave %ikolovski!
Katin claims that there is an opport'nity for the Muslim )eli+ious Community and the
!ektashis to register as religio's Fgro'psG# +owever, they ref'se to do so, since it wo'ld
not p't them on an e.'al footing with the two already registered M'slim religio's
organiDations 7More on the difference between religio's Fcomm'nityG and religio's
Fgro'pG in A#5#8#
&acking a law for de!nationaliDation, the state can raise many administrative obstacles
'pon the M'slim comm'nity concerning iss'es of religio's property# All the property of
the slamic Comm'nity was taken by the former Comm'nist system !! land, ho'ses and
even some mos.'es were t'rned into m'se'ms or stores# A law on the restit'tion of the
citiDens0 property was passed by the %ational Assembly in the early ,--6s, b't it did not
mention the religio's comm'nities, and not even all the concerned citiDens co'ld benefit
from it 7Re(hepi, ,---8# Altho'gh a law on the restit'tion is highly e(pected by all
religio's comm'nities in Macedonia, there are no meas'res taken to draft s'ch a law so
far 7"elimoski, ,---8#
The lack of religio's instr'ction in the m'nicipal schools is another grievance of the
slamic comm'nity# According to )eis'ul'Ulema "'le;man Re(hepi, the comp'lsory
religio's instr'ction has to s'bstit'te the s'b;ect FMar(ism,G which was st'died d'ring the
24
Comm'nist time# The s'b;ect FReligionG sho'ld be foc'sed on slam and Erthodo(
Christianity separately# Th's, the children of the slamic faith wo'ld take the s'b;ect
FslamG and it wo'ld be ta'ght by people from the slamic Comm'nity# The children of the
Erthodo( faith wo'ld take the s'b;ect FErthodo( ChristianityG and it wo'ld be ta'ght by
Erthodo( theologians# Re(hepi does not e(cl'de the possibility for the s'b;ect FReligionG
to have some comparative aspects, b't e(plicitly says that it does not have to incl'de all
religions#
n some respects it seems that there is a gap between what the state and society p't on
paper, and what happens in practice# As Erthodo(y has again been allowed freedom of
e(pression in independent Macedonia, the ethnic Macedonian pop'lation has 'sed this as a
greater p'blic marker of identity than it did d'ring the former :'goslav time# Erthodo(
symbolism is fo'nd all across Macedonia, and is seen by most Macedonians as
synonymo's with Macedonian identity, whereas M'slim symbolism is not# A telling
e(ample was a 4%$REDE$!sponsored concert in the mid!,--6s, which was meant to be
an event recogniDing Macedonia0s diversity# t feat'red Albanians, T'rks, and Roma as
well as Macedonians, b't the backdrop on stage was an Erthodo( ch'rch# Also, there are
far more Erthodo( clergies attending p'blic events than their M'slim co'nterparts#
"ometimes this happens at the e(pense of the M'slim representation# %onetheless, )eis'
ul'Ulema +adDhi Re(hepi is often invited and attends p'blic events alongside Erthodo(
bishops 7)raenkel, ,---8# The M'slim comm'nity complains abo't the placement of
crosses on the facades of some p'blic b'ildings in some towns# They also criticiDe the
reprod'ction of Christian c'lt'ral mon'ments s'ch as ch'rches and crosses on the national
c'rrency, the Denar 74" Department of "tate, ,-->2-B<8#
=) 1ENER. .E1. STTUS
=)-) %ast
The ,?<? international Treaty of "an "tefano and the 9erlin Treaty, signed after the
R'sso!T'rkish 1ar of ,?<<!,?<?, provided mainly for the protection of the freedoms of
the religio's minorities, since religion !!and not ethnicity!! was the ma;or factor of
differentiation# +owever, since the @ienna Congress of ,?,A special cla'ses concerning
the defense of ethnicity have also entered international legislation 7Kanev, citing
Thornberry, ,--?2B-8# Moreover, the change of the place of religion within the Ettoman
state ideology changed after the TanDimat reforms# The M'slims were no longer the
absol'te s'perior pop'lation in the Empire, nor was the Christian millet 7)um Milleti8 a
monolithic one any longer# 1ith the press're of R'ssia and the 1estern E'ropean
co'ntries, the different national ch'rches were recogniDed thro'gho't the ,-
th
cent'ry
7)raenkel, ,---8#
)ollowing the collapse of the Ettoman Empire at the end of the )irst 1orld 1ar,
territorial Macedonia was partitioned between 9'lgaria, *reece and the Kingdom of the
"erbs, Croats and "lovenes 7henceforth !! Royal :'goslavia8# The ,-,- Treaty of "aint
*ermain !!defining the international obligations of Royal :'goslavia after the 1ar!!
provided for different rights for the racial, religio's and ling'istic minorities# They
concerned e.'ality before the law, e.'ality of access to p'blic services, free 'se of their
mother tong'e in private, in confession and in the press and the right to fo'nd and
25
manage, at their own e(pense, some welfare, religio's or social instit'tions 7Ertakovski,
,--?2,5,!,558#
n addition to that, the M'slims in Royal :'goslavia were e(plicitly mentioned in the "aint
*ermain Treaty, similarly to the M'slims in *reece 7,-,- Treaty of "evres, signed with
another victor of the war, *reece8, b't 'nlike the M'slims in 9'lgaria 7,-,- %e'illy
Treaty, signed with defeated 9'lgaria8# Article ,6 reg'lated the protection of the M'slim
inhabitants of the Kingdom# ss'es of family law were to be reg'lated in accordance with
the M'slim c'stoms# Royal :'goslavia was s'pposed to F'ndertake meas'res to ens're
the nomination of the M'slim0s spirit'al head )eis'ul'Ulema,G as well as to Fthe
protection of the mos.'es, graves and other M'slim religio's instit'tions#G t was
s'pposed to ens're Ffavorable conditions for the e(isting M'slim confessional fo'ndations
and their welfare instit'tionsG 7Ertakovski, ,--?2,55!,=68#
After the "econd 1orld 1ar and the formation of the "ocialist Rep'blic of :'goslavia,
the new ,->A Constit'tion separated the ch'rch from the state# n line with that, it placed
the affairs of marriage and family 'nder the ;'risdiction of the state instit'tions# The new
constit'tion g'aranteed also freedom of belief and the e.'ality of all citiDens regardless of
their religion, nationality or race, as well as their right to establish religio's schools to
train their clergy, 'nder the general s'pervision of the state# The ,-B= Constit'tion had
similar provisions concerning religion# t e(plicitly pointed o't that the religio's
comm'nities have the right to own real estate# This right was previo'sly held implicit,
since the ho'ses of prayer of all religio's !!incl'ding the slamic Comm'nity!! had been
affected by the e(propriation laws of ,->A 7especially the &aw on the Agrarian Reform
and the nationaliDation laws, iss'ed between ,->B and ,-A?8 7Ale(ander, ,-<-2 5,6!5,-8#
The ,-A, Criminal Code affected the religio's comm'nities in several aspects# Those who
incited national or religio's hatred, were considered as endangering the 'nity of
:'goslavia# n practice this provision stated that not only the clergy b't also anyone
offending the national or racial 'nity had to be p'nished severely# Altho'gh the Criminal
Code provided for p'nishment of those who obstr'cted the performance of religio's
ceremonies, it was rare for somebody to be p'nished beca'se of having ins'lted a priest or
a believer 7Ale(ander, ,-<-25568#
The affairs of the M'slims in Macedonia, along with those of the other denominations,
were reg'lated by the &aw on the &egal "tat's of the Religio's Comm'nities, passed on
the federal level in ,-A=/ Art# , defined religio's affiliation as a private affair of the
individ'al# Art# = stated that all religio's comm'nities have e.'al legal stat's and that they
are separated both from the state and the ed'cational system# Art# B stip'lated that one0s
membership in a partic'lar religio's comm'nity cannot be the reason for any restrictions
of his/her rights, and it does not allow him/her to en;oy special rights# Religio's
comm'nities were free to have their own press, carry o't religio's instr'ction and collect
donations# They were prohibited from spreading religio's hatred and intolerance# Their
activities co'ld not be 'sed for political p'rposes 7%a;ceska, et al#, ,--B2 <<8# A harsh
provision of that law was Art# 55, stip'lating that a seminary can be closed if any of its
st'dents or fac'lty are infringing 'pon the laws of the state in any serio's way# This
provision was removed with the revision of the law in ,-BA, which aimed at bringing it in
conformity with the ,-B= Constit'tion 7Ale(ander, ,-<-255,!55A8# This law remained
26
f'nctional in Macedonia 'ntil the prom'lgation of the ,--< &aw on Religio's
Comm'nities and Religio's *ro'ps#
=)2) %resent
The relations between the Macedonian state and the religio's comm'nities are reg'lated
by the Constit'tion of the Rep'blic of Macedonia, and by the &aw on the Religio's
Comm'nities and Religio's *ro'ps/ Art# - of the ,--, Constit'tion g'arantees the
e.'ality of all Macedonian citiDens regardless of their se(, race and religio's beliefs# Art#
,- provides for the freedom of religion both in private and p'blic# There is no FofficialG
religion# +owever, in the same article of the Constit'tion, the Erthodo( Ch'rch !!the
religio's organiDation of the ma;ority!! is e(plicitly mentioned, 'nlike the religio's
Fcomm'nitiesG and Fgro'ps,G which are defined in general terms# They are given the right
to freely Festablish schools and other social and charitable instit'tions, by ways of a
proced're reg'lated by law#G 9oth the Erthodo( Ch'rch and the other religio's
comm'nities are allowed to freely establish their religio's schools and other social and
charitable instit'tions by proced'res reg'lated by law# Art# A> of the Constit'tion
stip'lated that the freedoms of citiDens can be restricted only in cases of war or emergency
determined by the Constit'tion# Etherwise, freedoms !!incl'ding religio's freedom!! may
not be restricted 7Macedonian Constit'tion, ,--,8#
The domestic law that b'ilds 'pon the constit'tional provisions is the &aw on the
Religio's Comm'nities and *ro'ps, adopted in ,--<# t divides the religio's
denominations into two gro'ps !! Fcomm'nitiesG and Fgro'ps#G Art# ? 7,8 defines the
religio's Fcomm'nityG as a Fvol'ntarily organiDed non!profit comm'nity of adherents of
the same denomination,G while Art# - 7,8 defines the religio's Fgro'pG as a Fvol'ntary
non!profit organiDation of believers of the same religio's faith, who do not belong to any
registered religio's comm'nityG 7The &aw on Religion, ,--<8# The law treats the citiDens0
religio's rights on a collective basis# Rights are given to the comm'nities and gro'ps as
;'dicial bodies, th's, everybody who wants to practice his religion is free to do so only if
he belongs to one of these comm'nities or gro'ps, which, on their part, have to be
registered by the state 7Kanev, ,---8#
The Macedonian +elsinki Committee points o't that this law is very restrictive# t favors
the traditional religions, s'ch as the Macedonian Erthodo( Ch'rch, slam and the Catholic
Ch'rch# +owever, it discriminates against the non!traditional and FnewG religions,
altho'gh both types of religions carry o't similar activities, incl'ding religio's services and
religio's instr'ction 7+), Ann'al Report, ,--?2 ,>-8# The law is regarded as allowing the
arbitrary cond'ct of the a'thorities towards the religio's gro'ps 7M+C, Ann'al Report,
,---8# Many religio's gro'ps complained that the law has vested the governmental
Commission for Religio's ss'es too m'ch 'ndefined power 7+), Ann'al Report,
,--?2,A68#
There are several restrictions on the religio's freedom in that law# The access of foreign
preachers and missionaries to Macedonia is restricted# The violation of that provision
carries a penalty of A6,666 DE% 74"D -A68, e.'ivalent to si( times the average monthly
salary# )oreigners are s'b;ected to penalties if they practice religio's activities witho't
permission or if they organiDe religio's instr'ction for children 'nder the age of ,6
27
witho't the knowledge of their parents# Minor penalties are envisaged for nine other
activities, s'ch as proselytism 7which was restricted by other provisions of the law8,
collecting money or carrying o't activities o'tside the registered places of worship# The
Ministry of the nterior has consistently made red'ctions in the n'mber of p'blications
allowed for import in Macedonia !! a practice which the Hehovah0s 1itnesses have
s'ffered the most 7+), Ann'al Report, ,--?2,>-!,A6, The &aw on Religion, ,--<8#
n December ,--?, the Constit'tional Co'rt abolished the following articles, which were
regarded as discriminatory# ,8 Art# = 7,8 stated that religio's rit'als co'ld be officiated
only by a registered religio's Fcomm'nityG and Fgro'p#G 58 Art# ,6 stip'lated that a
religio's gro'p wishing to be registered co'ld be formed by a minim'm of A6 fo'nders
who are permanent residents of Macedonia# =8 Art# ,, 758 states that the registration
application of the religio's gro'ps sho'ld contain the names of all the A6 fo'nding
members, the addresses of their meeting places and the names of the persons that wo'ld
organiDe the meetings# >8 Art# ,= stip'lated that the religio's gro'p, fo'nded according to
the law, sho'ld be registered in the register of the organ, dealing with the problems of the
religio's comm'nities and gro'ps, i#e# by the Committee for the Religio's ss'es, which
administers the register# A8 Art# ,> ascribed the comm'nities and gro'ps a ;'dicial stat's#
The Fgro'pG becomes a ;'dicial body ;'st after it is registered according to Art# ,=# The
Fcomm'nitiesG and the Fgro'psG can fo'nd social and charitable organiDations according
to a proced're reg'lated by law# B8# Art# 55 758 stip'lated that if a religio's gro'p wants
to constr'ct or appropriate property intended for the performance of religio's services, it
has to receive the approval of the aforementioned governmental committee 7The &aw on
Religion, ,--<L Decision of the Constit'tional Co'rt, ,--?8#
The Macedonian +elsinki Committee finds that there are some other discriminatory
provisions, which are still in power# ,8 Art# ? 758 states that Fthere can be only one
religio's comm'nity for one religion#G 58 Art# ,- stip'lates that religio's services may be
performed at vario's premises accessible to the citiDens, b't they first have to receive the
approval of the Committee for the Religio's ss'es 7M+C, Ann'al Report, ,---L "tate
*aDette of the Rep'blic of Macedonia, 5=/</,--<2,>5<8# Art# A is also restrictive# t
allows foreign citiDens to perform religio's activities or rites only after the previo's
approval of the Committee for the Religio's ss'es# Th's, it restricts the access of foreign
missionaries to Macedonia 7+), Ann'al Report, ,--?2,>-L "tate *aDette of the Rep'blic
of Macedonia, 5=/</,--<2,>5B8#
The Criminal Code protects the rights of the Macedonian citiDens# Among these rights is
the right to religio's affiliation# Art# A6 defines as offenses any breaches of the law on
e.'ality of citiDenship where people are discriminated against beca'se of their religion#
Art# ,=> 7,?8 penaliDes those who ca'se religio's hatred, discord and intolerance
7%a;ceska, et al#, ,--B2<<8# +owever, it is 'nclear to what e(tent that provision of the law
is being observed in practice and how many people who have resorted to religio's hatred
have been ever s'ed or tried#
>) ?I./I.IT5 O@ EDUCTION @OR THE MINORIT5
>)-) /rief histor& of the s&stem of education in re"ation to the minorit&
28
D'ring the Ettoman period 'ntil the first 9alkan 1ar in ,-,5, mektebs 7primary religio's
schools8 and Medreses 7secondary religio's schools8 e(isted in "kop;e, 9itola and Tetovo#
The most prominent of those religio's schools was the Fsa 9egG Medrese in "kop;e#
After the 9alkan 1ars, religio's instr'ction contin'ed mainly in the mos.'es or in private
circles 7"herif, ,---8#
After the )irst 1orld 1ar and the establishment of the :'goslav Kingdom, @ardar
Macedonia was considered as F"o'th "erbia,G and ed'cation there was strongly
F"erbianiDed#G 9't the M'slims, mainly the T'rks, resisted sending their children to the
"erbian schools# This movement was especially strong in the beginning of ,-,- in the
village of Kavadartsi and the area aro'nd it, and threatened to spill over in other districts#
Th's, the Ministry of Ed'cation iss'ed an act in May ,-,- stating that the s'b;ect
FreligionG m'st be ta'ght by special M'slim teachers to all M'slim children in the primary
schools# )'rthermore, M'slim children were no more obliged to attend the same religio's
classes as the Erthodo( children, nor to take part in religio's ceremonies of the Erthodo(
Ch'rch in or o'tside the schools# This decision did not play a significant role, since the
parents of the M'slim children did not accept the M'slim teachers selected by the
ministry# A M'slim Congress at the end of ,-,- demanded ed'cational a'tonomy from
the state# +owever, this was not given, since it contradicted too m'ch with the official
policy# Th's, by the early ,-56s the ed'cational demands of the T'rks have already
become a political .'estion, since the T'rks barred their children from going to school
7Hovanovic, ,-?=25=-!5>68#
n order to s'ppress the discontent, in ,-5> the :'goslav Kingdom created the *reat
Medrese FKing Ale(ander G in "kop;e# t provided both sec'lar and religio's instr'ction#
t aimed at the creation of pro!"erbian loyalists, who in a short period of time wo'ld
become M'slim religio's clerics and wo'ld go all over @ardar Macedonia# Many of the
sec'lar s'b;ects were ta'ght in the "erbian lang'age# There were also st'dents from
"erbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and 9osnia# This school operated 'ntil the "econd 1orld
1ar 7"herif, ,---L Hovanovic, ,-?=25>B8#
$arallel to the state!sponsored *reat Medrese, there were also private M'slim religio's
schools in "kop;e, *ostivar and other settlements# The mektebs were attended by fo'r to
fo'rteen!year!old children, who learned the Koran by heart# The Medreses gave ed'cation
to yo'ng people who entered them when they were fo'rteen to si(teen years of age and
's'ally stayed there 'ntil the age of 5A# They received instr'ction abo't the Arab
lang'age, commentaries of the Koran and other religio's books# ts grad'ates became the
M'slim clerics !! hodjas, imams and muezzins# 9oth kinds of religio's schools fo'nd
rooms in private b'ildings close to the mos.'es and were attended by a large n'mber of
r'ral boys 7Hovanovic, ,-?=25><8#
n ,-=5 the Fsa 9egG Medrese re!opened in "kop;e# t was established in the ,Ath cent'ry
after the arrival of the Ettoman T'rks on those territories# t is named after its fo'nder, sa
9eg, who had lived in "kop;e and left his property for religio's, h'manitarian and
ed'cational p'rposes# This school was one of the most prominent in the E'ropean
Ettoman province of R'melia# +owever, it had stopped working on several occasions# )or
the first time this happened in ,B?-, when d'ring one of the raids of the +absb'rg army,
"kop;e was b'rned to the gro'nd# After the collapse of the Ettoman Empire, on the
29
initiative of some intellect'als and the slamic clergy, the school was reb'ilt in ,-=5 and in
,-=B it received the stat's of a secondary school 7slamic Comm'nity 9roch're, ,--<2B?!
<58# The st'dents of this school were mainly T'rks, who were opposed to the sec'lar,
pro!"erb ed'cation p'rs'ed in the 9ig Medrese of King Ale(ander 7"herif, ,---8#
After the "econd 1orld 1ar the Fsa 9egG Medrese stopped its activities once again# This
contin'ed 'ntil ,-<-, when the slamic Comm'nity managed to obtain permission for the
b'ilding of new premises# t was erected in the village of Kondovo near "kop;e# The first
academic year after the long break was ,-?>/,-?A# The school contin'es its activities at
present 7slamic Comm'nity 9roch're, ,--<2B?!<58#
The history of the Fsa 9egG &ibrary developed almost parallel to the history of the Fsa
9egG Medrese# t also was established in the ,A
th
cent'ry# There are no historical data on
whether the library was f'nctional after the ,<
th
cent'ry# The initiative to re!establish it
dates back to ,-=5# t was done on behalf of the @akif Association that e(isted at the
time# The library was re!opened in ,-=B and was accessible to all, irrespective of their
social stat's# 4ntil the "econd 1orld 1ar, the library was a center for the M'slim
religio's, c'lt'ral and political life of "kop;e, where many disc'ssions took place# t
stopped working in ,->, and d'ring the Comm'nist period most of its library f'nds were
bro'ght to the $'blic &ibrary, the 4niversity &ibrary, and to the FTsvetan DimovG &ibrary
7slamic Comm'nity 9roch're, ,--<2<5!<=8#
>)2) +ai"a(i"it& of teachin$ materia" for the minorit&
>)4) Officia" position
>)8) cti+ists6 initiati+es
The +'manitarian ErganiDation FEl +ilalG 7F%ew MoonG8 operates 'nder the
organiDational str'ct're of the slamic Comm'nity# FEl +ilalG was fo'nded in ,--, as an
association of the M'slims and was transformed into a h'manitarian organiDation in
December ,--=# t has five branches in "kop;e and other nine o'tside the Macedonian
capital# ts main activities are the distrib'tion of h'manitarian aid, s'pport to c'lt'ral
activities and ref'gees, and aid to the ed'cation of the financially disadvantaged children#
The war in 9osnia!+erDegovina sent many ref'gees to Macedonia# FEl +ilalG helped <6
per cent 7o't of the total of =6,6668 of the 9osnian ref'gees with accommodation in state!
owned and private places, g'aranteeing food, clothing and health care, as well as with
their repatriation back to 9osnia# n ,--= the organiDation helped repatriate 5A6 persons,
in ,--> ! <56 persons and in ,--B ! ->6 persons 7FEl +ilalG 9roch're, ,--B2<!=<8#
n the sphere of ed'cation, FEl +ilalG has helped with the distrib'tion of ed'cation
materials, books, and notebooks, provided by ed'cational instit'tions and donors from
E'rope and the 4"A# n the ,-->!,--A academic year, the American organiDation
Catholic Relief "ervices provided s'pport to the FEl +ilalG pro;ect for the creation of
school kitchens in == schools in Macedonia 7FEl +ilalG, 9roch're, ,--B2,<8#
>)=) %resent situation on different levels:
30
>)=)-) Nurser& schoo" and primar& education
There is no special slamic school for children at this ed'cational level, nor is there any
religio's school for the Christian Erthodo( children# The Macedonian Erthodo( Ch'rch
has long been trying to introd'ce Erthodo( religio's instr'ction in the p'blic schools, b't
witho't s'ccess 7)raenkel, ,---8#
>)=)2) Secondar& education
The Fsa 9egG Medrese is the only secondary school providing slamic religio's
instr'ction in Macedonia at present# t operates 'nder the organiDational str'ct're of the
slamic Comm'nity, b't its e(act stat's is yet 'nclear# "t'dents enter the school for fo'r
years after they have completed eight years of primary school# The Medrese provides both
religio's and sec'lar instr'ction# Th's, 'pon grad'ation, st'dents can apply to 'niversities
other than the slamic fac'lty, if they want to contin'e with sec'lar instr'ction at the
'ndergrad'ate level 7Re(hepi, ,---8#
There are 5- s'b;ects ta'ght in the Fsa 9egG Medrese# The religio's s'b;ects are the
Koran, Reading of the Koran, commentary of the Koran, slamic ethics, slamic
philosophy, "hari0a law and others# The sec'lar s'b;ects incl'de mathematics, sociology,
pedagogy, logic, history, lang'ages, rhetoric and others 7Re(hepi, ,---8# )ive lang'ages
are st'died2 Macedonian, Albanian and T'rkish are st'died as first lang'ages, and Arabic
and English are st'died as foreign lang'ages 7slamic Comm'nity 9roch're, ,--<2B-8#
The schooling in the Fsa 9egG Medrese is free of charge# There is a boarding school for
5<6 st'dents# n ,--< the n'mber of the f'll!time st'dents was between 5A6 and 5<6
people, and there were also some =66 distance!ed'cation st'dents 7who do not attend
reg'lar classrooms instr'ction, b't participate in the ed'cational process thro'gh e(ams
on the respective s'b;ects8# )rom the fo'ndation of the school in academic year ,-??/,-?-
'ntil ,--B/,--< 7the year of the latest data available8 there have been some =?> f'll!time
and ?A distance st'dents# Most of the latter were female 7slamic Comm'nity 9roch're,
,--<2B-8#
n ,--?, the Macedonian +elsinki Committee reported on an FAlbanianiDationG attempt
within the "econdary Theological "chool Fsa 9egG Medrese based in the village of
Kondovo near "kop;e# The process of ethnic homogeniDation was observed in the trend to
e(cl'de the 'sage of the T'rkish, Romani and Macedonian lang'ages from the c'rric'l'm#
These processes went even as far as to reach the prohibition of the above mentioned
lang'ages in the mos.'es# The politiciDing of this act was manifested also thro'gh the
placement of the Albanian flag as 'nifying all members of the M'slim religion 7M&"
%ews, = )ebr'ary ,--?8#
>)=)4) Hi$her education and research
The )ac'lty of slam is based in the district of Kondovo near "kop;e# &ike the Fsa 9egG
Medrese, it also operates 'nder the organiDational str'ct're of the slamic Comm'nity# ts
aim is to provide f'rther ed'cation to the st'dents who grad'ate from the religio's
31
secondary school and to give them a 9achelor0s degree# The fac'lty was fo'nded in
,--</,--?# D'e to the lack of a higher slamic ed'cation fac'lty before that time, there
were aro'nd A6 st'dents who contin'ed their st'dies abroad !! in "a'di Arabia, K'wait,
&ybia, Hordan, "yria, ran 7Re(hepi, ,---8#
t is possible to p'rs'e research on slam in the Fsa 9egG &ibrary in "kop;e, which also
operates within the framework of the slamic Comm'nity# t was fo'nded in ,--, in a
b'ilding in the old town in "kop;e# The books and the other f'nds have been re!collected
since the late ,-<6s from the libraries, to which they had been distrib'ted d'ring the
Comm'nist period# At present, there are many man'scripts in Arabic, Ettoman T'rkish,
$ersian, )rench, T'rkish, Albanian, Macedonian, 9osnian and "erbo!Croatian# Aro'nd
,,666 books cover modern history and some 5,,66 cover earlier periods 7slamic
Comm'nity 9roch're, ,--<2<=8#
A) COMMUNICTION ND UDIO?ISU. MEDI
A)-) .e$a" situation
The electronic media in Macedonia operate 'nder the ,--< 9roadcasting Act# The
Co'ncil on 9roadcasting, constit'ted in "eptember ,--<, is responsible for the reg'lation
of the media 7M+C Ann'al Report, ,---8# As far as religion is concerned, the law
prohibits religio's comm'nities or religio's gro'ps to fo'nd radio!television entities 7Art#
,,8# t also states that radio and television programs cannot be 'sed for the spread of
national, racial or religio's hatred among the citiDens# They sho'ld allow all citiDens to
en;oy the same rights and freedoms, regardless of their se(, race, national origin, social
stat's or religio's belief, among other things 7The &aw on Radio!Diff'sion, ,--<8#
A)2) !ress
The El *ilal 76oun+ Moon8 newspaper is the only p'blication of a M'slim religio's entity
in Macedonia, the slamic Comm'nity# The newspaper was fo'nded in ,-?<# t is
p'blished twice a month in the Albanian lang'age with a circ'lation of >,666 copies, and
once a month in T'rkish and Macedonian with ,,A66 copies in each lang'age# t offers a
for'm for information and disc'ssion of the religio's, scientific, economic, c'lt'ral and
moral aspects of slam# t covers the activities of the slamic Comm'nity, the slamic
festivities, the opening of new religio's sites in Macedonia and the c'rrent sit'ation of the
M'slims abroad 7slamic Comm'nity 9roch're ,--<2<?!<-8#
slamic iss'es are covered occasionally by the newspapers of the Albanian and T'rkish
minorities in Macedonia 77laka and 7akti !! in Albanian, and !irlik !! in T'rkish8# The
8aman'Macedonia newspaper, which is part of the stanb'l!based chain of 8aman
newspapers 7the main one p'blished in T'rkish and in T'rkey8, is iss'ed in ,> different
lang'ages# Eccasionally, it covers slamic holidays, even tho'gh the main iss'es covered
are sec'lar 7Emin, ,---8#
A)4) Radio
32
There are no slamic radio stations in Macedonia# The law prohibits the fo'ndation of s'ch
radio stations 7"ee <#,#8# Eccasionally, some materials on slamic holidays appear in the
state and private media of the different ethnic gro'ps# There are sections within the "tate
Radio that are broadcast in Albanian, T'rkish and Romani# n addition to them, there are
several Albanian private radio!stations2 Radio F@ati,G Radio F)amaG and Radio F5>G in
"kop;e, Radio F@isarG and Radio F)amaG in Tetovo, Radio FArsG, Radio FEmiG, Radio
F$ro )M -5G, Radio FR'meli )MG and Radio FRekatonG in *ostivar, Radio FArbanaG in
Ko'manovo, Radio FMerilinG in Debar, Radio FRiniaG in $rilep, FRadio F)loraG in
Kr'shevo, Radio F4skanaG in Kichevo# Radio FChereniaG in "tip broadcasts mainly in
Macedonian, b't sometimes also in Romani 7*ligorovska, ,---8#
A)8) Te"e+ision
There are no slamic T@ stations in Macedonia# There is a prohibition on them by the law
7"ee <#,#8# slamic holidays are covered by the ethnic sections of the "tate Television
!!Albanian, T'rkish, Romani!! and by the private televisions# There are several private
Albanian television channels and two Romani ones# There are no T'rkish T@ channels#
The Albanian T@ stations are2 T@ FEraG in "kop;e, T@ FArtG and T@ FKohaG in Tetovo,
T@ F*lob's,G T@ FIeri CegranitG and T@ F5G in *ostivar, T@ F )estaG and T@ F+anaG
in Ko'manovo, T@ FKaltrinaG in "tro'ga, T@ F*'raG and T@ F4skanaG in Kichevo#
Radio F"pektraG in "tro'ga has a Macedonian lang'age broadcast targeting the
Macedonian M'slims# The Romani T@ stations are F"h'telG T@ and Radio T@ F9TR,G
both based in "kop;e# The Macedonian T@ FIoraG in Ko'manovo sometimes broadcasts
in Romani 7*ligorovska, ,---8#
A)=) Internet
There are no nternet sites of the slamic religio's organiDations in Macedonia#
B) CONC.USION
The M'slims in the Rep'blic of Macedonia are ethnically and religio'sly heterogeneo's#
n ethnic terms, they are the Albanians, T'rks, Macedonian M'slims 7Torbeshi8, 9osnians
and RomaL with the Albanians being the predominant ma;ority# n religio's terms, the
"'nni M'slims are the dominant part of the pop'lation# There are also si( "'nni "'fi
Erders and one 9ektashi "'fi Erder, which is the largest "'fi order in the 9alkans#
%owadays there are fo'r religio's comm'nities in Macedonia# Two of them !!the slamic
Comm'nity and the slamic Dervish Religio's Comm'nity!! are officially registered with
the Macedonian governmental committee dealing with religio's affairs# The other two
!!the M'slim Religio's Comm'nity and the 9ektashi Comm'nity!! are not registered
there# The M'slim Religio's Comm'nity was registered with the Ministry of the nterior
in ,--B in line with the ,-A= :'goslav law, which ceased to be in power after the
adoption of the new Macedonian religio's law in ,--<# The 9ektashi Comm'nity applied
for registration with the Ministry of the nterior after ,-?-, b't has not received any
positive answer yet#
33
At the organiDational level, slam in Macedonia is divided among the different ethnic
gro'ps# Altho'gh the religio's leaders of the slamic Comm'nity claim to 'nite all
M'slims in Macedonia, it is a p'blic secret that the slamic Comm'nity 'nites mainly the
Albanians, while the M'slim Religio's Comm'nity 'nites mainly the non!Albanians s'ch
as the T'rks, Torbeshi, 9osnians and some Roma# En its part, the slamic Dervish
Comm'nity 'nites mainly the Roma, while the 9ektashi Comm'nity is again Albanian!
dominated 7Traditionally, the Albanians make 'p the largest n'mber of the 9ektashi
thro'gho't the 9alkans and not only in Macedonia8# These divisions create problems
within the M'slim comm'nity itself, the biggest among them being the 'ne.'al
distrib'tion of power among the different ethnic gro'ps in favor of the Albanian minority
and the conse.'ent domination of Albanian!lang'age services in the mos.'es#
Traditionally, the inter!confessional relations of the slamic Comm'nity with the Erthodo(
Ch'rch and the Macedonian ma;ority have been distant# Moreover, in the first years of
Macedonian independence 7,--5!,--=8 they have been strained even more# At that time,
the myth of the FM'slim conspiracy,G which allegedly Fendangered Erthodo(yG, emerged
in the p'blic space and was 'sed as a political marketing tool# E(perts see this myth as an
import from "erbia !! a state, which saw itself as the Erthodo( Christian stronghold in the
war in 9osnia!+erDegovina ,--5!,--A# The strong opposition between Erthodo(
Christians and M'slims grad'ally s'bsided after ,--=, b't politiciDation of religion seems
to have remained# There are allegations that the slamic Comm'nity !!the main religio's
comm'nity in Macedonia!! advanced pro!Albanian politics d'e to its strong connections
with the Albanian $arty $D", which participated in the Macedonian government 'ntil the
fall of ,--?#
The social distance between M'slims and Erthodo( Christians remains .'ite tangible# n
some cases, Erthodo( Macedonians tend to see all M'slims as a monolithic gro'p and
refer to them as FT'rksG !! an attit'de inherited from the Ettoman time# The M'slims feel
as Fsecond!classG citiDens in their own co'ntry# M'slims and Erthodo( Christians tr'st
their own religio's organiDations, b't not the religio's organiDation of the Fother#G Also,
mi(ed marriages between M'slims and Christians are e(ceptional, especially after
Macedonia achieved its independence#
At present, the religio's practice of the M'slims is not impeded by the state# M'slims
en;oy the right to attend everyday prayers, to participate in religio's festivities and to wear
traditional clothing, among other rights# A n'mber of new mos.'es have been b'ilt since
,-?-#
+owever, the state still impedes the activities of the M'slims in Macedonia thro'gh its
reactive, rather than proactive approach to slam# En the one hand, this is d'e to the
import of the political mythology of the FM'slim conspiracyG as a res'lt of the war in
9osnia!+erDegovina# En the other hand, it is d'e to the p'blic identification of slam with
Albanian political ambitions# The state has posed registration problems to some of the
M'slim comm'nities and is yet to adopt a law for the restit'tion of M'slim ecclesiastic
property# "tate policy affects the other religions as well# )or e(ample, the lack of religio's
instr'ction in the p'blic schools and the adoption of the new law on religions, are seen as
a deficiency# M'slim religio's leaders, as well as h'man rights activists find that the ,--<
religio's law, altho'gh amended by the Constit'tional Co'rt in December ,--?, is still
34
very restrictive# t makes a distinction between a religio's Fcomm'nityG and a religio's
Fgro'p,G p'tting the latter 'nder the strict s'pervision of the state a'thorities#
n terms of ed'cation, the M'slims in Macedonia can receive religio's instr'ction in
private schools !! at the high school level in the Fsa 9egG Medrese and the grad'ate level
in the )ac'lty of slam, both of them based in the district Kondovo on the o'tskirts of the
capital "kop;e# The +'manitarian ErganiDation FEl +ilal,G altho'gh foc'sing mainly on
h'manitarian iss'es, assists some of the st'dents and provides them with school material#
The slamic comm'nities have no electronic media# "ince the ,--< radio!diff'sion law,
there is an e(plicit prohibition on media ownership to all religions# The slamic comm'nity
has a bi!monthly newspaper !!El *ilal!! p'blished by the officially registered slamic
Comm'nity in three lang'ages2 Albanian, T'rkish and Macedonian# The state and the
private media p'blish and broadcast news concerning slamic holidays, b't their
orientation is rather sec'lar#
DDRESSES
,# Cu"tura" institutions and,or associations founded (& the minorit&
+adDhi "'le;man Re(hepi
Reis!'l!4lema
slamic Comm'nity of the Rep'blic of Macedonia
A5, Chairska "t# -,666 "kop;e,
Rep'blic of Macedonia
Tel2 7M=?- -,8 ,,<!>,6, ,,<!>,5, ,,<!A=6
)a(2 7M=?- -,8 ,,<!??=
"kop;e M'ftis0 Effice of the slamic Comm'nity
A5, Chairska "t# -, 666 "kop;e,
Rep'blic of Macedonia
Tel2 7M=?- -,8 ,,<!>,5 e(t# ,,A, ,,<, ,,?
Tetovo M'fti0s Effice of the slamic Comm'nity
B, $robishtipska "t# Tetovo,
Rep'blic of Macedonia
Tel2 7M=?- ->8 5>!-<>, ==5!<,=,
*ostivar M'fti0s Effice of the slamic Comm'nity
,>, %ikola $arap'nov "t#, *ostivar,
Rep'blic of Macedonia
Tel2 7M=?- -B8 B,!A,,, B?!5==,
Ko'manovo M'fti0s Effice of the slamic Comm'nity
==, ,,
th
Ectober "t#, Ko'manovo,
Rep'blic of Macedonia
Tel2 7M=?- -6,8 5,!?><,
35
Kichevo M'ftis0 Effice of the slamic Comm'nity
55, sen Akioski "t#, Kichevo,
Rep'blic of Macedonia
Tel2 7M=?- -A8 ==!,<-,
"tro'ga M'fti0s Effice of the slamic Comm'nity
,, @ardarska "t#, "tro'ga,
Rep'blic of Macedonia
Tel2 7M=?- -B8 <5!<>=,
Ehrid M'fti0s Effice of the slamic Comm'nity
A=, *otse Delchev "t# Ehrid,
Rep'blic of Macedonia
Tel2 7M=?- -B8 55!-->,
"tip M'fti0s Effice of the slamic Comm'nity
,=, "trasho $indDh'r "t# "tip,
Rep'blic of Macedonia
Tel2 7M=?- -58 5,!>,5,
9itola M'fti0s Effice of the slamic Comm'nity
>B, Ihikitsa Hovanovic!"hpanac "t#, 9itola,
Rep'blic of Macedonia
Tel2 7M=?- -<8 555!===, 55,!?6A,
Debar M'fti0s Effice of the slamic Comm'nity
A, Tsrn Drim "t#, Debar,
Rep'blic of Macedonia
Tel2 7M=?- -B8 ?=,!-,>,
$rilep M'ftis0 Effice of the slamic Comm'nity
Town Mos.'e, $rilep,
Rep'blic of Macedonia
Tel2 7M=?- ?8 =B!5<<,
Resen M'fti0s Effice of the slamic Comm'nity
A, Toshe Miloshevski "t#, Resen,
Rep'blic of Macedonia
Tel2 7M=?- -B8 ==!=B,,
9a;rami DDemail
"ecretary
slamic Dervish 7Taricates8 Religio's Comm'nity
"h'to EriDary District, "kop;e
Rep'blic of Macedonia
36
+adDhi Hak'b "elimoski
+ead of the M'slim Religio's Comm'nity in Macedonia
-B, "amoilova "t#
-, 666 "kop;e,
Rep'blic of Macedonia
Tel2 7M=?- -,8 5=6!5>?, 55-!->6,
)a(2 7M=?- -,8 556 -B-

9aba Tahir Emini
&eader of the 9ektashi Comm'nity in Macedonia
9ektashi Tekke, Tetovo,
Rep'blic of Macedonia
Tel2 7M=?- ->8 5-!=B<,
"he;h brahim M'rteDa
+ead of a R'fa0 Tekke in "kop;e
<?, Chairska "t#,
-, 666 "kop;e,
Rep'blic of Macedonia
Tel# 7M=?- -,8 B,>!6>,
,# Minorit& institutions and,or associations concernin$ education
Fsa 9egG Medrese
Kondovo District, "kop;e,
Rep'blic of Macedonia
Tel2 7M=?- -,8 ,,?!6A>, 5=?!A>6
)a(2 7M=?- -,8 ,,<!=B>,
slamic )ac'lty
Kondovo, "kop;e,
Rep'blic of Macedonia,
Fsa 9egG &ibrary
B,, 9itpaDar "t# "kop;e,
Rep'blic of Macedonia,
+'manitarian ErganiDation FEl +ilalG
A5, Chairska "t, "kop;e, -, 666
Rep'blic of Macedonia
Tel2 7M=?- -,8 ,,<!>,6, ,,<!>,5 e(t# ,6?, ,5,, ,5>
)a(2 7M=?- -,8 ,,<!<>?#
4) !o"itica" parties and,or associations founded (& the minorit&
37
8) Minorit& media
&adio 'tations
(e)spapers
El *ilal 7Mlada Mesechina8 %ewspaper
A5, Chairska "t# "kop;e, -, 666,
Rep'blic of Macedonia
Tel2 7M=?- -,8 ,,<!>,6, ,,<!>,5 e(t# ,6?, ,5,, ,5>
)a(2 7M=?- -,8 ,,<!??=#
*aga+ines
,elevision 'tations
Internet -eb 'ites
%ublishing Houses
38
RE@ERENCES
Ale(ander, "tella 7,-<-8# Church and State in 5u$os"a+ia since -C8= 7Cambridge2
Cambridge 4niversity $ress8#
9anac, vo 7,-?>8# The Nationa" Duestion in 5u$os"a+ia3 Ori$ins% Histor&% !o"itics
7%ew :ork, thaca2 Cornell 4niversity $ress8#
9railsford, +# % 7,-<, 7,-6B88# Macedonia3 Its Races and Their @uture% The East
E'ropean Collection 7%ew :ork2 Arno $ress N the %ew :ork Times8#
9r'nner, *eorg 7,--B8# Nationa"it& !ro("ems and Minorit& Conf"icts in Eastern
Europe 7*'etersloh2 9ertelsmann )o'ndation $'blishers8#
C"CE 7Commission on "ec'rity and Cooperation in E'rope8 7,--58# Report on the US
He"sin*i Commission De"e$ation to Hun$ar&% 1reece% Macedonia and Croatia
71ashington2 C"CE8#
Decision of the Constit'tional Co'rt of the Rep'blic of Macedonia 7,--?8# State 1a:ette
of the Repu("ic of Macedonia, @ol# B>, December =,, ,--?#
Dimitriadis, @assilis 7,-?B8# FThe :Kr'ks in Central and 1estern MacedoniaG in
Ethno$ene:a na &urutsite i ni+noto dose"u+an<e na /a"*anot EEthno-$enesis of the
5Fru*s and Their Mi$ration in the /a"*ansG% papers from a ro'nd!table disc'ssion
held in "kop;e on %ovember ,< and ,?, ,-?= 7"kop;e2 Macedonian Academy of
"ciences8#
DDemail, 9a;rami 7,---8# "ecretary of the slamic Dervish 7Taricates8 Religio's
Comm'nity, CEDIME Inter+ie7, on )ebr'ary ,?, ,--- in "h'to!EriDari, "kop;e#
El +ilal 7,--B8# @i+e 5ears the Humanitarian Or$ani:ation HE" Hi"a"I -CC---CC>% a
broch're 7Tetovo2 %apredok AD8#
Emin, Enis 7,---8# Ho'rnalist at the T'rkish 8aman'Macedonya newspaper, CEDIME
Inter+ie7 on )ebr'ary >, ,--- in "kop;e#
Emini, 9aba Tahir 7,---8# +ead of the 9ektashi Comm'nity in Macedonia, CEDIME
Inter+ie7 on )ebr'ary ,=, ,--- in Tetovo#
Eminov, Ali 7,--<8# Tur*ish and other Mus"im Minorities in /u"$aria, 7&ondon2
+'rst N Company8#
Enc&c"opaedia /ritannica 7,--58# Macropaedia, @ol# 55, "ection on slam#
)raenkel, Eran 7,--=8# F4rban M'slim dentity in Macedonia2 The nterplay of
Ettomanism and M'ltiling'al %ationalism,G in Eran )raenkel and Christina Kramer, eds#,
.an$ua$e Conf"ict-.an$ua$e Conf"ict 7%ew :ork2 $eter &ang8#
39
)raenkel, Eran 7,--A8# FT'rning a Donkey into a +orse2 $arado( and Conflict in the
dentity of Makedontsi M'slimaniG in /a"*an @orum, An nternational Ho'rnal of $olitics
and C'lt're, @ol# = %o# > 7,=8, December ,--A, pp# ,A=!,B=#
)raenkel, Eran 7,---8# E(ec'tive Director of the non!governmental organiDation F"earch
for Common *ro'nd in MacedoniaG, "kop;e, CEDIME Inter+ie7 on )ebr'ary >, ,---,
E-mai" Correspondence on March ,6, and Comments on the CEDIME-teJt,
December#
)riedman, )rancine 7,--B8# The /osnian Mus"ims) Denia" of a Nation# 7Colorado2
1estview $ress8#
)riedman, @ictor 7,--?8# FThe Romani &ang'age in the Rep'blic of Macedonia2"tat's,
4sage, and "ocioling'istic $erspectivesG, cta .in$uistica Hun$arica)
*aber, %atasha 7,--<8# FThe M'slim $op'lation in ):REM 7Macedonia82 $'blic
$erceptionsG in +'gh $o'lton and "'ha Ta;i!)aro'ki, eds#, Mus"im Identit& and the
/a"*an State, 7&ondon2 +'rst N Company8#
*ligorovska, @ioleta 7,---8# Media $rogram Coordinator, Epen "ociety nstit'te O
Macedonia, CEDIME Inter+ie7 on )ebr'ary ,6, ,---#
+elsinki Committee for +'man Rights of the Rep'blic of Macedonia 7M+C8 7,--?8#
nnua" Report on the Condition of Human Ri$hts in the Repu("ic of Macedonia
durin$ -CCB 7http2// www#ihf#hr#org/macedonia/-?report#htm8#
+'man Rights 1atch 7+R18 7,--B8# Threat to HSta(i"it&I3 Human Ri$hts
?io"ations in Macedonia 7%ew :ork2 +'man Rights 1atch /+elsinki8#
+R1) 7+'man Rights 1itho't )rontiers8 7,--B8# FConstit'tional and &egal $rovisions
Regarding Religio's )reedom in 9'lgariaG in Re"i$ious Minorities in "(ania% /u"$aria
and Romania, %o 5!=#
+) 7nternational +elsinki )ederation for +'man Rights8 7,--58# nnua" Report3
Human Ri$hts De+e"opments in -CC- 7@ienna2 +)8#
+) 7nternational +elsinki )ederation for +'man Rights8 7,--?8# nnua" Report3
Human Ri$hts De+e"opments in -CCA 7@ienna2 +)8#
lievski, $etar 7,--?8# FTsrkovno!drDhavnite odnosi i meg'konfesionalnata koe(istentsia
vo MakedoniaG PFCh'rch!"tate Relations and nter!Confessional Coe(istence in
Macedonia,GQ in 1"asni*, nstit't Da natsionalna istoria Pnstit'te for %ational +istoryQ,
@ol# >5, %o# ,#
nalcik, +alil 7ed#8 with Donald J'ataert 7,-->8 n Economic and Socia" Histor& of the
Ottoman Empire -4KK--C-8) 7Cambridge2 Cambridge 4niversity $ress8#
40
nternational Crisis *ro'p 7C*8 7,---8# FMacedonia2 Towards DestabiliDationRG May ,<,
,---# http2//www#crisisweb#org/pro;ects/sbalkans/reports/mac6?rep#htm, accessed on
H'ly 5, ,---#
slamska Iaednitsa 7,--<8# Is"ams*a :aednitsa i ne<:inite institutsii EThe Is"amic
Communit& and Its InstitutionsG, a broch're in Albanian, T'rkish and Macedonian,
7"kop;e2 Albina *old8#
Helavic, 9arbara 7,-?A8# Histor& of the /a"*ans) Ei$hteenth and Nineteenth
Centuries# @ol'me , 7Cambridge2 Cambridge 4niversity $ress8#
Hovanovic, Mari;a 7,-?=8# !ros+etno-po"itich*ite pri"i*i +o ?ardars*a Ma*edonia
(-C-B--C2C) EThe Educationa" nd !o"itica" Situation in ?ardar Macedonia (-C-B-
-C2C)G, 7"kop;e2 %E F"t'dentski IborG8#
Kanev, Krasimir 7,--?8# FIakonodatelstvo i politika k'm etnicheskite i religioDnite
maltsinstva v 9'lgariyaG PF&egislation and $olitics Towards the Ethnic and Religio's
Minorities in 9'lgariaGQ in Anna Krasteva, ed#, O(stnosti i identichnosti + /u"$ari&a
ECommunities and Identities in /u"$ariaG% 7"ofia2 $etekson8#
Kanev, Krassimir 7,---8# Chair of the 9'lgarian +elsinki Committee and Member of the
nternational +elsinki )ederation0s E(ec'tive Committee, CEDIME Inter+ie7 on A'g'st
B, and December 56, ,--- in "ofia#
Karpat, Kemal 7,-?A8# Ottoman !opu"ation (-B4K--C-8) Demo$raphic and Socia"
Characteristics 7&ondon2 4niversity of 1isconsin $ress8#
&ampe, Hohn R# 7,--B8# 5u$os"a+ia as a Histor&) T7ice There ;as a Countr&
7Cambridge2 Cambridge 4niversity $ress8#
&aw on the Radio!Diff'sion 7,--<8# State 1a:ette of the Repu("ic of Macedonia, @ol#
56, April =6, ,--<#
&aw on the Religio's Comm'nities and Religio's *ro'ps 7,--<8# State 1a:ette of the
Repu("ic of Macedonia, @ol# =A, H'ly 5=, ,--<#
&imanoski, %i;aDi 7,-?>8# FslamiDatsiata i etnichkite promeni vo MakedoniaG PFThe
slamiDation and the Ethnic Changes in MacedoniaGQ in Ma*edontsi Mus"imani
EMacedonian Mus"imsG, materials from the first scientific M'slim Macedonian
"ymposi'm held in Kichevo on Ectober =!>, ,-?,#
Macedonian Constitution 7,--,8# Collection of Constit'tions on the nternet2
http2//www#'ni!w'erDb'rg#de/law#
Milosavlevski, "lavko and Mirche Tomovski 7,--<8# "(anians in the Repu("ic of
Macedonia -C8=--CC=3 .e$is"ati+e% !o"itica" Documentation% Statistics) 7"kop;e, %$
F"t'dentski IborG8#
41
MI.S Ne7s 7Macedonian nformation and &iaison "ervice8 7,--?8# )ebr'ary =, ,--?#
MI.S Ne7s 7Macedonian nformation and &iaison "ervice8 7,---8# April ,, May ,<, H'ly
5, ,---#
M'hic, )erhad 7,---8# $rofessor of $hilosophy at the )ac'lty of $hilosophy, 4niversity of
"ts# Cyril and Methodi's, "kop;e, CEDIME Inter+ie7 on )ebr'ary B, ,--- in "kop;e#
M'rteDa, brahim 7"he;h Erol 9aba8 7,---8# The "he;h of the R'fa0i Tekke in "kop;e,
CEDIME Inter+ie7 on )ebr'ary ,B, ,--- in "kop;e#
M'stafa, %eDhdet 7,---8# Mayor of the F"h'to EriDariG M'nicipality, "kop;e, CEDIME
Inter+ie7 on )ebr'ary ,B, ,--- in "kop;e#
M'tafchieva, @era and Antonina IhelyaDkova 7,--?8# Turtsi&a PT'rkeyQ, 7"ofia2 Epen
"ociety $'blishing +o'se8#
%a;ceska, Mir;ana 7,-->8# FThe &egal $osition of the M'slim Comm'nity in the Rep'blic
of Macedonia,G /a"*an @orum# An nternational Ho'rnal of $olitics, Economics and
C'lt're, @ol#5 %o5, H'ne ,-->#
%a;ceska, Mir;ana, Emili;a "imoska and %atasha *aber 7,--B8# FM'slims, "tate and
"ociety in the Rep'blic of Macedonia2 The @iew from 1ithinG in *erd %onneman, Tim
%iblock and 9ogdan "Da;kowski, eds#, Mus"im Communities in the Ne7 Europe
7thaca $ress8#
%ikolovski!Katin, "lave 7,---8# @ice!$resident of the "tate Rep'blican Commission for
Relations with the Religio's Comm'nities, CEDIME Inter+ie7 on )ebr'ary ,,, ,---
and a Te"ephone Inter+ie7 on )ebr'ary ,?, ,---#
%ikolovski!Katin, "lave 7,--<8# F"mall Religio's Comm'nities and *ro'ps in the
Rep'blic of Macedonia,G @acta Uni+ersitatis, @ol# 5 %oB, ,---, 4niversity of %is#
%orris, +#T# 7,--=8# Is"am in the /a"*ans) Re"i$ion and Societ& (et7een Europe and
the ra( ;or"d, 7&ondon2 +'rst N Company8#
Ertakovski, @ladimir 7,--?8# Minorities in the /a"*ans,Ma"tsinst+ata na /a"*anot,
7"tip2 5th A'g'st "8#
Ertakovski, @ladimir 7,--<8# FThe $osition of the Minorities in the 9alkansG /a"*an
@orum @ol#A, %o, 7,?8, March#
$andevska, Mari;a 7,--=8# !risi"ni mi$ratsii +o Ma*edonia -BA=--BB- E@orced
Mi$rations in Macedonia -BA=--BB-G% nstit'te for %ational +istory 7"kop;e2 Misla
$'blishers8#
42
$'rvanov, Anton 7,--58# FSAlbanian "yndrom0 in the Rep'blic of MacedoniaG Kr'stiyo
Manchev, IhorDheta Chak'rova and 9oby 9obev, eds#, Nationa" !ro("ems in the
/a"*ans3 Histor& and Contemporar& De+e"opments 7"ofia2 Agres $'blishing +o'se8#
$etrovski, Tra;ko 7,---8# Researcher at the )olklore nstit'te of the Rep'blic of
Macedonia, CEDIME Inter+ie7 on )ebr'ary ,B, ,---#
$opovic, Ale(andar 7,--68# !osrednici i metafore) #u$os"o+ens*i mus"imani (-C8=-
-CBC) EIntermediaries and Metaphors) 5u$os"a+ Mus"ims (-C8=--CBC)G 79elgrade2
Akvari's8#
$o'lton, +'gh 7,--=8# The /a"*ans) States and Minorities in Conf"ict% 7&ondon2
Minority Rights *ro'p $'blications8#
$o'lton, +'gh 7,--A8# ;ho are the Macedonians' 7&ondon2 +'rst N Company8#
$o'lton, +'gh 7,--<8# FChanging %otions of %ational dentity among M'slims in Thrace
and Macedonia2 T'rks, $omaks and Roma,G in +'gh $o'lton and "'ha Ta;i!)aro'ki, eds#,
Mus"im Identit& and the /a"*an State, 7&ondon2 +'rst N Company8#
$o'lton, +'gh 7,--?8# Minorities in Southeast Europe3 Inc"usion and EJc"usion,
7&ondon2 Minority Rights *ro'p nternational Report8#
$o'lton, +'gh 7,---8# Comments on the CEDIME-teJt, December -, ,---#
Re(hepi, +adDhi "'le;man 7,---8# Reis!'l!4lema of the slamic Comm'nity of the
Rep'blic of Macedonia, CEDIME Inter+ie7 on )ebr'ary ,5, ,--- in "kop;e#
"elimoski, +adDhi Hak'b 7,---8# +ead of the M'slim Religio's Comm'nity in Macedonia,
CEDIME Inter+ie7 on )ebr'ary ,?, ,--- in "kop;e#
"herif, Ahmed 7,---8# +istorian at the nstit'te of %ational +istory of the Rep'blic of
Macedonia, CEDIME Inter+ie7 on )ebr'ary -, ,--- in "kop;e#
"heh, *ya'r 7,---8# Editor!in!Chief of the T'rkish!lang'age "ection of Macedonian
Television, T'rkish Department, CEDIME Inter+ie7 on )ebr'ary >, ,--- in "kop;e#
"okoloski, Metodi;a 7,-?>8# FEsvrt na islamiDatsia;ata vo Makedonia vo T@ i T@ vekG
PFThe slamiDation in Macedonia in the ,A
th
and the ,B
th
Cent'riesGQ in Ma*edontsi
Mus"imani EMacedonian Mus"imsG, materials from the first scientific M'slim
Macedonian "ymposi'm held in Kichevo on Ectober =!>, ,-?,#
Todorovski, *ligor, Ale(ander Matk;ovski, %i;aDi &imanoski and "to;che Do;cihnovski!
Rosoklo;a 7,-?>8# ntrod'ction in %i;aDi &imanoski FslamiDatsiata i etnicheskite promeni
vo MakedoniaG PFThe slamiDation and the Ethnic Changes in MacedoniaGQ in
Ma*edontsi Mus"imani EMacedonian Mus"imsG, materials from the first scientific
M'slim Macedonian "ymposi'm held in Kichevo on Ectober =!>, ,-?,#
43
4" Department of "tate 7,-->8# Countr& Reports on the Human Ri$hts !ractices for
-CC4% Section on Macedonia, )ebr'ary ,-->#
;or"d Director& of Minorities 7,--<8# 7&ondon2 Minority Rights *ro'p nternational8#
IhelyaDkova, Antonina 7,--<8# F)ormirane na my'sy'lmanskite obshnosti i kompleksite
na balkanskite istoriografiiG PFThe )ormation of the M'slim Comm'nities and the 9alkan
+istoriographiesGQ, M&us&u"mans*ite o(shtnosti na /a"*anite i + /u"$ari&a)
Istoriches*i es*i:i) EMus"im Communities in the /a"*ans and in /u"$aria) Historica"
EJcerptsG, 7"ofia2 nternational Centre for Minority "t'dies and nterc'lt'ral Relations
)o'ndation8#
1ENER. /I/.IO1R!H5 ON THE MINORIT5
$opovic, Ale(andre et *illes @einstein 7,-?<8# /e*tachi&&a) Etudes sur "6ordre
m&stiLue des /e*tachis et "es $roupes re"e+ant de Had<i /e*tach 7stanb'l2 &es
Editions sis8#
MIN .ITERR5 ;OR0S O@ DI@@ERENT !ERIODS
UDIO?ISU. MTERI.
"he;h brahim M'rteDa 7Erol 9aba8, "pirit'al +ead of the R'fa0i Tekke in "kop;e, allowed
CEDIME to distrib'te information abo't his own collection of a'dio!vis'al material on
the R'fa0i Tekke in "kop;e# +e can be contacted for information, p'blication and research
p'rposes#
9elgian "tate T@ 7,--<8# .es morres de Deu EIn .o+e 7ith 1odG) A doc'mentary on
the R'fa0i Tekke in "kop;e, based on a Macedonian doc'mentary from ,-A,, in )rench#
Macedonian Television 7MT@8# Macedonian &ang'age "ection 7,--=, ,-->, ,--A8#
Do(ro Utro Ma*edoni<a E1ood Mornin$ MacedoniaG $rogram# "hort materials on the
R'fa0i Tekke in "kop;e, combined with other materials in the morning block programs, in
Macedonian#
Macedonian Television 7MT@8# T'rkish &ang'age "ection 7,--=8# Commentar& on the
Histor& of the Te**es in Macedonia% in T'rkish#
"itel T@ 7,--A8# 7Macedonian private T@ station8# A documentar& on the rit'als
concerning the S"'ltan %evr's0 holiday Pthe start of the "hi0a %ew :earQ in "kop;e, in
Macedonian#
44
45