Muslim Minorities in the Balkans

belong

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Often Muslims will be the minorities in states in which they do not fully i.e. in the Christian Orthodox states of Bulgaria, Kosovo and Albania o there presence as a minority is defined both by their ethnicity and their religion o even in Albania where they hold a majority, they overwhelmingly atheist outlook until the fall of communism meant they were treated as if they were a minority Turkey casts a paternal eye of the muslim communities in Greece, Bulgaria and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia This interest extends beyond borders, into an ethnic and religious interest The long period of Ottoman rule and the Millet system fostered a strong connection of belonging to a community exclusively defined by religion. The daily teachings of the faith served to consolidate this This distinctive way of life seperates Muslims from non-Muslims even where faith has been eroded This erosion of faith can be attributed to: Penetration of ideologies such as nationalism and Communism o The changes in identities and the natures of these secularist ideologies o These were both adopted and imposed upon them Can be seen that after 50 years of secularist Communist rule, how many heavily religious Muslims remain in the Balkans? Whilst undoubtably a key part of the culture, can be seen that the same fundamental belief does not exist now.

Balkans Under Ottoman Rule

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For 400 years Islam was encountered by the Balkan peoples as the conquering state Balkans were disadvantaged in comparison Balkan Christians were suspicious of Muslims o Even in recent times, this suspicion and dislike remains. The Millet system presents a strong link between religion and ethnicity. Traditionally the Orthodox churches have been linked with particular states, nations and ethnic groups o As such the millet system tied these churches to these peoples, something which would have an ultimate effect on the positive role that the church would play in the promotion of nationalism in the Balkans Religion became a prominent factor in nationalist movements, confusing concepts of religion, citizenship and ethnicity

Nation Building during Ottoman Decline30/03/2011 04:40:00

The national revolutions of the Balkans are seen as the effect of political disorder at the end of the late Ottoman period Following this Muslims were viewed as foreigners High levels of illiteracy retarded national development Orthodox Christianity Religions served as a barrier between Muslims and Chrisitians and as such prevented assimilation into the wider Ottoman empire The Millet system can be seen to aid this because it gave the Orthodox Christians within the Ottoman empire a clear religious community to grasp Religion as contributed fundamentally to the preservation of identity within the Ottoman empire

o Served as a common bond between Balkan peoples until the disruptive forces of nationalism o By the 18th Century a rift emerged between the church and that nationalist elements Mohammed II granted the church extensive jurisdictional powers after the capture of Constantinople Arguably this millet was very corrupt, prone to bribery and intrigue in order to gain power o One example of gaining the seat of patriarchate by paying the Ottomans 1000 gold pieces. The churches position in the Ottoman empire meant that it was unlikely to challenge the status quo o The Phanariotes were Greeks who infiltrated the system and held great power and dominated the church

The church was at once pampered, scorned, privileged and persecuted Stavrianos p 151 The Orthodox church had been profoundly anti-western Opposed the west because it was the home of Catholicism and Protestantism o Denounced the tenets of Enlightenment

Role of Islam
The idea of active conversions was alien to Islam

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Some Christians were able to attain offices fairly high offices due to a lack of narrow Ottoman nationalism However, due to the lack of rights and privileges granted to Christians Cant carry weapons Higher taxes o There was a strong incentive for Christians to convert to Islam Peasants were not burdened with heavy taxes by the Ottoman system, if anything, they were taxed less than in previous centuries Those who had to supply men, merchants, miners etc could count on tax reliefs However, all Christians were expected to pay taxes due to their status as aliens in the Ottoman empire under the Millet system. These taxes were collected by the religious institutions themselves and not the Ottoman system o In time, the lines of the independent local authorities set up by the Ottomans to deal with the administration of the millets became the frontiers of national self determinations Ottoman religious tolerance allowed the Greek patriarch of Constantinople to extent his power over Orthodox subjects to an unprecedented degree It achieved supremacy over the competing churches of Serbia and Bulgaria until their independence o This increased Greek influence on the church but also Greek education can be seen to aid nationalism in the long term? Eventually the Serbians regained church status in 1879, Bulgaria got an exarchate in 1870 Arguably, it was the relationship in the millet system of the lower clergy and the normal people, who had a similar status, that allowed the religious community to survive this period of Turkish rule. The use of the millet system had allowed for political activity through it

Nationalist Revolutions

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The nearer that these peoples were to the Venetians and the Habsurbs the easier it was for them to gain Western ideas. i.e. in Montenegro, the gradual rebirth of their former patriarchacal system had forced the leader of the church there to be more active in politics o supported by the Habsburg empire, they opted out of the Ottoman empire in 1697 As such, a lot of nationalist sentiments from Bulgars, Serbs, Romanians and Greeks began outside the empire, in Vienna for example through middle and upper class nobles sending their children for education there Active pleas to the leaders of the great powers such as the petition from the Romanians in Transylvania to Leopold II and the Serbs in Hungary for the Serbians under Ottoman control. Highlights the impact that those outside of Ottoman control, as well as the great powers have

Bulgaria Turkish domination had quite an oppressive effect Moreover, the influence exercised by the Greeks in the population of the church, commerce and cultural life meant that stirrings of national consciousness were generally concentrated in the North of the country. o The Bulgarian upper class were largely helllenised Romania Largely emerged as an anti-Phanariote revolt encouraged by the local boyars. Highlights how religion play a key role in the initial phases of Romanian nationalism Took an anti-Greek nature later Serbia

Stefanovic was compelled to create a compendium of Serbian fairy tales in the vernacular, which proved to be a massive breakthrough for the Serbian language Found recognition all over europe Much of the national sentiment was preserved through the Serbian Orthodox Church, which remained largely autonomous until Greek Phanariotes took control in the 18th Century of the millet Preserved some entities from the medieval Serbian kingdom Much of the Belgrade Pashaluk experienced warfare throughout the 18th Century, as such it proved very difficult for the Ottomans to secure their feudal system here as they had done in other states. 1st Serbian Uprising: 1804 directed against a despotic ruler and based around the contexts of the period 2nd Serbian Uprising: 1815 Greek Emphasis on the greek language by the Phanariotes in the church allowed the expansion of Greek nationalism the creation of a number of cross-vernacular dictionaries highlights the increasing importance of language across the Balkans Intellectual vanguards preserved in the church like other nations Arguably, the church could not perform the task of internal state creation Increases to their merchant presence meant that Greek became the language of trade and education system were encouraged to give the people a sense of nationalist sentiment Used consulates abroad to spread the message of Greek nationalism.

Questions

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'Rather than promoting nation-building in South-East Europe, the millet system and the churches actively hampered it.' Discuss. (You may answer with reference to a particular nation or religious community.) Why did Albanians, Bosnians, and Macedonians undertake their 'national awakening later than other Balkan nations? (You may answer with reference to one or more of these groups.) 'It was the Ottoman system that protected and preserved the national consciousness of the Balkan Christians.' Discuss. Assess the claim that it is 'the Balkans' that represents the Ottoman legacy in South-Eastern Europe. Did religion promote or hamper the development of nationalism in SouthEastern Europe?