Muhaxhir (Albanians)

Muhaxhir and Muhaxher, plural: Muhaxhirë and Muhaxherë; meaning Muslim refugees are terms borrowed from Ottoman Turkish: muhacir and derived from Arabic muhajir.^[1][2][3][4] The term Muhaxhir(ë) refers to Ottoman Albanian communities that left their homes as refugees or were transferred, from Greece, Serbia and Montenegro to Albania, Kosovo and to a lesser extent Macedonia during and following various wars. Muslim Albanians, along smaller numbers of urban Turks (some with Albanian heritage), were expelled from most parts of the Sanjak of Niş and fled to the Kosovo Vilayet during and after the Serbian–Ottoman War (1876–78).^[5] During the Balkan Wars, Muslim Albanians were deported from Christian territories, and settled in the Ottoman Empire, as far as the Middle East. Cham Albanians massively fled Greece after World War II, in which they had collaborated with the Italians, fearing reprisals.^[6]

See also

• The Expulsion of Albanians 1877-1878
• Massacres of Albanians in the Balkan Wars
• Expulsion of Cham Albanians
• Albanophobia

References

1. Blumi, Isa (2011). Foundations of modernity: human agency and the imperial state. Routledge. p. 79. ISBN 9780415884648. "Refugees from the Niš region that became Serbia after 1878, for instance, settled in large numbers in the regions of Drenica and Gjakova in Kosova since the late 1870s. They are known today as muhaxhir (derived from Arabic, via Ottoman, meaning exile or sometimes a more neutral, immigrant). Like similar groups throughout the world who have informed the nationalist lexicon—Heimatvertriebene, Galut/Tefutzot, al-Laj’iyn, Prosfyges, Pengungsi, Wakimbizi, P’akhstakanner—the "Nish muhaxhir" constitute a powerful sub-group in present-day Kosova’s domestic politics and economy."
2. Frantz, Eva Anne (2009). "Violence and its Impact on Loyalty and Identity Formation in Late Ottoman Kosovo: Muslims and Christians in a Period of Reform and Transformation." Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. 29. (4) : 460. "The displaced persons (Alb. muhaxhirë, Turk. muhacir, Serb. muhadžir) took refuge predominantly in the eastern parts of Kosovo."
3. Malcolm, Noel (1998). Kosovo: A short history. Macmillan. p. 229. ISBN 9780810874831. "All these new arrivals were known as muhaxhirs (Trk.: muhacir Srb.: muhadžir), a general word for Muslim refugees. The total number of those who settled in Kosovo is not known with certainty: estimates ranged from 20,000 to 50,000 for Eastern Kosovo, while the governor of the vilayet gave a total of 65,000 in 1881, some of whom were in the sancaks of Skopje and Novi Pazar. At a rough estimate, 50,000 would seem a reasonable figure for those muhaxhirs of 1877—8 who settled in the territory of Kosovo itself."
4. Uka, Sabit (2004). E drejta mbi vatrat dhe pasuritë reale dhe autoktone nuk vjetërohet: të dhëna në formë rezimeje [The rights of homes and assets, real and autochthonous that does not disappear with time: Data given in the form of estate portions regarding inheritance]. Shoqata e Muhaxhirëvë të Kosovës. p. 52. ISBN 9789951408097. "Pra, këtu në vazhdim, pas dëbimit të tyre me 1877-1878 do të shënohen vetëm disa patronime (mbiemra) të shqiptarëve të Toplicës dhe viseve tjera shqiptare të Sanxhakut të Nishit. Kjo do të thotë se, shqiptaret e dëbuar pas shpërnguljes, marrin atributin muhaxhirë (refugjatë), në vend që për mbiemër familjar të marrin emrin e gjyshit, fisit, ose ndonjë tjetër, ato për mbiemër familjar marrin emrin e fshatit të Sanxhakut të Nishit, nga janë dëbuar. [So here next, after their expulsion 1877-1878 will be noted with only some patronymic (surnames) of the Albanians of Toplica and other Albanian areas of Sanjak of Nis. This means that the Albanians expelled after moving, attained the appellation muhaxhirë (refugees), which instead for the family surname to take the name of his grandfather, clan, or any other, they for their family surname take the name of the village of the Sanjak of Nis from where they were expelled from.]"
5. Jagodić, Miloš (1998). The Emigration of Muslims from the New Serbian Regions 1877/1878. Balkanologie.
6. Baltsiotis, Lambros (2011). "The Muslim Chams of Northwestern Greece: The grounds for the expulsion of a "non-existent" minority community". European Journal of Turkish Studies. Retrieved 7 May 2015.