Xoraxane (also spelled asKhorakhane, Khorakhanè, Horahane, Kharokane, Xoraxai, etc.) is a historicalumbrella term to refer to theMuslim Roma population in the Balkans,[1] or alternatively, all Muslim Roma in the areas of Southern Europe and West Asia.[2] They are non-VlaxRomani people, who adoptedSunni Islam of theHanafimadhhab at the time of theOttoman Empire.[3] They are colloquially referred to asLovers of the Koran. There are several subgroups Roma considered to be Xoraxane Roma, named after their old traditional professional activities, also divived in sedentary and nomadic groups.[2]
Some of them areDerviş ofSufism belief, and the biggestTariqa ofJerrahi is located at the largestArlije andGurbeti Muslim Roma settlement in Europe inŠuto Orizari; locally calledShutka inNorth Macedonia, they have their own RomaniImam[4] and the Muslim Roma in Šuto Orizari use theQuran in Balkan Romani language.[5] The majority of Muslim Roma in the former Yugoslavia speakBalkan Romani andSouth Slavic languages, while many speak only the language from the host countries. TheAlbanized Muslim Roma groups fromAlbania,Kosovo,Montenegro andNorth Macedonia, speak only theAlbanian language and are calledKhorakhan Shiptari; they have fully adopted theAlbanian culture.[6] Others have created their own identity likeAshkali and Balkan Egyptians, and some deny their Romani background, especially in Kosovo and are claimed to beAlbanians orTurks.[7][8]
The first Xoraxane Roma came to the USA from Yugoslavia (North Macedonia) around 1960s and settled in the Bronx, where they built a mosque and are cultural Muslims. Later, during the Balkan war in the 1990s, a Xoraxane Roma group came from Bosnia and settled in St. Louis, Missouri. The Xoraxane stay among themselves and have little contact with other American Christian Roma groups. They are not considered Roma by them, but simply as Muslim Americans.[9][10]
A small group of Xoraxane Roma came from Serbia around the 19th century and settled in Chile, where they converted to the Catholic faith and broke with Islam but by the end of the 20th century, these Xoraxane had all adopted Adventist evangelical beliefs, however they practiceQurban (Islamic ritual sacrifice), which they call it Kurbano.[11]