This is an accepted version of this page
Muslim Romani people areRomani people who professIslam. Most Muslim Romani people arecultural or nominal Muslims.[1][2] They primarily live in theBalkans, though they are dispersed acrossEurope. Significant minority communities can be found inAlbania,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Bulgaria,Kosovo,Montenegro andNorth Macedonia.[3] They are also notably present inCrimea,Croatia (where 45% of the country'sRomani population is Muslim[4]),Romania,[5][6]Serbia andSlovenia.[7]Xoroxane is aRomani term ofTurkish origin used to refer to Muslim Roma.[8]
Islam among Romani people is historically associated with their time spent within theOttoman Empire and, to a lesser degree, under earlycaliphates.[9] The majority of Muslim Romanies in the former Yugoslavia speakBalkan Romani andSouth Slavic languages, while many speak only the language from the host country's like theAlbanized Muslim Roma inAlbania,Kosovo,Montenegro andNorth Macedonia, known asKhorakhan Shiptari. They speak only theAlbanian language and have fully adopted theAlbanian culture.[10] InŠuto Orizari (Shutka),North Macedonia, they have their own mosque and RomaniImam[11] and use theQuran in theRomani language.[12]
Turkish Roma are Roma who have fully adopted theTurkish language andculture, although a few also speak theKurbetcha,Rumelian orSepečides dialects ofRomani. Some Muslims of Romani background in the Balkans do not identify as Romani, and have instead adopted theTurkish orAlbanian ethnicities. Others are thought to have adopted theAskhali and Balkan Egyptian ethnicities.[13][14]
Muslim Romanies generally preserve enduring influences ofOttoman culture, as shaped within formerEuropeanprovinces of theOttoman Empire.[15][16]
Under Ottoman Rule, the Christian and Muslim Roma were separated, by the order ofSuleiman the Magnificent. Muslim Romani men served in theMilitary of the Ottoman Empire, especially in theOttoman military band.[17] Muslim Roma were forbidden to marry Christian Roma or live together, and differences emerged between Muslim and Christian Roma.
Today, some Orthodox ChristianVlax Romani see themself as thečáče Roma (true Roma) and do not consider Muslim Roma to be part of Romani society and call themTurks. Some Muslim Roma, however, see Christian Roma as foreign and call them Dasikane (Servant, slaves). Also the phrase Amare Roma (Our Roma) and Cudza Roma (foreign Roma) is used vice versa. There is a considerable cultural gap between the two religious groups.[18]
Although Muslim Roma paid ajizya in the first centuries of the Ottoman Empire, an exception were the Muslim Roma inOttoman Bosnia and Herzegovina, who were exempt from taxes by the order ofSelim II. After theEdict of Gülhane , all Muslim Roma became exempt from paying thetaxes to the Ottoman Empire and became fully accepted Muslims.[19] In 1874, the Ottoman Empire gave equal rights to other Muslims.[20]
After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Muslim Roma have found themselves under double discrimination in regions where Islam was a minority religion, experiencing bothAntiziganism andanti-Muslim sentiment.[21]
At theGreek War of Independence,Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) andBalkan Wars (1912–1913), Muslim Roma flee together with other different Muslim Groups to Istanbul and East Thrace, asMuhacir.[22]
At thePopulation exchange between Greece and Turkey, MuslimTurkish Roma from Greece have also been resettled in Turkey. In Turkish, they are called Mübadil Romanlar.[23][24][25][26][27]
In 1950–1951 Muslim Turkish Roma from Bulgaria came to Turkey and settled in Çanakkale and surroundings.[28]
From 1953 -1968, Muslim Turkish Roma and Turks from Yugoslavia emigrated to Turkey.[29][30]
Turkish Roma fromTurkey and also other Muslim Roma from ex-Yugoslavia, came to Western Europe asGastarbeiter, but seen by the Host population as Turks or Yugoslavs.[31] Muslim Roma from Bosnia and Kosovo went at the time of theYugoslav Wars to Italy, and live especially in Florence.[32]Xoraxane (Muslim Roma) from formerYugoslavia went to USA, settled mostly inNew York,[33][34] and South America.[34] Since 2007, Turkish Roma from Bulgaria went as workers to West Europe.[35]
While traditionally affiliated withSunni Islam of theHanafi school of thought, today, they are oftennon-denominational.[36] One of the largestreligious orders ofJerrahi outside Turkey is located at the largestArlije andGurbeti Muslim Roma settlement inŠuto Orizari (Shutka),North Macedonia.Romani people in Turkey are mostly Sunni.[37] Under Ottoman rule, Romani Muslims had a lower social status than non-Romani Muslims, but above that of non-Muslims.[38] In North Macedonia, at Shutka, the first Romani mosque was built, but at the same time, radicalization towards a strict form of Islam is increasing there by the Roma population, as is the case in Bulgaria.[39][need quotation to verify]
.jpg)
Xoraxane (also spelled asKhorakhane,Xoraxane,Kharokane,Xoraxai) is areligionym, confessionym, and umbrella term for Muslim Romani people. Muslim Romanies can generally trace their faith back to ancestors who adopted Islam during the Ottoman period in the Balkans.[36][8] While the majority of Muslim Romanies reside in the Balkans, they reside in smaller numbers across other parts of Europe.
Muslim Romani women may wear silk Dimije also known asTurkish salvar, at weddings, circumcision ceremonies, and other festivals. Even on weekdays, quite a few older women, but also some younger women, wear the şalvar.[40]
Belly dance and RomanoHora (dance), Roman Havaları 8/9 tact,Zurna,Davul,Clarinet are performed. In the Ottoman Empire, especially young handsome Romani Guys were taken asKöçek-Dancers while young Romani female-dancers were named Çengi.[41]
Muslim Roma who practicereligious male circumcision, tend to hold their ceremonies (Bijav Suneti) with great pomp and festivity.[42] The boys are often circumcised at the age of five, because the number 5 (panč) is considered a sacred symbol among some Romani people. It is a custom among some Muslim Roma that the prepuce be buried.[43] During the ceremony, the child’s hand and feet are held by hisKirvo (godfather). A Kirvo pays the cost of the circumcision ceremony.[44] The Tradition of aKirve who is similar to aSandek, is also practised in Alevism and Yazidism in Turkey.[45]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)