TheTurks in Libya, also commonly referred to asKouloughlis (Arabic:كراغلة) are Libyans who claim partial descent fromOttomanJanissaries inLibya. Quantifiying their presence/population inLibya in the modern day is near impossible, due to them assimilating near entirely in theLibyan population over time. They mainly make up a small fraction of the populations of the cities,Misrata andTripoli.[1]
DuringOttoman Allegiance/Alliance inLibya (1551–1912), Turkish Janissaries began to migrate to the region.[2] A minimal number of said Turks, andJanissaries intermarried with the native population, and their offspring were referred to asKouloughlis (Turkish:kuloğlu) due to their mixed heritage.[3][4]
After the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, Turks continued to migrate to Libya from the newly established modern states. However, contrary to popular belief, the large majority of said migrants wereCretan Muslims, who were often referred to asTurks by some Christian Greeks due to their religion; not their ethnic background.[citation needed]
DuringOttoman Allegiance/Alliance inLibya (1551–1912), Turkish Janissaries began to migrate to the region.[2] A minimal number of said Turks, andJanissaries intermarried with the native population, and their offspring were referred to asKouloughlis (Turkish:kuloğlu) due to their mixed heritage.[3][4]
Today there are no Libyans who record their ethnicity asTurkish, or acknowledge their descent from theOttomans.[2]
As a result of four centuries ofOttoman Presence/Alliance to and within Libya, the Libyans left some of their cultural imprints on the Turks, particularly their language, food, and costumes, which the Kouloughlis adopted from the locals.[citation needed]
TheOttoman brought with them the teaching of theHanafi School ofIslam during theOttoman, However the large majority of the Sunni Muslim Libyan population follows the Maliki school of thought.
^Ahmida, Ali Abdullatif (2013),Forgotten Voices: Power and Agency in Colonial and Postcolonial Libya, Routledge, pp. 79–80,ISBN978-1136784439
^Yeaw, Katrina Elizabeth Anderson (2017),Women, Resistance and the Creation of New Gendered Frontiers in the Making of Modern Libya, 1890-1980, Georgetown University, p. 152
Ahmida, Ali Abdullatif (2009),The Making of Modern Libya: State Formation, Colonization, and Resistance (Print), Albany, N.Y: SUNY Press,ISBN978-1-4384-2891-8.
Dupree, Louis (1958), "The Non-Arab Ethnic Groups of Libya",Middle East Journal,12 (1):33–44
Fuller, Graham E. (2008),The New Turkish Republic: Turkey as a pivotal state in the Muslim world, US Institute of Peace Press,ISBN978-1-60127-019-1.
Harzig, Christiane;Juteau, Danielle; Schmitt, Irina (2006),The Social Construction of Diversity: Recasting the Master Narrative of Industrial Nations, Berghahn Books,ISBN1-57181-376-4.
