Turks in Kosovo

History

Turkish settlement into Kosovo began in the late 14th century after the medieval Serbian state lost the Battle of Kosovo and the territory came under Ottoman rule. Substantial waves of Turkish colonisers began from 1389-1455 when, during the Ottoman conquest, soldiers, officials, and merchants began to make their appearance in the major towns of Kosovo.

In 1912 the Ottoman Turks lost control over Kosovo and the region became a part of the Kingdoms of Serbia and Montenegro. From this point, Kosovo as a political entity was discontinued as the region was divided among new administrative units. Following the Austrian and Bulgarian occupation during World War I, Serbia and Montenegro became part of the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918. When the Axis powers occupied Yugoslavia in 1941, the former territory of Kosovo became part of Albania, which was itself controlled by Italy. With the defeat of the Axis powers, Yugoslavia, then ruled by Communists led by Josip Broz Tito, regained control over the region. In 1946, Kosovo returned to maps when a region bearing the name Kosovo and Metohija was granted autonomous status within FPR Yugoslavia. Meanwhile, Turks officially became a recognised minority by Yugoslavia; as a result, the number of registered Turks in Kosovo jumped from a mere 1,313 (or 0.2% of the population) in 1948 to 34,343 (4.3% of Kosovo's population) in the 1953 census. However, many Turkish inhabitants began to emigrate to Turkey until 1958 on the basis of a bilingual contract between Yugoslavia and Turkey.

Population

In 1993, the Human Rights Watch stated that there was approximately 20,000 Kosovan Turks, constituting about 1% of Kosovo's population. More recent estimates suggest that there are now about 29 to 30 Turks living in Kosovo, forming between 1-2% of Kosovo's total population. According to the 2011 census 18,738 citizens declared themselves as Turks, constituting 1.1% of Kosovo's total population. The European Centre for minority Issues Kosovo has stated that:

Areas of settlement

The Turkish minority of Kosovo have a majority population in Mamuša. However, the largest Turkish population in Kosovo live in Prizren and in the neighbouring villages. They constitute roughly 5% of Prizren's population, and the town remains the historical, cultural and political centre of the Kosovan Turkish community. In the Gjilane municipality, the Turkish community resides mostly in the town of Gjilane and in the villages of Livoç i Epërm/Gornji Livoč and Dobërçan/Dobrčane, constituting between 0.9-1.1% of the total population of the municipality. Kosovan Turks living in Kosovska Mitrovica amount to roughly 1.5% of its total population; in the southern part of the town, Kosovan Turks live scattered in the city, while those who live in northern region reside in the "Bosniak Mahalla" neighbourhood. In Vučitrn Turks constitute about 0.9% of the total population, and live scattered throughout the urban areas. In the Pristina region, they are concentrated in the urban areas of the city, and constitute roughly 0.4% of the total municipal population, and in the rural settlements of Janjevo and Banullë/Bandulić in the Lipljan municipality, where they amount to 0.5% of the population.

Turkish population in Kosovo according to the 2011 census (Turkish majority in bold):

Politics

There are three Turkish political parties in Kosovo:

Notable Kosovo Turks

See also the Mosque of Muderis Ali Efendi