Turk in Serbia

Introduction / History

Rumelian Turks are a remnant of the Ottoman Turks who swept through Serbia and Eastern Europe during the fourteenth century. For five hundred years the Ottoman Empire controlled the European Balkan Mountain region. At its peak, the empire encompassed the Balkan Mountains, Arabia and North Africa. With the breakup of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, Serbia and Montenegro became part of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovene, which was later known as Yugoslavia. In 1946, it was recreated as the Federal State of Yugoslavia and consisted of six republics. Four republics (Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, and Bosnia-Hercegovina) declared their independence in 1991-92. In April of 1992, the remaining two republics formed a new, smaller Yugoslavia, now known as Serbia and Montenegro. The area's broad ethnic diversity and war-torn history continue to make it one of Europe's most tense regions.

What Are Their Lives Like?

During the long Ottoman Empire reign, Rumelian Turks often settled in Balkan towns and served as military personnel or administrators or worked as craftsmen. After Yugoslavia, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, and Romania became independent countries in the nineteenth century, a large number of Rumelian Turks returned to Turkey, but some stayed in Europe.
Religious, linguistic and social differences kept them from intermarrying with the local populations in large numbers. When they did intermarry, Turkish men usually married Muslim, non-Turkish women. Polygamy (having more than one spouse) is prohibited by state law.
Today, many things in former Yugoslavia reflect the influence of the lengthy Turkish Ottoman occupation. There are a number of Ottoman-style, domed mosques with pencil-thin pillars, modeled after those in Istanbul. The wooden houses decorated with latticework windows and containing separate quarters for men and women also have a Turkish flavor. Also, many of the marketplaces have specialty stores that are grouped together.

What Are Their Beliefs?

Wherever they live Turks are Sunni Muslims. "Sunni," is derived from the Islamic term, sunnah, which means "well-trodden path. " Sunnis believe that the correct path is that of the majority. They believe that the One, Supreme God, Allah, spoke through his prophet, Mohammed, and taught mankind how to live a righteous life through the Koran and the Hadith. To live a righteous life, you must utter the Shahada (a statement of faith), pray five times a day facing Mecca, fast from sunup to sundown during the month of Ramadan, give alms to the poor, and make a pilgrimage to Mecca if you have the means. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcohol, eating pork, gambling, stealing, slandering, and making idols. They gather for corporate prayer on Friday afternoons at a mosque, their place of worship. The two main holidays for Sunni Muslims are Eid al Fitr, the breaking of the monthly fast and Eid al Adha, the celebration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son to Allah. Sunni religious practices are staid and simple. They believe that Allah has pre-determined our fates; they minimize free will. In most of the Muslim world, people depend on the spirit world for their daily needs since they regard Allah as too distant. Allah may determine their eternal salvation, but the spirits determine how well we live in our daily lives. For that reason, they must appease the spirits. They often use charms and amulets to help them with spiritual forces.

What Are Their Needs?

Very few Rumelian Turks in former Yugoslavia are known to have put their faith in Christ. They desperately need committed workers to show them Christ's love.

Prayer Points

Pray that the sheer wonder of knowing Jesus and the impact he has on their lives and the joy he brings spur believers to share Christ with the Turkish people in Serbia. Pray the hearts of the Turkish people would be stirred by a sovereign work of the Holy Spirit readying them for the time when they hear and respond to the gospel. Pray Turks will experience dreams and visions of Jesus leading them into a saving relationship with him. Pray for an unstoppable movement to Christ among the Turks in Serbia.

Text Source:   Joshua Project