Persecution of Muslims during the Ottoman decline

Persecution of Ottoman Muslims refers to the persecution, massacre, or ethnic cleansing of Muslims (most prominently Ottoman Turks ) by non-Muslim ethnic groups during the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire . It took place mostly during the Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire . The 19th century saw the rise of nationalism in the Balkans which resulted in the establishment of an independent Greece , Serbia and Bulgaria . Most of the local Muslims in these countries suffered as many died during the conflicts and others fled. The persecution of Muslims was continued during World War I by the invading Russian troops in the east and during the Turkish War of Independence in the west, east, and south of Anatolia. After the Greek-Turkish war, a population exchange took place and most Muslims in Greece left. During these centuries many Muslim refugees, called Muhacir , settled in Turkey .

Aspect of history During the decline and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire , Muslim inhabitants (including Turks , Kurds , Albanians , Bosniaks , Circassians , Serb Muslims , Greek Muslims , Muslim Roma , Pomaks ) living in territories previously under Ottoman control, often found themselves as a persecuted minority after borders were re-drawn. These populations were subject to genocide , expropriation , massacres, and ethnic cleansing . The 19th century saw the rise of nationalism in the Balkans coincide with the decline of Ottoman power, which resulted in the establishment of an independent Greece , Serbia and Bulgaria and Romania . At the same time, the Russian Empire expanded into previously Ottoman-ruled or Ottoman-allied regions of the Caucasus and the Black Sea region. These conflicts such as the Circassian genocide created large numbers of Muslim refugees. Persecutions of Muslims resumed during World War I by the invading Russian troops in the east and during the Turkish War of Independence in the west, east, and south of Anatolia by Greek troops and Armenian fedayis . After the Greco-Turkish War , a population exchange between Greece and Turkey took place, and most Muslims of Greece left. During these times many Muslim refugees, called Muhacir , settled in Turkey . Leibniz Institute of European History . Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction page 65 & 152. "Incorporating a global-comparative perspective on the genocide of the last half-millenium has enabled important advances in the understanding of events central to the genocide studies field – such as the process of Ottoman imperial dissolution, reciprocal genocidal killing (during the "Unweaving" in the Balkans)...The human toll of this "Great Unweaving," from Greece's independence war in the early nineteenth century to the final Balkan wars of 1912–1913, was enormous. Hundreds of thousands of Ottoman Muslims were massacred in the secessionist drive.."

During the decline and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire , Muslim inhabitants (including Turks , Kurds , Albanians , Bosnian Muslims , Circassians , Serb Muslims , Greek Muslims , Muslim Roma , Pomaks ) living in territories previously under Ottoman control often found themselves persecuted after borders were re-drawn. These populations were subject to genocide , expropriation , massacres , religious persecution , mass rape , and ethnic cleansing . The 19th century saw the rise of nationalism in the Balkans coincide with the decline of Ottoman power, which resulted in the establishment of an independent Greece , Serbia , Bulgaria and Romania . At the same time, the Russian Empire expanded into previously Ottoman-ruled or Ottoman-allied regions of the Caucasus and the Black Sea region. These conflicts such as the Circassian genocide created large numbers of Muslim refugees. Persecutions of Muslims resumed during World War I by the invading Russian troops in the east and during the Turkish War of Independence in the west, east, and south of Anatolia by Greek troops and Armenian fedayis . After the Greco-Turkish War , a population exchange between Greece and Turkey took place, and most Muslims of Greece left. During these times many Muslim refugees, called Muhacir , settled in Turkey . Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction page 65 & 152. "Incorporating a global-comparative perspective on the genocide of the last half-millenium has enabled important advances in the understanding of events central to the genocide studies field – such as the process of Ottoman imperial dissolution, reciprocal genocidal killing (during the "Unweaving" in the Balkans)...The human toll of this "Great Unweaving," from Greece's independence war in the early nineteenth century to the final Balkan wars of 1912–1913, was enormous. Hundreds of thousands of Ottoman Muslims were massacred in the secessionist drive.." Turkish genocide in the Balkans (in Turkish). İleri Yayınları. 2012. Genocide at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century: Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Darfur . In October 1912, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and Greece launched an attack to dismember the decaying Ottoman Empire. This war was notable for its brutality. Acts of genocide and mayhem were committed during the war. Civilians were massacred and people's lips and noses were severed. Thus, the relationship between Serbs and Kosovar Albanians began to spiral downward. From this battle, the Serbs gained control of Kosovo, their 'mythic land' of origin. One of the unexpected experiences of the Balkan Wars 1912-1913 was that the members of the Balkan League committed genocides and other kinds of mass violence against other Nationalities and the Muslim population of the peninsula. Among other things the Albanian state-building project of the Great Powers aimed to prevent further genocide and other acts of violence against the Albanian population and other refugees from Macedonia and to put an end to the anarchy of the country. International Journal of Middle East Studies . 10 (4). The Greeks, displaying a characteristic often a mark of defeated armies, pursued a 'scorched earth' policy towards western Anatolia. [...] Of the eighteen hundrend of buildings in the historic city of Manisa, only five hundrend remained. The Turkish population was subjected to horrible atrocities by the retreating Greek troops and the Christian mobs, a type of genocide. The pursuing Turkish calavary did not engaged any conflict with christian populace, the road from Uşak to Smyrna lay littered with Turkish corpses. This information is given under the title "Official Documents of Bulgarian Brutality and Atrocities". It is shown as a "savagery within a most pathetic and distressing brutality that has not been seen in the world since the age of Adam." . 15 October 2017. Cicero Foundation Great Debate Paper . 13 (4). The historical balance: between about 1820 and 1920, millions of Muslim casualties and refugees back to the remaining Ottoman Empire had to be registered; estimations speak about 5 million casualties and the same number of displaced persons" Schayegh, Cyrus (2024). A Late/Post-Imperial Region of Difference: The Ottoman Empire and its Successor Polities in Southeastern Europe, Turkey, and the Arab East, c. 1850s–1940s". Between 1821 and the 1919–1922 Turko-Greek War, about five and a half million Muslims died of religious-ethnic war-related causes, including disease and hunger during forced migration, in southeastern Europe and the Crimea and Caucasus. Most of these lands were within or contiguous with the Ottoman Empire. By 1923, 'only Anatolia, eastern Thrace, and a section of the southeastern Caucasus remained to the Muslim land ... Millions of Muslims, most of them Turks, had died; millions more had fled to what is today Turkey. Between 1821 and 1922, more than five million Muslims were driven from their lands. Five and one-half million Muslims died, some of them killed in wars, others perishing as refugees from starvation and disease' (McCarthy 1995, 1). Since people in the Ottoman Empire were classified by religion, Turks, Albanians, Bosnians, and all other Muslim groups were recognized—and recognized themselves—simply as Muslims. Leibniz Institute of European History . Gibney & Hansen 2005 Howard, Douglas A. The history of Turkey . Turkish genocide in the Balkans (in Turkish). İleri Yayınları. 2012.