Exodus of Muslims from Serbia (1862)

• Comment: Good first draft, but I'd expect substantially more sources and citations. PK650 (talk) 05:44, 13 January 2024 (UTC)

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Exodus of Muslims from Serbia
Part of Persecution of Muslims during the Ottoman contraction
Bajrakli mosque, the only surviving Ottoman mosque in Belgrade
Location	Belgrade, Smederevo, Sabac, Kladovo, Užice, Sokol (Principality of Serbia)
Date	1862
Target	Muslims
Attack type	Forced migration, ethnic cleansing
Victims	10,000 Muslims (mostly Bosniaks and Turks)
Motive	Islamophobia, Serbianisation

The exodus of Muslims from Serbia in 1862 was the forced migration of 10,000 Muslims from the Serbian cities of Belgrade, Sokol, Užice, Šabac, Smederovo and Kladovo. The reason for the forced migration was the Kanlıca Conference, according to which all Muslims living on the territory of Serbia must be evicted. Majority of the refugees migrated to Bosnia, Vidin and Nis. The exodus changed not only the ethno-religious composition of the Principality of Serbia, but also of the Ottoman Empire.

With the withdrawal of the Muslim civilian population, the final withdrawal of the Ottoman garrison in Serbia was also marked.

Religious composition of the Serbian Principality

Muslims in Belgrade represented 4/5 of the entire population. In Užice, over 96% of the population was Muslim, which is why it was sometimes called "little Istanbul". In Sokol, another exodus town, 1,600 Muslims lived in total. A small proportion of the Muslim population carried arms. For example, in Sokol, the number of armed Muslims was 300.

Reasons

Although Serbia pursued a state policy of eliminating the Muslim minority, neither the Ottoman Empire nor the Muslims minded: in Islam, Muslims should not live in a non-Muslim country. There was a political reason as well; the empire wanted as many Muslims to live in its territory as possible.

The second and most important reason was the confrontation between Ottoman police and a Serb, which led to the death of the latter in 1862. It soon turned into an ethnic clash as parts of Belgrade were bombed by the Ottoman garrison, causing damage to the city. On the other hand, Sokol and Užice were burned down by the Serbs. Various Serbian sources mention that "Užice and Sokol were sacrificed to expel the Muslim population of the country."

Because of these events, the Great Powers requested the Ottoman Empire to organize a conference to discuss the recent incidents. Although the expulsion of the Muslims from Serbia was not the primary reason, it was also discussed and the conclusion was that all the Muslims living in Serbia should leave the country.

The expulsion was accepted by the Ottoman side on September while the Serbian side on October.

The Fire of Uzice

While talks about the emigration were going on, on August 25, 1962, a fire broke out in Užice. The causes and the perpetrator of the fire are not known: the Muslims blamed the Serbs, and the Serbs blamed the Muslims. This fire destroyed a large part of the city, including a mosque, a turbe, 124 Muslim shops, over 100 Muslim houses and 63 Serbian houses. The number of destroyed buildings was 88.

This fire left the Muslims of Užice in a bad financial situation and played an important role in their desire to emigrate.

The expulsion

Belgrade

The migration of Muslims from Belgrade took place in several waves: the first wave of 1,802 people arrived in Lom in October 1862, and then they settled in different cities. Of these, 350 were accommodated in Pirot, and 1,502 in Nis. The second group left Belgrade at the end of October and numbered 550 people who settled in Vidin. The last group migrated on October 2, 1862, and a large part of them (600 people) settled later in Nis, 300 people in Brcko, and a small part went to Vidin. In this way, the Muslim presence in Belgrade was put to an end.

Most of the Belgrade Muslims chose to live in Nis, and their number was around 2,100.

Kladovo (Fethülislam)

Muslims from Kladovo took refuge in Vidin in 1865, when 58 families (270 people) left Kladovo. Since the Kladovo Muslims were poor, part of the donations made to the Muslims from Belgrade and Smederovo were given to them.

Šabac (Böğürdelen)

The Muslims of Šabac preferred Bosnia and 568 families were settled there. Just like the other refugees, they too were given new clothes and 25 guruş each before they migrated.

Smederevo (Semendire)

The Muslims left Smedrevo on October 4, 1862 and settled in Vidin. Their number was 500, a total of 150 families. They were taken under the supervision of soldiers from Nis and Vidin. New houses were also built for them in Vidin.

Užice

Because of the fire, the houses of the Muslims in Užice quickly began to be offered for sale. Since most of the Muslims from Užice were rich, the sale of properties and fields continued until 1867. They left the city in September 1862 with everything that survived the fire. Užice Muslims also migrated in three waves. Their total number was 3,834, of which 917 were children. Almost all of them left for Bosnia, but a small unknown number settled in Albania and Macedonia.

Sokol

The Muslims from Sokol left Serbia on October 28, 1862. A large part of them initially resisted, but then migrated to Eastern and Northeastern Bosnia.

Accommodation of the refugees

Sanjak of İzvornik

A large part of the Muslims who decided to live in İzvornik were Bosniaks. About 7,000 refugees (1,300 households) were in the sanjak and the governor took care of their accommodation. Between 40 and 100 acres of land were given to each household. New settlements were created for refugees: Kozluk, Brezovo Polje, Gorna Azizija and Dolna Azizija. The new settlements had a checkerboard layout.

Kozluk, which was Mazhar Pasha's farm, was donated to the refugees, and his wife built 120 houses for the Bosniaks from Sokol. In Brezovo Polje, 350 houses were built for the refugees from Užice and Šabac, in Dolna Azizija, 200 houses were built for those who came from Belgrade, Užice and Šabac. In Gorna Azizija, 250 houses were built for the Muslims from Užice and Sokol.

Sanjak of Nis

A large part of Belgrade's Muslims settled in Nis. Their total number is 2,100. Ahmed Midhat Pasha dealed with their problems. By his order, new houses, inns and madrasahs were built in the city. The rich people of Niš took the Muslim refugees into their houses, and the even wealthier ones housed several refugees. During their journey, their food was provided by the local Muslims. In Salonica, Drama and Serres, 100,000 guruş were donated to the refugees.The Muslims in Sofia collected 5,000 guruş and the Christians 1,500 guruş and again donated them to the Belgrade Muslims settled in Nis. In Salonica, Filibe, Silistra and Sofia, apart from money, clothes were also collected. In the part next to the Fethiye Mosque, 144 new houses and 2 fountains were built.

New houses were also being built in Vidin for Belgrade's Muslims. At total 169 houses were built for Belgrade and Smederevo Muslims.

Property Issue

A commission was set up to assess the properties and fields left behind by the Muslims. The commission included persons from the Principality of Serbia and the Ottoman Empire. Ai Bey and Miralai Mehmed Bey from the Ottoman side and Dimitrie Cernborac and Gaya Jeremic from the Serbian side participated in the commission responsible for the properties of the Belgrade Muslims. The Commission held its first meeting in Belgrade on 21 September 1863, at Mehmed Ali Bey's house. Although Ali and Mehmed Ali Bey proposed to establish a mixed committee of experts to conclude the compensation issue in the commission meetings, the Serbian representatives did not accept this and intended to put the provisions of the Kanlıca Conference at the command of the Serbian knez.

There was also a big difference between the two sides' estimates regarding property values; while the property owners demanded 36,000 purses (18 million guruş), the Serbs gave 6,000 purses (3 million guruş). As a result of the discussions, the Ottoman commissars decreased to 18,000 purses (9 million guruş), while the Serbians increased to 12,000 purses (6 million guruş). However, both sides were unable to reach a solution and Ali Bey decided to return to Istanbul; for this reason, the Serbian side rised to 15,000 purses (7.5 million guruş). The Ottoman side decided to add another 8 million gurui (16,000 purses) from its own treasury, insisting that the Serbian side return them within half a year. It was decided that the compensation would be paid out within three years. This decision was taken in 1865, December 5.

Demographic changes

Almost all of Serbia has been completely cleared of Muslim population.

In the same period, there was a slight percentage increase of the Muslim population in Sandzak.

In Sanjak of İzvornik, before 1862, Christians (Catholics and Orthodox) were the majority (over 50%), and Muslims were the minority (44%). The settlement of 7,000 Bosnian Muslims and the departure of the Orthodox for Serbia changed the demographic composition of the sanjak and Muslims became the majority.