The invisible minorities of the Balkans: Challenges and prospects

On 22 November 2023, SEESOX hosted a panel discussion on the often-overlooked Alevi and Bektashi communities in Greece and Albania. The event brought together Evangelos Areteos (MOHA Research Center; ELIAMEP; University of Nicosia), Ayse Karahuseyinoglu (Greek Thrace Alevi Committee), Sara Kuehn (University of Vienna) and Giorgos Mavrommatis (Democritus University of Thrace, Greece) to explore questions of recognition, identity, religious practice, and geopolitics affecting these “double minorities” in the Balkans.

 
Recognition and struggle in Greece

The discussion began with the case of the small Alevi-Bektashi community in Thrace, Greece, numbering approximately 3,000–3,500 people across ten villages. Drawing on fieldwork and community engagement, Evangelos Areteos, Ayse Karahuseyinoglu and Giorgos Mavrommatis outlined how the community has maintained its religious traditions despite demographic pressures and labour migration.

A central issue is legal recognition. While the Muslim minority in Thrace is recognised under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, Alevis/Bektashis are not recognised as a distinct religious community. In 2018, following internal disputes and external interventions, a representative committee was officially recognised by the Greek state. However, full recognition as a separate religious entity remains an ongoing demand.

The panel highlighted the community’s delicate position between Greek and Turkish national frameworks. Both states have historically sought to shape minority identities, complicating efforts at independent recognition. At the same time, the Thrace community has experienced a religious revival over the past two decades. Regular ritual practice, strong institutional structures (including ocak systems), and traditions such as musahiplik (spiritual brotherhood) remain central to communal life.

Presentations also noted generational differences: for older members, Bektashism is primarily a lived religion; for younger members, it increasingly functions as a cultural identity marker to be preserved.

 
Albania: From persecution to institutional recognition

Sara Kuehn then turned to the Albanian case, which presents a markedly different trajectory. Bektashism was introduced to Albania during the Ottoman period and became deeply embedded in Albanian religious and national life. After the abolition of Sufi orders in Turkey in 1925, the Bektashi headquarters moved to Tirana in 1930, establishing Albania as the global centre of the order.

Under communist rule (1945–1990), religious life was severely suppressed. The Bektashi community, like other religious groups, faced persecution and institutional dismantling. Following the restoration of religious freedom in 1990, the community was rebuilt almost from scratch. Today, Bektashism is officially recognised in Albania as one of the country’s four main religious communities, alongside Sunni Muslims, Orthodox Christians, and Catholics.

The Albanian leadership operates within a complex geopolitical landscape. The panel noted visible Iranian and Turkish influences in funding, restoration projects, and symbolic presence. The Bektashi leadership has had to navigate carefully between these external actors while maintaining institutional autonomy.

 
A “double minority” in a transnational context

Giorgos Mavrommatis situated both cases within a broader historical and political framework, emphasising the transition from pre-modern religious orders to modern nation-state structures. Alevis and Bektashis often find themselves as a “double minority”: marginal within Sunni-majority Muslim contexts, yet also minorities within national frameworks shaped by secular or Christian-majority states.

Recent decades, however, have seen increasing transnational mobilisation. Large Alevi diasporas in Western Europe — particularly in Germany — have built strong federations and lobbying networks. These developments are reshaping local dynamics in the Balkans, as communities connect across borders and articulate claims for recognition in new ways.

The discussion concluded by reflecting on how historical legacies, geopolitics, and generational shifts intersect in the ongoing negotiation of minority identity in Southeast Europe. The Greek and Albanian cases demonstrate both the fragility and resilience of heterodox Islamic communities navigating the challenges of recognition in contemporary Europe.

By Julie Adams (ESC Administrator)