Greek Muslims, also known as
Greek-speaking Muslims, are
Muslims of
Greek ethnic origin whose adoption of Islam (and often the Turkish language and identity) dates to the period of
Ottoman rule in the southern
Balkans. They consist primarily of the descendants of the elite Ottoman
Janissary corps and Ottoman-era converts to Islam from
Greek Macedonia (e.g.,
Vallahades),
Crete (
Cretan Muslims), northeastern Anatolia and the
Pontic Alps (
Pontic Greeks). They are currently found mainly in western Turkey (particularly the regions of
Izmir,
Bursa, and
Edirne) and northeastern
Turkey (particularly in the regions of
Trabzon,
Gümüshane,
Sivas,
Erzincan,
Erzurum, and
Kars (see also
Caucasus Greeks of
Georgia and
Kars Oblast and
Islam in Georgia). Despite their ethnic Greek origin, the contemporary Grecophone Muslims of Turkey regarding their identity have been steadily assimilated into the Turkish-speaking (and in the northeast
Laz-speaking) Muslim population. Apart from their elders, sizable numbers, even the young within these Grecophone Muslim communities have retained a knowledge of Greek and or its dialects such as
Cretan Greek and
Pontic Greek, though very few are likely to call themselves
Greek Muslims. This is due to gradual assimilation into Turkish society, as well as the close association of Greece and Greeks with
Orthodox Christianity and their perceived status as a historic, military threat to the
Turkish Republic. Whereas in Greece, Greek speaking Muslims are not usually considered as forming part of the Greek nation. In the late Ottoman period (particularly following the Greek-Turkish war of 1897-98) several communities of Grecophone Muslims from Crete and southern Greece were also relocated to
Libya,
Lebanon and
Syria, where in towns like
al-Hamidiyah some of the older generation continue to speak Greek. Historically,
Greek Orthodoxy has been associated with being
Romios, i.e.
Greek, and
Islam with being
Turkish, despite ethnic or linguistic references.