Turco-Albanian

Turco-Albanian (Greek: Τουρκαλβανοί, Tourk-alvanoi) is an ethnographic and religious term used by Greeks for Muslim Albanians. In a broader sense, the term included both Muslim Albanian and Turkish political and military elites of the Ottoman administration in the Balkans. The term is derived from an identification of Muslims with Ottomans and/or Turks because of the Ottoman Empire's administrative millet system of classifying peoples according to religion in which the Muslim millet played the leading role. From the mid 19th century, the term Turk and from the late 19th century onwards, the derivative term Turco-Albanian has been used as a pejorative term, phrase and/or expression for Muslim Albanian individuals and communities. The term has also been noted to be unclear and ideologically and sentimentally charged.

Albanians have expressed derision and disassociation toward the terms Turk and its derivative form Turco-Albanian regarding the usage of those terms in reference to them.

Etymology and usage of the term

The term Turco-Albanian is a compound made up of the words Turk and Albanian. The word Albanian is a term that has been used as an ethnonym. 'Albanian' (Arnavud) was one of the few ethnic markers normally used, besides the regular religious labels, for the identification of people in official record of the Ottoman state. On the other hand, the word Turk was viewed by non-Muslim Balkan peoples as being synonymous with Muslim, despite the fact that Muslim Albanians did not speak Turkish or were not ethnic Turks.