Written by Petrit Latifi

Albanians of Novi Pazar (Alb. Shqiptarët e Novi Pazarit or Tregu i Ri) were the inhabitants of Albanian origin living in the district of Novi Pazar through out the Byzantine and Ottoman Empire and later in Yugoslavia. In the Ottoman Empire, the district was part of the Sandzak of Novi Pazar (1580-1872) of the Vilayet of Bosnia.^[1] In 1877, it was incorporated to the Vilayet of Kosovo. Elsie writes of Theodor Ippen who traveled in the region in 1892 describing Pešter as being inhabited by a majority of Albanians from the Kelmendi and Kuci tribes who emigrated from their motherland in 1690 and 1737 during the Serb migration.^[2] The first recorded film showing Albanians in the city is from 1904.^[3]

Joylon Naegele writes that local social scientists believe that the inhabitants of Novi Pazar adopted a Slavic dialect more than 1000 years ago during the Illyrian era while the South Albanians maintained an Albanian one.^[4] Sociologist Aida Corovic has stated that “we are all Illyrians and genetically we’re probably all the same”. Many Muslims of now slavicized regions also prefer to call themselves “Illyrian Slavs of Muslim belief” instead of “Bosniaks”.^[5] The London Treaty of 1913 defined new borders of the region thus leaving one part to Serbia and the other to Montenegro. Serb nationalists claimed that Albanian nationalists of Novi Pazar intended to form an alliance with Muslim leaders in order to create a Greater Albania.^[6]

References

1. ^ Zaugg, Franziska Anna (2019). ”Resistance and Its Opponents in the Region of Sandžak and Kosovo”. Dans Les Cahiers Sirice.
2. ^ Elsie, Robert. 1892 | Theodor Ippen: Novi Pazar and Kosovo. Läst 16 december 2019.
3. ^ ”The First Film Footage of Albanians, Albanians in Novi Pazar | 1904 | Kosova për Sanxhakun”. kosovapersanxhakun.org.
4. ^ ”Yugoslavia: Sandzak’s Bosniaks Search For Identity (Part 2)” (på engelska). RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty.
5. ^ ”Yugoslavia: Bosniaks in Sandzak region seek recognition (Part 1) – Bosnia and Herzegovina” (på engelska). ReliefWeb.
6. ^ Poulton, Hugh (1997) (på engelska). Muslim Identity and the Balkan State. Hurst. ISBN 978-1-85065-276-2. Läst 17 december 2019.