Adjarians
The Adjarians (Georgian: აჭარლები, romanized: ach'arlebi)[a], also known as Muslim Georgians,[b][4] are an ethnographic group of Georgians indigenous to Adjara in south-western Georgia. Adjarian settlements are also found in the Georgian provinces of Guria, Kvemo Kartli, and Kakheti, as well as in several areas of neighbouring Turkey.
This article is about Adjarians only. For other ethnic Georgians of the Muslim faith, see Muslim Georgians.Adjarians converted to Islam during the Ottoman rule of Adjara. Under the 1921 Treaty of Kars, Adjara was granted autonomy, to protect its Muslim faith. Despite their conversion to Islam, Adjarians have kept the Georgian language (with their own dialect) and traditions.[5] Still, their self-identification is ambiguous as their Islamic background is at odds with the Orthodox faith of their Georgian peers.[4] In the 1926 census, Ajars were categorized as a distinct ethnic group. In the 1939 census, they were included in the same category as Georgians.[6] Since Georgian independence, most Adjarians consider themselves Georgians,[7][2] but some Georgians have seen Muslim Adjarians as second-class "Turkicized" Georgians.[8][9][6][10][11]
Religion[edit]
In the sixteenth century, the majority of Adjara's population was Christian. By the end of the eighteenth century, all Adjarians were Muslim.[16] After Adjara was ceded to the Russian Empire in 1878 under the Treaty of Berlin, Adjarians, who were Muslims, were allowed to leave for Turkey.[17] This was followed by an influx of Christians from Kakheti, resulting in a change of the religious landscape.[17]
The collapse of the Soviet Union and Georgian independence accelerated the Christianization of some Adjarians, especially among the young, under the government of Zviad Gamsakhurdia.[30][31][32][33] However, many Adjarians, particularly around Khulo, remain Sunni Muslim.[34] According to Ghia Nodia, as of 2006, most Adjarians are Muslims but consider themselves ethnic Georgians.[2] According to the 2014 census Muslims make up 94.6% of the population in Khulo Municipality, 74.4% in Shuakhevi Municipality, 62.1% in Keda Municipality and 56.3% in Khelvachauri Municipality. In Batumi and Kobuleti Municipality Muslims make up a minority with 25.4% and 28.8%.[35]
Censuses in independent Georgia do not include an "Adjarian" category, nor do they distinguish between ethnic Georgian Muslims and other Muslims, such as Azerbaijanis.[36]
Language[edit]
Adjarians speak Adjarian, a Georgian dialect related to the one spoken in the neighbouring northern province of Guria, but with a number of Turkish loanwords. Adjarian also possesses many features in common with the Zan languages (Mingrelian and Laz), which are sisters to Georgian and are included in the Kartvelian language group.