Greek Muslims - Pontic Greek Muslims

Pontic Greek Muslims

Muslims of Pontic Greek origins, speakers of the Pontic language (named Ρωμαίικα Roméika, not Ποντιακά Pontiaká as it is in Greece), which is spoken by some people in Tonya, Maçka, Sürmene, Çaykara, the Dernekpazarı districts of Trabzon and the province of Kars. Due to mass migration from the region, high linguistic assimilation to Turkish, and the fact that the language has no official status, the total number of the speakers may be guessed; roughly 2,000 mainly elderly speakers. According to Heath W. Lowry's great work about Ottoman tax books (Tahrir Defteri) with Halil İnalcık it is claimed that most Turks of Trabzon city are of Greek origin. The community is usually considered deeply religious Sunni Muslims of Hanafi madh'hab. Sufi orders such as Qadiri and Naqshbandi have a great impact.