Circassians in Libya () refers to the

Circassian diaspora The Circassian diaspora refers to ethnic Circassian people around the world who live outside their homeland Circassia. The majority of the Circassians live in the diaspora, as their ancestors were settled during the resettlement of the Circas ...

settled in

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Su ...

, numbering about 30 thousand today.Радио Эхо Москвы
/ref>Инорм-аналит издание "Сегодня РУ"
/ref> They live mainly in

Misrata Misrata ( ; also spelled Misurata or Misratah; ar, مصراتة, Miṣrāta ) is a city in the Misrata District in northwestern Libya, situated to the east of Tripoli and west of Benghazi on the Mediterranean coast near Cape Misrata. With a ...

and

Benghazi Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη ('' Berenice'') and '' Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Gha ...

. They have been integrated into Libyan society and are mostly Arabised.

History

Unlike many other Circassian diasporas in the Middle East, the Libyan Circassians are not descendants of the Circassians exiled during the

Circassian genocide The Circassian genocide, or Tsitsekun, was the Russian Empire's systematic mass murder, ethnic cleansing, and expulsion of 80–97% of the Circassian population, around 800,000–1,500,000 people, during and after the Russo-Circassian War ( ...

, but are descendants of the Circassian Mamluks who served in the armies of the Arab caliphs since the 9th century. The traditions among Libyan Circassians have mostly been Arabised.Amjad Jaimoukha, The Circassians: A Handbook, Curzon, Surrey England, 2001, p.119.

Gaddafi era

The Circassians in Kosovo moved to the

Republic of Adygea The Republic of Adygea (; russian: Республика Адыгея, Respublika Adygeya, p=ɐdɨˈɡʲejə; ady, Адыгэ Республик, ''Adıgə Respublik''), also known as the Adyghe Republic, is a republics of Russia, republic of Ru ...

in 1998 and

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by '' The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spelli ...

sent support and donations to the village. Gaddafi, according to his own words, showed a deep respect for the Circassians and their historical suffering.Al- Shishani, Murad Batal. ''Qaddafi Tries to Secure Loyalty of Circassians of Misrata'' In March 2011,

delegated a diplomat to the Jordanian capital of Amman to meet

Circassians in Jordan Circassians in Jordan (; ) are Circassians living in Jordan. Circassian refugees arrived in Jordan in the late 19th century, after being exiled during the Circassian genocide in the 1860s and later the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). They settl ...

and get their support. The Jordanian Circassians, convinced that the Libyan Circassians have lost their identity and became Arabs, did not answer.Инорм-аналит издание "Сегодня РУ"
/ref>

Notable members

Umar Muhayshi Umar Abdullah el-Muhayshi (; 1941-January, 1984) was a Libyan army officer and a member of the Libyan Revolutionary Command Council that ruled Libya after the 1969 Libyan coup d'état. Life Born to a family of Circassian and Turkish origin, U ...

Libyan Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...

army officer.

References

{{Circassian diaspora Circassian diaspora category:Libyan people