Turks in Tunisia
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 500,000 (1993 estimate) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam |
The Turks in Tunisia, also known as Turco-Tunisians and Tunisian Turks, (Arabic: أتراك تونس French: Turcs de Tunisie Turkish: Tunus Türkleri) are the ethnic Turks who constitute a minority group in Tunisia. In 1534, with about 10,000 Turkish soldiers, the Ottoman Empire took control and settled in the region when Tunisia's inhabitants called for help due to fears that the Spanish would invade the country. Thus, during the Ottoman rule, the Turks colonized and dominated the political life of the region for centuries; as a result, the ethnic mix of Tunisia changed with the migration of Turks from Anatolia and the evolvement of the "Kouloughlis" who are people of mixed Turkish and central Maghrebi blood.
Families of Turkish origin live mainly near the coastal cities, such as Tunis and Mahdia, and the islands (such as Djerba), although there are also many living within central Tunisia as well.
In 2012 the Tunisian government introduced the Turkish language in all Tunisian secondary schools.
The Ottoman Turks brought with them the teaching of the Hanafi School of Islam during the Ottoman rule of Tunisia, which still survives among the Turkish descended families today. Traditionally, Turco-Tunisian mosques have octagonal minarets. Examples of Ottoman-Turkish mosques include:
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