(a.), literally, “one who migrates”, has been applied to various groups in the course of Islamic history.
1. In earliest Islam. See for this hid̲j̲ra and muhād̲j̲irūn .
2. In Turkey and the Ottoman lands. The function of the Turkish heartlands of Anatolia and Thrace as the refuge of Islam, Islām-penāh , became significant as Ottoman power declined and the Muslim populations of outlying territories became exposed to the imposition of unfavourable Christian administrations, notably through Russian expansion and national movements in the Balkans. The term muhād̲j̲ir / muhacir continue…