Pomaks (, , ) is a term used for
Slavic Muslims inhabiting
Bulgaria, northeastern
Greece and northwestern
Turkey, mainly referring to the ca. 220,000 strong ethno-confessional minority in Bulgaria known officially as
Bulgarian Muslims. The term has also been used as a wider designation, including also the Slavic Muslim populations of the
Republic of Macedonia and
Albania. Their language, a
Bulgarian dialect, is referred to in Greece and Turkey as the
Pomak language. The community in Greece is commonly fluent in Greek, and in Turkey, Turkish, while the communities in these two countries, especially in Turkey, are increasingly adopting Turkish as their first language as a result of education and family links with the Turkish people. The origin of the Pomaks has been debated; they are according to some sources considered descendants of native
Bulgarians or
Slavs who converted to Islam during the
Ottoman rule of the
Balkans.