The term Laraman in Albanian refers to crypto-Christians who adhered to Islam officially but continued to practice Christianity within the household during the Ottoman era. It was derived from the Albanian adjective i larmë, meaning "variegated, motley, two-faced", a metaphor of "two-faithed" (l'arë), a reference to the Laramans following both Christianity (in secret) and Islam (nominally).
The phenomenon was widespread in the mid to late Ottoman era among both northern and southern Albanians, and arose after half-hearted conversions in the contexts of anti-Christian persecution, to avoid payment of poll taxes, and to obtain worldly advantages such as government employment. While the Orthodox church typically tolerated crypto-Christians among its flocks, Catholic policy varied by place and time between having priests travel to laraman houses in secret, and categorically refusing anyone who called themselves Muslim in public sacraments. Legally, laraman individuals were considered as Muslims by the Ottoman state with regards to the millet system whereby citizens of different confessions existed in different legal categories. Laraman individuals often bore two names, one Muslim and Christian, and observed a mix of Christian and Muslim rituals.
Over time, many laraman communities became entirely Muslim. In the nineteenth centuries, various laraman communities, especially crypto-Catholics in Kosovo, openly declared their Christianity, and demanded to be legally once again recognized as Christians by the Ottoman state. While in some cases this request was granted, the laramans of Stublla were persecuted when they refused to "return" to Islam, and deported to Anatolia, until Ottoman authorities allowed their return while under Great Power pressure. In some regions of Kosovo and Central Albania, there were communities that remained laraman in the twentieth century, and in the 21st century, there are some cases in Kosovo where individuals claiming a laraman background have formally joined (or "returned to") the Catholic community.
Today, the laraman phenomenon remains incompletely understood. While some experts as well as some church officials regard the laramans as remaining entirely Christian in beliefs while professing Islam due to necessity, and others have pointed to practical considerations underpinning the phenomenon. Others have noted the existence of individuals who believed equally in both Christianity and Islam. The laraman heritage has come to symbolize in Kosovo the perception of having a "Western" identity despite integration into the "Eastern" Ottoman system.
History
In the 1600s, the Ottomans organized a concerted campaign of Islamization that was not typically applied elsewhere in the Balkans, in order to ensure the loyalty of the rebellious Albanian population. Although there were certain instances of violently forced conversion, usually this was achieved through economic incentives – in particular, the head tax on Christians was drastically increased. While the tax levied on Albanian Christians in the 1500s amounted to about 45 akçes, in the mid-1600s, it was 780 akçes.
Conversion to Islam was also aided by the dire state of the Catholic church in the period, which was understaffed with often illiterate priests. While in the first decade of the 17th century, Central and Northern Albania remained firmly Catholic (according to Vatican reports, Muslims were no more than 10% in Northern Albania), by the middle of the 17th century, 30–50% of Northern Albania had converted to Islam, while by 1634 most of Kosovo had also converted. The failed 1645 plot by Venice to seize Shkodër with the aid of local Catholics was followed by a wave of anti-Catholic persecution which saw increased conversion as well as flight of the Albanian population into Venetian-controlled Dalmatia. After another pro-Venetian insurrection in 1649 was crushed by the Ottoman army, another wave of persecution and apostasy followed, and Catholic missionaries were forced to leave Albania.