Anthos Islands

The Anthos Islands (Greek: Άνθοι Νήσοι, Arabic: جزر العنتسي) s a republic situated in the Middle East. It is a group of 120 islands, which only 30 are inhabited. It is mainly inhabited by Greeks.

History
Anthos Islands has been inhabited by the Greeks since the 4th century BC, when a heavy migration from Greece to these islands occurred. The Greeks called these islands the "Anthos", which is Greek for "blossom". After these Greeks lived free, they made these groups of islands a part of Greece.

However, this all changed in 796. The Arabs ruled these groups of islands and made Islam the dominant religion there. The land was now known as the Al-Anthos Caliphate. These Greeks were exposed to the Arabic language, and even made their own twist to the language, Helleno-Arabic, which is still spoken, but by very few older people.

The islands were ruled by the Arabs until the Ottomans came in and took the islands in 1569. Ironically during this time, there were a rise of Christians on the island, despite being ruled under a caliph (Christianity would later become the dominant religion of the Anthosians).

As the Ottoman Empire dissolved, the British swiftly took the islands in 1921. The islands were under British rule for 41 years. The British were abusive to the islanders. The English language was introduced to the islands, but most of the islanders preferred to speak Greek, Arabic, and/or Helleno-Arabic. English lessons were forced on the Anthosians (which is why a lot of Anthosians can speak English today).

In late 1961, the Anthosians became sick of the British rule, and declared war on Britain. The Anthosians won and established a secular republic, which would now be known as the Anthos Islands.

Languages
The official languages are Greek and Arabic. The majority of Anthosians are bilingual in Greek and Arabic, though some older generations speak Helleno-Arabic.

Greek is the ethnic language for most Anthosian Greeks, so hence it is official. Arabic is widespread in use because the islands were ruled by Arabs for so long. Minority languages spoken include Albanian, Coptic, English, Helleno-Arabic, and Turkish.

Ethnic groups
Roughly 96% of the population is Greek, who were the original settlers of the islands. The remaining 4% consists of Arabs, Albanians, Copts, Turks, Macedonians, English, and a handful of Romani.

Religions
The majority of Anthosians are Christians, specifically the Greek Orthodoxy sect. However, there is a very significant minority of Muslims (specifically Sunni Muslims) due to the Arab presence on the islands for so long. There are also minorities of Jews, Baha'is, and Buddhists.

Identity
The main struggle of the Anthos Islands is establishing an identity. Most Christian Anthosians adhere to a Hellenic identity while most Muslim Anthosians would rather stick to an Arabic/Middle Eastern identity. There is a clash between the Christians and the Muslims over a single identity because one prefer another identity over another. Unfortunately, Christians and Muslims are often divided due to cultural differences. Despite this, many activists are trying to unite the Christians and Muslims under one common culture: the Anthosian culture.

Christian-Muslim conflict
Main article: Christian-Muslim conflict The Christian-Muslim conflict (Greek: Χριστιανο-μουσουλμανική σύγκρουση, Arabic: الصراع المسيحي الاسلامي) is an ongoing conflict between the Christian population and the Muslim population. The Muslims feel that the government is "too Christian" but the Christians deny this. The government has done everything it can "to make things equal" by constitutionally promising that the president is Christian and the prime minister is Muslim.

Aleksander Alexopoulos, a Christian Anthosian, is the current leader of the rebel political party, the All-Christian Saints (Greek: Όλοι-χριστιανικοί Άγιοι, Arabic: كل القديسين المسيحيين) while activist Abdullah Gabris, a Muslim, is opposing his forces.