Muslims in Bulgaria more

BULGARIA Ina Merdjanova1 1 Muslim Populations At the end of the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth century, the Ottomans conquered the disintegrating medieval Bulgarian kingdom. Subsequently, Islam spread through the mass resettlement of Anatolian Turks, on the one hand, and through the conversion of the local Christian population, on the other. Ottoman rule lasted until 1878, when Bulgaria gained territorial autonomy.2 A mass exodus of Muslims followed. In 1881, an estimated 578,000 Muslims still lived in Bulgaria, comprising 28.8% of the total population.3 In 1900, the number of Muslims was 643,300, or 17.18% of the population, while in 1946 the number of Muslims had risen to 938,418, although in terms of percentage of the population, they were only 13.3%.4 According to the 2001 census, there are 966,978 Muslims in Bulgaria, comprising 12.2% of the population.5 The majority of Muslims are Sunnis of the Hanafi school. An earlier census (1992), which also included data on the population by ethnic and sectarian affiliation, 1 Dr Ina Merdjanova is Director of the Centre for Interreligious Dialogue and Conflict Prevention at the Scientific Research Department, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. 2 For the history of Islam in Bulgaria in general, see: Zhelyazkova, Antonina, Bozhidar Alexiev and Zhorzheta Nazarska (eds), Myusulmanskite obshtnosti na Balkanite i v Bulgaria [Muslim Communities in the Balkans and in Bulgaria] (Sofia: International Centre for Minority Studies and Intercultural Relations (IMIR), 1997); Gradeva, Rossitsa (ed.). Istoriya na myusyulmanskata kultura po balgarskite zemi (History of Muslim Culture in Bulgarian Lands) (Sofia: IMIR, 2007). 3 Eminov, Ali, Turkish and Other Muslim Minorities in Bulgaria (London: Hurst, 1997), p. 71. 4 http://www.nsi.bg/Census/StrReligion.htm, accessed 17 May 2009. 5 http://www.nsi.bg/Census_e/Census_e.htm, accessed 17 May 2009. For studies on Muslim minorities in Bulgaria, see: Eminov, Turkish and Other Muslim Minorities; Neuburger, Mary, The Orient Within: Muslim Minorities and the Negotiation of Nationhood in Modern Bulgaria (Ithaca NY: Cornell University Press, 2004); Ghodsee, Kristin, Muslim Lives in Eastern Europe: Gender, Ethnicity, and the Transformation of Islam in Postsocialist Bulgaria (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010). 108 ina merdjanova indicated that 7.7% of Muslims were Alevis (also called Aliani or Kizilbashi).6 As far as ethnic groups are concerned, the Turks7 are concentrated in the south-east and north-east of Bulgaria and account for 75.3% of all Muslims in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian-speaking Muslims (descendants of Slavic Bulgarians who converted to Islam under Ottoman rule), also known as Pomaks,8 are concentrated in the central and western Rhodope mountains in southern Bulgaria and make up 13.5%; the Roma (dispersed throughout the whole country), some 40% of whom are Muslims, amount to 10.5%. The tiny Tatar community has some 4,500 members living in north-eastern Bulgaria. The 2001 census indicated that Muslims are the majority population in Kurdzhali district in south-east Bulgaria (69.9%) and in the Razgrad district in north-eastern Bulgaria (53.7%). Most Muslims live in rural areas, and have been seriously affected by the economic crisis following the collapse of communism. The results of the two censuses showed that between 1992 and 2001 the number of Muslims decreased by 143,317. This has been explained by the emigration of Muslims to more prosperous countries (Turkey and various Western countries are preferred destinations rather than the Arab world) and, to a much lesser degree, by the conversion of some Pomaks to Orthodox Christianity and to various Protestant denominations.9 6 On the Aliani/Kizilbashi, see De Jong, Frederick, “Problems concerning the origins of the Qizilbas in Bulgaria: remnants of the Safaviyya?”, Accademia Nationale dei Lincei, vol. 25 (1993), pp. 203–15. 7 On Turks in Bulgaria, see Popovic, Alexandre, “The Turks of Bulgaria (1878– 1985)”, in Central Asia Survey, vol. 5, no. 2, (1986), pp. 1–32; Höpken, Wolfgang, “From religious identity to ethnic mobilisation: The Turks of Bulgaria before, under and since communism”, in Poulton, Hugh and Suha Taji-Faruki (eds), Muslim Identity and the Balkan State. (London: Hurst, 1997), pp. 54–82; Yalamov, Ibrahim. Istoriya na turskata obshtnost v Bulgaria [History of the Turkish Community in Bulgaria] (Sofia: IMIR, 2002). 8 On Pomaks, see: Todorova, Maria, “Identity (trans)formation among the Pomaks in Bulgaria”, in Kürt, Lásló and Juliet Langman (eds), Beyond Borders: Remaking Cultural Identities in the New East and Central Europe (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1997), pp. 63–82; Georgieva, Tsvetana, “Pomaks: Muslim Bulgarians”, in Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, vol. 12, no. 3 (2001), pp. 303–16. 9 Eminov, Ali, “Social construction of identities: Pomaks in Bulgaria” (2007), available at http://www.ecmi.de/jemie/download/2–2007-Eminov.pdf, accessed 17 March 2009, p. 6. bulgaria 2 Islam and the State 109 Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic with no state religion, although the Constitution designates Eastern Orthodox Christianity as the ‘traditional’ religion (82.64% of the population belong to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, although the number of regular church-goers is extremely low). Each year, the Religious Confessions Directorate at of the Council of Ministers allocates financial support from the state budget to several denominations with a longer historic presence, mainly for the renovation of their religious sites and to cover some of their running expenses. In 2009, the Islamic community received 250,000BGN (around €130,000).10 Overall, Muslims are well represented in the public arena, both religiously, through the Muftiate, and politically, through the Movement for Rights and Freedoms. This party was established in 1990 and has been represented in every post-communist parliament since. It has drawn support primarily from Turks and other Muslims, although its political leaders have been very careful to preclude any identification with Islamist or pan-Turkist ideas. 3 Main Muslim Organisations The Bulgarian Muslim community, called officially the Muslim Confession (Myusyulmansko izpovedanie), has well developed structures. It is administered by the Supreme Muslim Council (Vissh Duhoven Savet), with its core institution, the Chief Muftiate (Glavno Myuftiistvo, Bratia Miladinovi Str. N. 27, Sofia 1301, tel.: ++359 2 981 60 01, http://www.genmufti.net/). The Chief Muftiate presides over all the Muslims in the country, irrespective of their ethnic or intra-Islamic divisions. Twelve regional muftis are responsible for the administration of the community at the provincial level. The current Chief Mufti is Mustafa Alish Hadji. 10 Information obtained from Georgi Krastev, chief expert at the Religious Confessions Directorate, 8 October 2009. 110 4 ina merdjanova Mosques and Prayer Houses There are 1,217 mosques, where Friday prayers are conducted, as well as 240 masjids, and some 50 tekes and turbes, most of which date back to Ottoman times. Around 350 of the mosques have been constructed since the fall of communism. 5 Children’s Education Optional classes in Islam were introduced in public schools in 2000. Students use textbooks proposed by the Muftiate and approved by the Ministry of Education. The classes are conducted in Bulgarian once a week and are supported by the Muftiate. There are three Islamic secondary schools, in Shumen, Russe and Momchilgrad, which follow the general curriculum for state secondary schools, with extra classes in Islam. The graduates from these schools can serve as imams or continue their education in any discipline they choose. There is a growing tendency for imams to pursue higher education in the Higher Islamic Institute in Sofia. Apart from these three state accredited schools, the Muftiate organises Qur’an courses for children every summer. In 2009, over 500 such courses, Qur’anic ’schools’, were held throughout the country. 6 Higher and Professional Education About 1,000 imams serve the religious needs of the Muslim population. Most of the imams are elderly and privately educated, as no religious training was available under communism. The younger imams were educated in the three secondary schools mentioned above, and very few of them were trained in the Qur’anic schools. Some of the imams have diplomas from the Higher Islamic Institute or from various Islamic schools in Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Egypt. According to the Muftiate, around 100 students sent by them have graduated from various Islamic schools abroad. The number of students who have pursued studies abroad through private channels outside the Muftiate is impossible to verify, although it does not seem to be very high. bulgaria 111 The Islamic Institute was founded in 1991 as a semi-higher institution, and became a higher institute in 1998. It offers courses in Islamic theology and is currently working towards state accreditation. Academic courses on the history and culture of Islam and the Middle East are offered on a regular basis by the Department of Arabic and Semitic Studies at Sofia University “St Kliment Ohridski”. 7 Burial and Cemeteries Muslims are free to perform the traditional funeral rites, and separate cemeteries or separate burial plots for Muslims are available. 8 ‘Chaplaincy’ in State Institutions Imams have access to prisoners and may also visit patients in hospitals, although no special regulations exist. Imams (as well as Christian clergy) are not allowed in the armed forces, as military law bans any religious activities on military premises as well as ministry to the armed forces. 9 Religious Festivals Muslims regularly celebrate their religious festivals. The chief mufti announces the beginning and the end of the month of Ramadan on national television and greets the believers at Ramazan Bayram (‘Id al-Fitr). Greetings are also offered on television on the occasion of Qurban Bayram (‘Id al-Adha). Muslims are officially entitled to a day’s holiday for these festivals. 10 Halal Food Muslims have access to halal food through local shops, which are supplied by two local firms that perform ritual slaughter. Private slaughter is not forbidden. Halal food is not available in public institutions. 112 ina merdjanova 11 Dress Codes There are no formal regulations prohibiting the wearing of Muslim dress, including hijab, in public places. There have been occasional bans on the hijab in state schools that require school uniform. 12 Publication and Media The Muftiate publishes a monthly bilingual journal Myusyulmani (Muslims) in Bulgarian and Turkish. The Fethullah-Gülen related Zaman Foundation publishes the newspaper Zaman (in Bulgarian and Turkish), some 20% of the content of which is devoted to religious issues. Other publications have occasionally appeared, but these have either been short-lived or achieved very limited circulation. There are no separate Muslim television or radio channels. Since the 2000 introduction of daily Turkish language programmes on national television and radio, national radio broadcasts a three-hour programme on Islam every Friday. Religious programmes are also available on some commercial television channels. 13 Family Law Under communism, Muslims could only hold religious weddings privately, usually without a certificate being issued. Islamic marriage is practised mainly in the villages, after the couples have been married according to the civil law. At the present time, imams can issue certificates to those who conclude an Islamic marriage, but the state recognises only marriages contracted in a civil registry offices. The Islamic regulations on marriage, divorce and inheritance are followed unofficially, and the function of the spiritual court at the Muftiate is limited to hearing cases of clerics’ misdemeanours. bulgaria 14 Interreligious Relations11 113 Since 1989, Bulgaria has made significant progress in the (closely related) areas of interethnic and interreligious relations. It has reversed communist assimilation campaigns and introduced mother-tongue education for minority children and religious education. Moreover, it has adopted a number of important legislative documents, such as the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedom (both ratified in 1999) and the Law on Protection against Discrimination (in 2004). However, changes in policy and legislation have not always been followed through and put into practice. Generally, religious communities remain relatively closed and focused on their internal problems, preserving the boundaries between them and interacting mostly along the lines of what can be described as ‘negative tolerance’.12 In 2008, a new association, the National Council of the Religious Communities in Bulgaria, was established on the initiative of the Religious Confessions Directorate of the Council of Ministers. The Council includes the leaders of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Islamic community, the Central Israeli (Jewish) Spiritual Council, the Catholic Church and the United Evangelical churches. The Council pledges to represent the Bulgarian model of religious tolerance to Europe and to the Balkans, and to develop interreligious dialogue as a means of improving understanding, preserving religious harmony and the preventing intolerance. Its impact on interreligious relations in the country remains to be seen. 15 Public Opinion and Debate In March 2009, after the complaint of a rightist politician, the security services launched an investigation into a local mayor and a teacher of 11 For a general overview, see Zhelyazkova, Antonina, Jorgen Nielsen and Gilles Kepel (eds), Relations of Compatibility and Incompatibility between Christians and Muslims in Bulgaria: A Collection of Articles (in English and in Bulgarian) (Sofia: IMIR, 1995). 12 See Merdjanova, Ina, “Uneasy tolerance: Interreligious relations in Bulgaria after the fall of communism”, Religion, State and Society, vol. 35, no. 2 (2007), pp. 95–103. 114 ina merdjanova Islam in the village of Ribnovo in western Rhodope on suspicion that they had been spreading radical Islam among the Pomak population there. No charges have been filed. In September 2009, a newly established Muslim-Democratic Union (Myusyulman-Demokratichen Sayuz) in Slavyanovo village in northeast Bulgaria stirred heated public debates. The founders were investigated following accusations that they were setting up a political party based on religious grounds, which is prohibited by the Bulgarian Constitution. The Chief Muftiate issued an appeal to the media, complaining about the negative presentations of Muslims by politicians and journalists. Sensationalist and mostly unverified press releases about alleged Islamic extremist organisations and activities in the country do often provoke tension and foster intolerant attitudes in society. A few cases of mosque desecration were reported in 2009, and the construction of two new mosques, one in Sofia and one in Bourgas, was vetoed. 16 Major Cultural Events The week of the Prophet’s birthday is celebrated annually with both religious sermons and various musical performances, plays and conferences. There is an annual Islamic Education Week in the last week of Ramadan. Both events are organised nation-wide by the Chief Muftiate and are very well attended.