Up In Arms About Religion?
According to a 2017 Pew Research Center survey, 33% of Bulgarian Muslims responded that religion is “very important” in their lives. Muslims are represented in the public arena by the Chief Muftiate. In October 2014, the Chief Muftiate published a declaration condemning ISIS and appealing to Bulgarian Muslims not to respond to calls for jihad and the establishment of a caliphate. Since 1989, the Muftiate has made effort to expand interreligious relations between Muslims and religious groups in Bulgaria. On 30 September 2016, the Parliament of Bulgaria, backed by the Patriotic Front passed the law that outlaws wearing burqas by women in public places in an effort to combat terrorism and migrants flowing through Europe. The Scientific Research Centre (SRC) at the Higher Islamic Institute was established in 2014. The SRC aims to promote constructive and critical study of Islam and Muslims, especially in Europe. Research also shows that educational problems faced by minorities creates social stratification and magnifies negative stereotypes. Particular areas of research include classical and modern exegesis methods, ecology and Islam, and Islamic art. An especially noteworthy kind of burial is that of the megalithic (huge stone) graves that appear in various areas from the Neolithic Period on.
On the contrary, 88% of respondents said they circumcised their boys and 96% observed Muslim burial practices for their relatives. Numerous Muslim enterprises were shut down and the low economic status of Muslims was exacerbated by the lack of education and poor infrastructure in the rural parts of the country. During the socialist period of Bulgaria’s history, most Muslims did not have access to halal food. The majority of Muslims in Bulgaria who adhere to halal food restrictions are recent Arab immigrants to the country. Muslim Bulgarians primarily live in the Rhodopes, in particular, the Smolyan Province, the municipalities of Satovcha, Yakoruda, Belitsa, Garmen, Gotse Delchev in the Blagoevgrad Province, the municipality of Velingrad in the Pazardzhik Province, and the municipalities of Ardino, Kirkovo and Krumovgrad in the Kardzhali Province, where however the majority of the population is made up of ethnic Turks. Muslim Romani live in the Shumen Province, Sliven Province, Dobrich Province, Targovishte Province, Pazardzhik Province and Plovdiv Province.
According to the 2021 census, Muslims in Bulgaria are divided into the following ethnicities: Turks with 447,893 respondents, or 88.1% of all ethnic Turks, ethnic Bulgarians with 107,777 respondents, or 2.1% of all ethnic Bulgarians and ethnic Romani with 45,817 respondents, or 17.2 of all ethnic Romani. The reason for this difference is mostly because of ethnicity: most Muslims in Bulgaria are Turks and Roma (and to a much lesser extent ethnic Bulgarians) and those ethnic groups live mainly in rural areas; they have different reproductive traditions and they have a younger age structure compared to the ethnic Bulgarians which leads to higher fertility and birth rates. Multiple studies, including work by IMIR, have concluded that Salafi and Islamist ideology disproportionately affect the Roma Muslim community due to the community’s low economic and educational standing compared to mainstream Bulgarian society. In Ancient Egyptian culture, the Pharaoh was the source of all power in society. When the Nazis rose to power in 1933, there was an unemployment crisis with over six million people unemployed. Still, it can be difficult to find the right verses that will remind you of the power in trusting God.
During his visit, Raykov stated that Muslims were an integral part of the nation and promised “the wounds of the past will not be exploited.” Officially, the Bulgarian Muslim community is called the Мюсюлманско изповедание (Muslim Denomination). For example: Bulgaria had a total birth rate of 10.5‰ in 1992 while Muslims formed about 13 percent of the total population. In November 2014, several homes were raided in the Roma village of Izgrev of the Pazardzhik Province in southern Bulgaria. In October 2014, the Muftiate launched a campaign during Eid al-Adha to donate packages of meat 30,000 families of any religion. In March 2014, one of the imams named Ahmed Musa Ahmed, was found guilty and sentenced to one year in prison. The event was honoured by the Chief Mufti, the Head of the Supreme Muslim Council Shabanali Ahmed, diplomats from the Turkish Embassy in Sofia and other distinguished guests. The same year, the Chief Muftiate organized campaigns to help provide food and shelter to Syrian refugees.