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A case study of identity formation among pomaks in bulgaria, greece and turkey
At the intersection of Borders and Ethnicities: A Case Study Of Identity Formation Among The Pomaks in bulgaria, greece and turkey “No Balkan Muslim identity is more contested, more wrapped in multiple intertwining twisted webs of myth and history than the Slavic-speaking Muslims or “Pomaks” of the Southern Balkan range” Mary Neuburger, 2000, p. 68.US State Department 2009 Report on Bulgaria Religious Freedom
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion and prohibits religious discrimination but designates Eastern Orthodox Christianity as the "traditional" religion. Laws executing these provisions are ambiguous, giving scope to arbitrary decisions with respect to public practice of religion by unregistered groups.
Which orthodoxy , whose islam: Journalistic accounts versus scholary analysis
It was with increasing discomfiture that I read the article “'Secular Orthodoxy’ versus ‘Religious Islam’ in Postcommunist Bulgaria” by Daniela Kalkandjieva. It discusses “some problems of Christian-Muslim dialogue in postcommunist Bulgaria”, basing the author’s argument on abundant references to various newspaper publications in Bulgaria for the period 2005-2007. I find particularly problematic the perceived opposition between 'secular' Orthodox Christianity and 'religious' Islam, even when inverted commas are used. It can hardly be justified by reference alone to the higher level of religiosity among the Muslim population than among the Orthodox majority (often affiliated to Orthodoxy mainly by virtue of tradition).
Bulgarian Muslims demand their names back at landmark rally
Bulgarian Muslims demand their names back at landmark rally The easing of repressive rule by Bulgaria’s new leadership brought thousands of the country's minority Muslims on to the streets at the weekend to demand religious and cultural freedoms, and an investigation into alleged atrocities carried out under the recently deposed Zhivkov regime.
Pomaks. History of the Slavic people of the Muslim faith – History and modernity
Slavic Muslim representation in the Balkans is not confined to bosnians, so loudly had become in the early 90’s. last century. For several centuries the territory of Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey inhabits the other Slavic peoples of Muslim faith, calling themselves ahryane and outside the society known as Pomaks.
UNHCR Bulgaria : Bulgarian-speaking Muslims (Pomaks)
Profile Bulgarian-speaking Muslims, commonly known as Pomaks, are most probably descendants of Bulgarian Christians who converted to Islam during the period of Ottoman rule, while retaining the Bulgarian language as well as certain Orthodox practices. Although precise figures are not available in census data, the minority is estimated at about 160,000-240,000 people, dwelling mainly in the Rhodope Mountains.
An introduction to the Pomak Issue in Bulgaria
The Christian-Orthodox faith, or rather, the affiliation to the culture group of Orthodox Christianity constitutes one of the cornerstones of Bulgarian nationality. This deep connection of religion or denomination with nationality, typical of most Balkan nations, stems, historically, from the administrative system of the Ottoman Empire (millet system), which provided for separate administrations of the religious groups living in its territory (see Castellan 1992:118-21; Hösch 1988:97-8; Sugar 1977:273-9). The religious institutions that took over the leadership of an administrative unit acquired considerably more power than they had originally possessed. The autonomy of the respective religious community, foreseen by the millet system, and the expansion of the religious institutions’ jurisdiction provided, on the one hand, the native population with the possibility to preserve their faith and the interrelated life-styles, traditions and memories (not least those of the illustrious medieval empires); on the other hand, they consolidated the distance between the various religious communities so strongly, that the difference in religion became the decisive characteristic of foreignness in the Balkans ...
Pomak wedding celebration in Ribnovo
The brides in Ribnovo don't fit the pearls-and-lace stereotype. They don't wear white dresses, but rather colourful shalvari, or Turkish-style baggy trousers. Their veils are red. And you'd never know if they're blushing, as their faces are covered with a thick layer of white cream and dotted with sequins to create brilliant figures.
