site.btaStudy Finds No Radical Leanings among Bulgarian Muslims

Study Finds No Radical Leanings among Bulgarian Muslims

Sofia, April 6 (BTA) - A study found no radical leanings among Muslims in Bulgaria. Carried out by New Bulgarian University and Alpha Research Agency on financial support from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the study is titled "Muslim Attitudes in Bulgaria: 2011-2016" and was presented Thursday at the BTA Press Club in Sofia.

The survey was conducted in September-October 2016 among 1,200 adult citizens who declared themselves to be Muslims by origin. The general number was based on the people who identified themselves as Muslims in the 2011 census. The survey reflects the existence of the following Muslim subgroups: Sunni Turks, Bulgarian-speaking Muslims, Muslims in ghettos and Alevi (a mystical branch of Islam that is practiced in Turkey and the Balkans).

The danger of individual persons falling under the influence of Islamism, including its extreme forms, cannot be excluded, but that is not maintained by the vast majority of representatives of this community, the survey shows.

The study shows Muslims as being of a generally low social status which brings about a transition from seasonal to permanent family emigration: 8.5 per cent of the respondents say their children have settled abroad permanently with their families, including 20 per cent in Turkey, 10 per cent in Germany, 4 per cent in Belgium and 2 per cent each in the United Kingdom and Spain.

The analysts have also detected coexistence of modernity and tradition, a measure of return to a patriarchal family model, particularly when it comes to divorce, cohabitation, abortion, birth of children out of marriage and the influence of elders on the decisions made by children.

Muslims in Bulgaria have a clear religious identity and this identity is centred on abidance by the rules, including fasting during Ramazan and no consumption of alcohol and pork. 86 per cent think religion is important in their life.

The share of those not abiding by some of the religious rules, however, remains high: 54 per cent do not pray and 41 per cent do not visit the mosque. The number of those who declare to be faithful has dropped by over 5 percentage points (to 87 per cent in 2016) and that of the deeply religious decreased by 8 per cent (to 20 per cent in 2016).

The ghetto inhabitants tend to be more religious, as do the younger generations. A study showed that having spent time abroad is a major factor for being religious.

The researchers also found that the universal standards for good and evil are widely prevalent among Muslims in Bulgaria.

They found that good interpersonal relations with Christians have persisted. 74 per cent say that they have Christian friends. On an inter-community level, however, a trend for certain encapsulation is observed, especially when it comes to study of religion at school.

There is a pronounced preference for a secular State among the Bulgarian Muslims. They firmly rule out the Sheria as an option for solving legal disputes and say that the judicial system should do that.

There is some alienation from politics and the state institution among Muslims but in this respect they are no different from the rest of Bulgarian people.

Bulgarian Muslims declare a high level of disapproval for terrorist organizations and denounce terrorism.

Confidence in Turkey is traditionally high despite a fractional growth of negative assessments. Some of the respondents are critical of President Erdogan but the general approval remains high, at 49 per cent.

Approval for Germany is at 65 per cent; for Russia 52 per cent (2 percentage points growth) against 15 disapproval; and for the United States 17 per cent (against 45 per cent disapproval).

Of the world leaders, the Bulgarian Muslims have highest approval for President Erdogan (49 per cent against 19 per cent disapproval), Chancellor Merkel (45 per cent against 24 per cent) and President Putin (43 per cent against 16 per cent).

Thorsten Geissler of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation said that Muslims, Christians and atheists in Bulgaria have been living peacefully together for centuries and this is a model for the whole of Europe.

According to 67 of Muslims, the relations between Muslims and Christians have remained largely unchanged in recent years and 15 per cent event say that they have improved.

Six per cent see a worsening of relations, which is no cause of concern but is certainly a reason to look into the roots of such opinion, Geissler said.

One good news is that the share of Muslims who denounce terrorism has increased by 6 per cent from 2011 to reach 89 per cent and those who believe that terrorism is justified in certain circumstances has gone down from 1.4 per cent to 1.1 per cent.