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Book Reviews ∵ Journal of Muslims in Europe 4 (2015) 113-136 brill.com/jome Book Reviews ∵ Anthony Georgief & Dimana Trankova (eds.) The Turks of Bulgaria. History, Traditions, Culture. Sofia: Vagabond Media, 2012. Pp. 187. ISBN 978-954-92306-9-7 Turks in Bulgaria is a richly illustrated book that provides the reader with a great variety of background information about the Muslim minorities in Bulgaria, more specifically those ethnically related to the Turks. The themes of the book, of which half of the pages contain beautiful pictures of the people and their social and cultural environment, range from Bulgaria’s changing relation with the Turkish minority in the country over the past centuries, the historical and ethnic origins of the Turks, their religious characteristics and practices, to food, music and everyday life. They are written primarily to cater to the uninformed reader. Although most of the authors have an academic background and are specialists in the field, they do not engage with the academic debate on minor- ity issues, the position of Muslims in Europe, or the nation-state building. The book is mainly put together as a solid piece of general background informa- tion, but also as a plea to recognise the culture of Muslim minorities in the region and to consider them equal citizens. The theme of the book is indeed a sensitive issue. The history of the Turkish peoples in the Balkan region is connected to the Ottoman Empire that ruled over the region for many centuries. Contemporary minorities with a Turkish background in countries like Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece are often associated with the Ottoman occupation. Currently, there are in Bulgaria approximately 588,000 Turkish people (of a total population of a little over seven million) of which the vast majority is Muslim. According to a considerable number of Bulgarians, the Turkish state is trying to get control over Islamic institutions in the country through the activities of the Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet). It is also stated that the Turkish state has always tried to interfere in the very delicate language policies in the country. Whether this is true or not is less important than the fact that the Turkish minority con- tinues to be a highly sensitive political issue in Bulgaria. Turks in Bulgaria is © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2015 | doi 10.1163/22117954-12341298 114 Book Reviews published to address this issue, not by stating concrete political claims, but by portraying the Turkish people in a reconciling rhetoric combining historical accounts with pictures of everyday life and culture. The introduction by Georgieff captures this theme in a nutshell. Although Bulgaria’s ethnic Turks identify with ethnic Turks elsewhere in the world, notably in Turkey, they consider themselves also Bulgarian citizens. Bulgaria, Georgieff argues, is now the EU member with the largest indigenous Muslim population. These are clear statements not only towards the Bulgarian authori- ties, but also towards the dominant European image to see Islam as something from the outside the continent and strange to its culture. The second chapter by Orlin Sabev addresses the historical background of the presence of Turks in Bulgaria and shows how an anti-Turkish and an anti-Muslim sentiment is inextricably linked with the very idea of the Bulgarian nation as a product of the struggle against the Ottoman domination until independence in 1908. The author argues that this history has complicated relations between Turkish and other citizens of Bulgaria and that a delicate balance can easily be disrupted. This has occurred on several occasions in recent history. The chapter by Dimina Trankova Turkish and Muslim minorities in Bulgaria deals with the ethnic origins of Turkish and other Muslim communities in Bulgaria. Although there is some relevant information in the article, it falls short of a sociological positioning of these different groups in the Bulgarian society. The descriptions remain abstract without any reference to actual situ- ations or practices. The next chapter by Radko Popov, an orthodox theologian, provides an informative historical journey in the relationship between Turkic people and Islam over centuries. For those who consider Islam and Turks a self-evident pair, this article is worth reading. The next five chapters deal with material culture, music, dance, language, food and other expressions of cultural life of the Turkish minority in Bulgaria. They provide an impressionistic picture of the visual presence of this minority population. The information is adequate for those who look for cultural life during their journey through the country, but it remains mainly descriptive with hardly any grounding in a societal or political context. Yet it provides an adequate picture of the cultural habits of the Turkish minority. It demonstrates that Turks have been, historically speaking, an integral part of this region of Europe for ages and it actually shows how problematic it is to draw sharp cul- tural and ethnic boundaries, including when dealing with food or music. The last chapter by Dimina Trankova addresses rather painful events such as the forced migration and the changing of Turkish names that took place in the final years of the Socialist era and are still not yet fully settled. The author shows how these measures were inspired by political motives of Journal of Muslims in Europe 4 (2015) 113-136.
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