Bulgarian Muslims in the Years of Transition. Political Aspects
Bulgarian Muslims in the Years of Transition. Political Aspects

Summary/Abstract: The article examines the constitutional rights and political representation of Muslims in Bulgaria, the main part of whom consists of Bulgarian Turks and to a lesser extent – Bulgarian Muslims and Roma Muslims. After a historical overview of the issue in the modern Bulgarian state, the author turns his attention to the period of post-1989 transition in which, for the first time in Bulgarian political history, Bulgarian Turks and Muslims formed their own party. Although the 1991 Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria constitution excluded the granting of collective political rights to religious and ethnic groups, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms was registered and participated in parliamentary and local elections. Its appearance and establishment in political life was explained by the need to overcome the consequences of the so-called Revival Process (forced renaming) and to prevent escalation of ethnic tensions in the country. The MRF became an integral part of the Bulgarian party-political system, and the Muslims as well as the other ethnic and religious communities – part of the modern Bulgarian nation – maintained ethnic peace and built the image of a democratic Bulgaria.

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