Idiosyncratic Identity of Muslim Turks and the Romani of Bulgaria: Rethinking Human Security through the prism of Self-Governing Rights
Idiosyncratic Identity of Muslim Turks and the Romani of Bulgaria: Rethinking Human Security through the prism of Self-Governing Rights

Author(s): Francesco Trupia
Subject(s): Geography, Regional studies, Governance, Islam studies, Ethnic Minorities Studies, Politics and Identity, Identity of Collectives
Published by: Transnational Press London
Keywords: Bulgaria; Romani; Turks; Muslim Turks; idiosyncratic identity; human security; self-governing rights;
Summary/Abstract: Bulgaria is one of the few countries in the Balkan region without a recent history of bloody ethnic conflict generated or related to interreligious relations. From a historical perspective, the Muslim and Christian communities have been living peacefully side by side despite Bulgarian Muslims’ overall lack of inclusion in current everyday life in the Republic of Bulgaria. However, parallel to a high-level of inequality and marginalization, lack of empowerment, inclusiveness and influence within the political landscape have dominated Bulgarian opinions on autochthonous ethnic minority groups, guiding these opinions toward misconceptions as well as into a “culture of silence” in which policy discussions and conversations related to minority groups are made almost exclusively behind closed doors. In this so-called “century of terrorism” , while the national scenario has recently shown how much human security can go forward due to the “dark zone” under which social groups might be exposed to processes of radicalization, Bulgarian Muslim communities continue to represent a concern in the Bulgarian context.

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