The Bulgarian Muslims or Muslim Bulgarians ( bg, Българи-мохамедани, ''Bǎlgari-mohamedani'', as of recently also Българи-мюсюлмани, ''Bǎlgari-mjusjulmani'', locally called ''
Pomak
Pomaks ( bg, Помаци, Pomatsi; el, Πομάκοι, Pomáki; tr, Pomaklar) are Bulgarian-speaking Muslims inhabiting northwestern Turkey, Bulgaria and northeastern Greece. The c. 220,000 strong ethno-confessional minority in Bulgaria is ...
'', ''ahryan'', ''poganets'', ''marvak'', or ''
poturnak'') are
Bulgarians
Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe.
Etymology
Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely unders ...
of the
Islamic faith.
They are generally thought to be the descendants of the local
Slavs who converted to Islam during
Ottoman rule. Most scholars have agreed that the Bulgarian Muslims are a "
religious group of Bulgarian Slavs who speak
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
as their
mother tongue and do not understand
Turkish, but whose religion and customs are
Islamic". Bulgarian Muslims live mostly in the
Rhodopes
The Rhodopes (; bg, Родопи, ; el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodopi''; tr, Rodoplar) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in ...
–
Smolyan Province, the southern part of the
Pazardzhik
Pazardzhik ( bg, Пазарджик ) is a city situated along the banks of the Maritsa river, southern Bulgaria. It is the capital of Pazardzhik Province and centre for the homonymous Pazardzhik Municipality.
The Tatars founded Pazardzhik i ...
and
Kardzhali Province
Kardzhali Province ( bg, Област Кърджали, Oblast Kărdžali, tr, Kırcaali ili) is a province of southern Bulgaria, neighbouring Greece with the Greek regional units of Xanthi, Rhodope, and Evros to the south and east. It is 320 ...
s and the eastern part of the
Blagoevgrad Province in Southern
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
. They also live in a group of villages in the
Lovech Province
Lovech Province ( bg, Област Ловеч, translit=Oblast Lovech, former name Lovech okrug) is one of the 28 provinces of Bulgaria, lying at the northern centre of the country. It is named after its main city - Lovech. As of December 200 ...
in Northern Bulgaria. The name ''
Pomak
Pomaks ( bg, Помаци, Pomatsi; el, Πομάκοι, Pomáki; tr, Pomaklar) are Bulgarian-speaking Muslims inhabiting northwestern Turkey, Bulgaria and northeastern Greece. The c. 220,000 strong ethno-confessional minority in Bulgaria is ...
'' is pejorative in Bulgarian and is resented by most members of the community, The name adopted and used instead of Pomak is ''Bulgarian Muslims''.
Bulgarian Muslims do not represent a homogenous community and have a multitude of ethnic and religious identities. A clear majority of them (127,350 according to the latest census in 2001) declare themselves to be ethnic Bulgarians of Islamic faith. However, a significant percentage, in particular in the Central and Eastern Rhodopes (the
Smolyan and
Kardzhali Province
Kardzhali Province ( bg, Област Кърджали, Oblast Kărdžali, tr, Kırcaali ili) is a province of southern Bulgaria, neighbouring Greece with the Greek regional units of Xanthi, Rhodope, and Evros to the south and east. It is 320 ...
) are strongly religious and have preserved the
Muslim name system, customs and clothing, the Smolyan Province, which is largely populated by Bulgarian Muslims (approximately 117,000 or 71% of the population according to the Ministry of Interior in 1989
), According to the 2001 census, 43 municipalities out of 262 have a Muslim majority. There were five municipalities with a Muslim population over 90 percent:
Chernoochene
Chernoochene ( bg, Черноочене, ); is a village in central southern Bulgaria, part of Kardzhali Province
Kardzhali Province ( bg, Област Кърджали, Oblast Kărdžali, tr, Kırcaali ili) is a province of southern Bulgari ...
(96.8 percent) has the highest share of Muslims, followed by
Venets (95.9 percent),
Satovcha
Satovcha ( bg, Сатовча, old version: ''Satovitsa'', ''Svatovitsa'') is a village in Southwestern Bulgaria. It is the administrative center of the Satovcha Municipality in Blagoevgrad Province.
Geography
The village of Satovcha is locate ...
(91.3 percent),
Ruen
Ruen ( bg, Руен, ; tr, Ulanlı) is a village in southeastern Bulgaria, part of Burgas Province. It is the administrative centre of Ruen municipality, which lies in the northern part of Burgas Province.
Municipality
Ruen municipality include ...
(90.9 percent) and
Kaolinovo
Kaolinovo ( bg, Каолиново, ) is a town in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Shumen Province. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Kaolinovo Municipality, which lies in the northern part of Shumen Province. As of December 2009, ...
(90.0 percent)(122,806 or 87.7%
) and that only 58,758 people or 41.9% of the population of the province declared to profess
Islam in 2001.
Muslims in Bulgaria have slightly better demographic indicators compared to the Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria. The reason for this difference is mostly because of ethnicity most Muslims in Bulgaria have different reproductive traditions and they have a younger age structure compared to the ethnic Bulgarians which leads to higher fertility and birth rates. In provinces with large Muslim concentrations, birth rates are a little bit higher while death rates are lower than the country average. For example: Bulgaria had a total birth rate of 10.5‰ in 1992 while Muslims formed about 13 percent of the total population. However, in provinces with large Muslim populations the birth rate ranged from in 11.0‰ in Smolyan and 11.6‰ in Silistra to 13.1‰ in Razgrad (>50 percent Muslim) and 14.7‰ in Kardzhali (about 70 percent Muslim).
A small number of Bulgarian Muslims less than 50, from the Central and Eastern Rhodopes, have converted into
Orthodox Christianity
Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion.
Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Chur ...
or have adopted a Christian identity since 1990.
The use of Bulgarian names among Muslims is common. For example, only one-third of the Muslim Bulgarian population of the region of
Kirkovo Kirkovo ( bg, Кирково) is a village in Kardzhali Province, southern Bulgaria, near the Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a br ...
, mostly people aged over 60, have Turkish or
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
names.
Unlike the Bulgarian Muslims in the Central and Eastern Rhodopes, who usually have a Bulgarian identity, the ones living on the western fringes of the
Rhodopes
The Rhodopes (; bg, Родопи, ; el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodopi''; tr, Rodoplar) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in ...
(in the provinces of
Pazardzhik
Pazardzhik ( bg, Пазарджик ) is a city situated along the banks of the Maritsa river, southern Bulgaria. It is the capital of Pazardzhik Province and centre for the homonymous Pazardzhik Municipality.
The Tatars founded Pazardzhik i ...
and
Blagoevgrad
Blagoevgrad ( bg, Благоевград ) is а town in Southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Municipality and of Blagoevgrad Province. With a population of almost inhabitants, it is the economic and cultural centre ...
) largely Identify as Turkish. For example, out of 62,431 self-declared Muslims in the
Blagoevgrad Province in 2001,
31,857
(more than half) have opted for Turkish ethnicity although the self-declared speakers of Turkish as a mother tongue are only 19,819.
Considering that mother tongue in the Bulgarian census is counted on the basis of a declaration of the respondent and not on actual proof of what language this person speaks at home and that an inquiry of the Ministry of the Interior in 1989 gave only 3,689 ethnic Turks and 56,191 Pomaks for the
Blagoevgrad Province, it is highly likely that the vast majority of the Turks in the province are actually Pomaks. A similar phenomenon exists in the
Pazardzhik Province
Pazardzhik Province ( bg, Област Пазарджик ''Oblast Pazardzhik'', former name Pazardzhik okrug) is a province in Southern Bulgaria, named after its administrative and industrial centre - the city of Pazardzhik. The territory is ...
where there may be between 10,000 and 15,000 Pomaks.
Almost 64% of Muslims in Bulgaria that are ethnically Turks live in Kardzhali, Razgrad, Targovishte, Shumen, Silistra, Dobrich Ruse, and Burgas. They live mostly in rural settlements. Muslims in Bulgaria that are ethnically Roma mainly live in
Shumen,
Sliven
Sliven ( bg, Сливен ) is the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality in Northern Thrace.
Sliven is famous for its heroic Haiduts who fought against the Ottoman Turk ...
,
Dobrich,
Targovishte
Targovishte ( bg, Търговище, also transliterated ''Tǎrgovište'', , tr, Eski Cuma) is a city in Bulgaria, the administrative and economic capital of Targovishte Province.
It is situated at the northern foot of the low mountain of ...
,
Pazardzhik
Pazardzhik ( bg, Пазарджик ) is a city situated along the banks of the Maritsa river, southern Bulgaria. It is the capital of Pazardzhik Province and centre for the homonymous Pazardzhik Municipality.
The Tatars founded Pazardzhik i ...
and
Silistra. Pomak Muslims mainly live around the Rhodope Mountains, especially in the province
Smolyan and the municipalities of
Satovcha
Satovcha ( bg, Сатовча, old version: ''Satovitsa'', ''Svatovitsa'') is a village in Southwestern Bulgaria. It is the administrative center of the Satovcha Municipality in Blagoevgrad Province.
Geography
The village of Satovcha is locate ...
,
Yakoruda
Yakoruda ( bg, Якоруда ) is a Bulgarian town located in the southwestern part of the country. A part of the Blagoevgrad Province, it is the seat of Yakuroda Municipality which is the north-easternmost in the province. The town lies in the ...
,
Belitsa,
Garmen
Garmen ( bg, Гърмен) is a village in Blagoevgrad Province in Bulgaria and is the seat of Garmen Municipality. It is located in southwestern Bulgaria in the Western Rhodope Mountains in the Chech region 75 kilometers southeast of Blagoevgr ...
,
Gotse Delchev
Georgi Nikolov Delchev ( Bulgarian/ Macedonian: Георги/Ѓорѓи Николов Делчев; 4 February 1872 – 4 May 1903), known as Gotse Delchev or Goce Delčev (''Гоце Делчев'', originally spelled in older Bulgar ...
,
Ardino,
Krumovgrad,
Kirkovo Kirkovo ( bg, Кирково) is a village in Kardzhali Province, southern Bulgaria, near the Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a br ...
and
Velingrad
Velingrad ( bg, Велинград ) is a town in Pazardzhik Province, Southern Bulgaria, located at the western end of Chepino Valley, part of the Rhodope Mountains. It is the administrative center of the homonymous Velingrad Municipality a ...
.
A large part of the population in those areas did not respond to the census questions which makes it difficult to calculate the exact number of Pomaks. In the municipality of Dospat for example, only 4746 people out of 9116 answered the question on their religion and in the municipality of Satovcha only 9562 out of 15444 people did so. Tatar Muslims live in northeastern Bulgaria and the small Arab diaspora is based mainly in the capital, Sofia.
Finally, there are those Bulgarian Muslims who have chosen not to declare their ethnicity in the 2001 Census . The percentage of undeclared in the
Smolyan Province (9,696 or 6.9%), the
Kardzhali Province
Kardzhali Province ( bg, Област Кърджали, Oblast Kărdžali, tr, Kırcaali ili) is a province of southern Bulgaria, neighbouring Greece with the Greek regional units of Xanthi, Rhodope, and Evros to the south and east. It is 320 ...
(4,565 or 2.8%) and the
Blagoevgrad Province (4,242 or 1.2%) is well above the national average of 0.8%.
These are most likely to be Muslim Bulgarians who would have opted for another ethnicity, for example "Pomak" or "Muslim", if these were allowed as answers at the census or are unclear themselves about their own ethnic identity.
Due to the multitude of different ethnic and religious identities of the Muslim Bulgarians, it is extremely difficult to calculate the exact number of the members of the community in Bulgaria. An inquiry conducted by the Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior in 1989 estimated their number at 269,000.
A summation of the different groups with different ethnic identities (approximately 130,000 Muslim Bulgarians, approximately 55,000-65,000 Bulgarians, up to 50,000 Muslim Turks, 15,000 to 20,000 undeclared) yields approximately the same number. Despite the multitude of different ethnic the predominant ethnic identity would be Bulgarian (approximately 200,000 or three-quarters of the total population) and the predominant religious identity would be Muslim.
Muslim Bulgarians in the
Rhodopes
The Rhodopes (; bg, Родопи, ; el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodopi''; tr, Rodoplar) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in ...
speak a variety of archaic
Bulgarian dialects
Bulgarian dialects are the nonstandard dialect, regional varieties of the Bulgarian language, a South Slavic language. Bulgarian dialectology dates to the 1830s and the pioneering work of Neofit Rilski, ''Bolgarska gramatika' ...
. Under the
influence of mass media
In media studies, mass communication, media psychology, communication theory, and sociology, media influence and the media effect are topics relating to mass media and media culture's effects on individual or an audience's thoughts, attitudes, and ...
and school education, the dialects have been almost completely unified with standard Bulgarian among Muslim Bulgarians living in
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
.
See also
*
Islam in Bulgaria
Islam in Bulgaria is a minority religion and the second largest religion in the country after Christianity. According to the 2021 Census, the total number of Muslims in Bulgaria stood at 638,708
*
Pomaks
Pomaks ( bg, Помаци, Pomatsi; el, Πομάκοι, Pomáki; tr, Pomaklar) are Bulgarian-speaking Muslims inhabiting northwestern Turkey, Bulgaria and northeastern Greece. The c. 220,000 strong ethno-confessional minority in Bulgaria is ...
*
Torbesh
*
Greek Muslims
Greek Muslims, also known as Grecophone Muslims, are Muslims of Greek ethnic origin whose adoption of Islam (and often the Turkish language and identity) dates to the period of Ottoman rule in the southern Balkans. They consist primarily of th ...
*
Cheveneburi
Georgians in Turkey ( ka, ქართველები თურქეთში) refers to citizens and denizens of Turkey who are, or descend from, ethnic Georgians.
Numbers and distribution
In the census of 1965, those who spoke Georgian ...
*
Lazs
*
Hamshenis
,
, native_name_lang =
, image =
, caption = Hamshen people by country
, population = 150,000 – 200,000
, popplace =
, regions =
, region1 =
, pop1 = 150,000
, ref1 ...
Notes
References
*
*
{{European Muslims
Society of Bulgaria
Muslim communities in Europe
Pomaks
bg:Помаци
de:Pomaken
pt:Búlgaros muçulmanos
sv:Muslimska bulgarer
tr:Pomaklar