During the meeting, the delegation, which included Shabanali Ahmed, chairman of the Bulgarian Supreme Muslim Council, and Remzi Osman, deputy chairman of the parliamentary group involved in the movement of rights and freedom at the Bulgarian National Assembly, discussed the condition of the Muslim community in Bulgaria.
OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu welcomed the grand mufti and reiterated the OIC’s close interest and continued support of Muslim communities in non-OIC countries. During the meeting, the secretary-general expressed his concern at restrictions imposed on the Muslim community to elect their own mufti and the way the country’s Islamic Council is recognized by the government.
Ihsanoglu expressed hope that the Islamic Council would be reconvened with legitimately elected delegates in accordance with relevant laws and traditions as soon as possible to eliminate ambiguities created by the recent conflict.
He also referred to the final communiqué of the annual coordination meeting of the OIC foreign ministers held in New York on Sept. 24. The meeting called on member states to closely monitor the problems encountered by the Muslim community in Bulgaria concerning the usurpation of their right to elect a religious leader.
The meeting strongly emphasized that the induction of Nedim Gencev as the chairman of the Supreme Muslim Council against the will of the Muslim community was unacceptable and constituted a direct violation of minority rights.
Ihsanoglu assured the grand mufti that the OIC would continue to closely follow developments and undertake necessary consultations with the OIC institutions and member states.
The delegation also met with Abdullah A. Alim, assistant secretary-general for political affairs, and Talal A. Daous, director of the department of Muslim communities and minorities at the OIC.
Speaking to Arab News, Osman, who claimed full support from the republic’s Muslim minority community, said he sought support from both the IDB and the OIC, especially its Islamic Solidarity Fund, for its projects that include health and education programs as well as new mosque projects.
The country, with a population of seven million, has 1.5 million Muslims, 95 percent of them of Turkish origin. The country has several hundred mosques, three imam-training colleges and a university-level Islamic school. In addition, 600 Qur’anic courses are conducted every summer.
“Bulgaria, a member of the European Union, does not treat its Christians and Muslims equally. Most of the Bulgarian Waqf bodies have been nationalized and mosque lands are being illegally confiscated,” the grand mufti said.
“When a new mosque is proposed for construction, the community is labeled fundamentalist. At least 130 of the 1,430 mosques in the country have been closed for no valid reason,” he said, adding that anti-Islamic policies are very much in vogue.
