By Krzysztof Popek, Ph.D
The year 1878 was crucial for the history of the Bulgarian lands. The collapse of the Ottoman rule created new political and social circumstances for Bulgarians, the other ethnoreligious groups as well. The second biggest community of the Bulgarian lands was Muslims. The changes were not only linked to decreasing of their number, mostly because of the migration processes (in 1881, 26% of the country’s population was Muslim, in 1910 – 14%), also the Islamic community’s social structure was deeply modified. Without the state administration, which was strictly connected with the Islamic religious organization, the functioning of the Muslim elite faced a completely new reality.
Ömer Turan claimed that after the Liberation of Bulgaria, the Muslim minority without the elite became “a body without a head”. In 1879–1949, about 80% of the Muslim population of Bulgaria were small farmers, about 19% lived in cities and worked as small craftsmen, and only about 1% had a chance to make a career. During the War of 1877–1878, Muslims massively escaped from the Bulgarian cities and concentrated in the countryside, as Bulgarians after the Turkish conquest. In 1878, about 4% of Muslims in Bulgaria could write and read (among Bulgarians, it was 32%), in 1905, 3,8% of Muslims were literate (Bulgarians – 47%). That tendency had not being changed in the following years. The Muslim peasant society produced food for their own needs and was economically isolated in their communes. The lack of the elite had a crucial impact on the delayed development of the press and educational system, low political and social activity, strengthening of the religious conservatism, and aversion to the changes among the minority’s representatives.
The Muslim elite played some political role in Bulgaria as parliament members. However, they were probably the most passive element in the Bulgarian National Assembly, well known as blind supporters of the government and the monarchs. During the 19th and 20th century, there was no Muslim minority’s program, the Muslims politicians were divided between the Bulgarian political parties. They could be compared to the most conservative and loyal to Turkey Bulgarian chorbadjis and the role, which they played in the Bulgarian political life during the Revival. Conflicted Muslims became a harmless element in the reality of the Bulgarian policy at the beginning of the 20th century. They focused on differences and quarrels. Personal interests became more important than the fight for the rights of their minority. In result, the Muslims could not demonstrate unity in front of the Bulgarian authorities.
On the other hand, the weakness of the Muslim minority’s elite in Bulgaria could have also the bright side. The Bulgarian minority policy towards Muslims after half of the 1880s was quite liberal. Perhaps, if the Muslim community in Bulgaria were better organized, the authorities in Sofia could see them as a danger and pursue a more repressive policy. Muslims were recognized as a harmless element by the Bulgarian politicians, who preferred to ignore their presence in Bulgaria.