DECLARATION

of the Muslim Denomination with regard to the change of the toponyms in the municipality of Stara Zagora

The periodic attempts of the local authorities to replace the geographical names with Muslim-Turkish terms or association by Bulgarian ones are a reason for serious concern among the Muslim community in Bulgaria.

In May 2018 the Municipal Council of Stara Zagora decided to resume its work related to the renaming of the Turkish-Arabic toponyms on the territory of the municipality through the temporary commission established for the elaboration of a strategy for changing the foreign names of localities and sites on the municipality with Bulgarian ones.

Some of the members of the commission stated during the debates and to the media that the names of the localities are not modern and European, and they have also lost their technical, historical and moral significance for the citizens, and are also not consistent with the contemporary reality and with the principles of the Bulgarian name system, as well as that it is difficult to pronounce them and theydo not sound modern.

It was also stated that according to Decree № 1315 from 1975 of the State Council which remained in force to this day: “Names have to reflect the richness and the beauty of the Bulgarian language, to be sonorous, understandable, and easy to be pronounced. To inspire asense of dignity and pride”.

These motives are absurd and even ridiculous. The difficult pronunciation of the names is not a reason to change them. We all know that the main motive is other. And it is that the toponyms are Turkish-Arabic and they have to be deleted, there must be nothing that reminds about Islam on the territory of the municipality.

This fact raises serious concerns and it is a violation of the achievements of the acquis in modern Europe and the democratization in Bulgaria, after the troubled times and the “cold war”.

This initiative is a kind of “Revival process”, which this time affects not the names of the people but the names of the sites and the geographical localities. This is a political intrusion into the natural territory of the language and has a negative impact on the religious and ethnic tolerance of the multicultural society in Bulgaria.

Regardless of the religion and ethnicity we all are an equal component of this society. To delete names due to the non-Bulgarian origin of the toponyms and the geographical sites does not suit a country like Bulgaria, which appears in Europe and the World as a multicultural and diverse country and what is more important is that this is a crime against the common way of life. We do believe that there will be a step back from making this mistake.

It is important to note that the most of these geographical sites have never had other names in the history. The names are not also considered as foreign, as the members of the commission state. They have never been foreign – they are ours – Bulgarian, they belong to these lands and our common history for centuries. And exactly these specifics of the toponyms reflect the richness and the beauty of the Bulgarian language.

These attempts of the local councils to adopt contested decisions on historical issues, is a selective reading of the history. This also means denial and attempt to erase the history.

The change of the names shows that the level of racism and intolerance towards everything which is related to Muslims is in very critical values. This process is extremely dangerous and can provoke new dividing line in the society, which still cures its wounds from the so called “Revival process”.

During the last few months this act is the another one which clearly shows that Muslims and Turks in Bulgaria are a threat to country and they are accepted as foreign “elements” despite of the fact that we have been living for centuries side by side and share the same fate.

Such initiatives decrease the trust of the citizens to the state and its institutions. This is an act that impairs the feelings of the Turks and the Muslims; they feel offended, rejected and alienated.

This reminds about the recent past when there was impingedupon the dignity and the identity of people using similar motives which are also used by the municipal councilors at present in the Municipality of Stara Zagora.

Hereby we call upon the Municipal Council of Stara Zagora to abandon the change of the toponyms which are of Turkish-Arabic origin and instead of this to use this energy for a more useful initiative on the territory of the municipality.

We address all Bulgarian institutions to pay serious attention to the current issue, by entering into details in the meaning and the importance of this act and the effects on the history which will be read in the future.

We call upon the civil society and the NGOs also to express their opinion on this serious issue which concerns the past the present and the future.

The Muslims in Bulgaria have always been bona fide, loyal and devoted citizens of their country and do not deserve this behavior. We want to live in our country as equal citizens.

The Muslim Denomination sincerely hopes that the necessary steps to resolve this issue will be undertaken.