Muslims marked the 106^th anniversary of the forced baptism and the massacre in the village of Zhizhevo

 „They came, gathered the people together and asked them: “Whoa! Why don`tyouget baptized, this and that…!” “Please, have mercy!” – We were crying and begging and falling down on our knees. – Don`t touch our faith!

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At least the rebels began at one point to bring us outside the mosque two by two and to drag us to the house of Feyzi Chaush. A big house. There they started to beat us in the rooms upstairs and then they threw us beaten up in the basements.Beating, beating… And crying, and beating, grievous affliction...Someone’s hand broken, other’s leg, third’s head - moaning and dying over there,poor one. Then the rebels again began to bring the people out of the basements to the rooms upstairs, again two by two. And whosoever went he did never come back. We could only hear him crying ‘Ooooh!’ and then silence. And we, neither alive, nor dead, were listening downstairs. At one point blood began oozing from the ceiling boards… It was clear to us.  Not good! A slaughter upstairs! They filled one room with slaughtered people, and then began second and third… A big house… So it was my turnto go upstairs and be slaughtered… Then the butcherlooked at me, seeing that I am very young, and asked me if I am married. I lied to him; I said that I am not. “You tellin'the truth?!“ “The truth!” They let me go then and I run…

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How many people, how many children died in this cold winter – only Allah knows.

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  Since then and even today the ruins of the houses in our Zhizhevo are more than the houses themselves. The people decreased at all. Since then our vineyards is heath and our property is heath… It’s like that, boy, it was bad time, ugly…May it be never again!...”

 (From the travel book  „Вдън гората Дикчам“  (1960) of Georgi Bozhinov;  the excerpt describes a conversation between the author and an old man named Islam from Zhizhevo, which took place during their meeting 50 years after the tragic events in the village) 

For another year the Muslims from the village of Zhizhevo, Blagoevgrad region, marked the anniversary of the tragic events in the village during 1913. This year’s commemorative event included a program, dua (supplication) for the shuhada (martyrs), who lost their life in the so called “krastilka” (forced baptism) 106 years ago, and also a qurban provided by the inhabitants of the village.

Among the official guests of the ceremony were the Regional Mufti of Blagoevgrad Aydan Mohamed and the Regional Mufti of Pazardzhik Salih Abdullah. There were also employees from the two regional mufti’s offices, imams and residents from the district.

The official guests Mohamed and Abdullah had the opportunity to take part in the commemorative program by delivering a lecture on the attitude and the reaction of the Muslims in difficult crisis points such as the “krastilkata” in Zhizhevo a century ago. A forced baptism of the Muslims and changing of their names to Bulgarian ones took place then, and after their resistance, more than 250 boys and men were slaughtered in the village on February 17, 1913.

Author: L. Chausheva