30^th anniversary of the reclaim of the names was marked with a number of celebrations and religious programs in Blagoevgrad region

A number of religious celebrations and official events related to the 30^th anniversary of the reclaim of the Turkish-Muslim names were held on December 29 and 30, 2019 on the territory of Regional Mufti’s Office – Blagoevgrad.

The event is known among the local Muslims as Kurtulush Bayram and is annually celebrated in the region of Blagoevgrad.

This year’s commemorative celebrations were much larger due to the anniversary of the fall of the communist regime and the reclaim of the Turkish-Muslim names. They began on December 29 with programs in Lazhnitsa, Breznitsa and in Ablanitsa, and in Ablanitsa was opened a commemorative plate in the memory of all nearly 170 victims who lost their lives in different stages of the forcible changing of the names of the Muslims in the region.

“In some of the settlements in Blagoevgrad region this year Kurtulush Bayram was marked through giving sadaqah (charity) from the local Muslims, in others there were festive programs and celebrations at the squares, and representatives of Grand Mufti’s Office participated with making a dua (supplication)” – commented for Grandmufti.bg the Regional Mufti of Blagoevgrad Aydan Mohamed.

The culmination of the commemorative celebrations in Blagoevgrad region on the occasion of the 30^th anniversary of winning the religious freedom and the reclaim of the mother’s names of the Muslims took place in the mosque of Ribnovo with a festive program. It included participation of the year-round Qur’an course in the village, recitation of Qur’an-i Kerim and hatim dua. Official guests of the celebration were the Grand Mufti of the Muslims in the Republic of Bulgaria Dr. Mustafa Hadzhi, the regional muftis of Pazardzhik and Pleven – Abdullah Salih and Murad Boshank, lecturers from the Higher Islamic Institute, imams, municipal and local mayors and politicians, and others.

“The aim of holding all those events on the 30^th anniversary of the reclaim of the names is, on one hand is to show our satisfaction and gratitude to the Almighty for the won freedom of religion and our right as Muslims to reclaim our Muslim names. On the other hand, the most important thing for the development of the Muslim community is education and exactly the hatims, the reading of the Holy Qur’an and the proper understanding of religion is one of the most important things for this development” – The Regional Mufti of Blagoevgrad Aydan Mohamed commented on the occasion of the held initiatives.

Author: L. Chausheva