Representatives of different ethnicities and religions had coffee of tolerance in Plovdiv for sixth consecutive year 

Exactly six years after the vandal attack towards “Dzhumaya mosque” in Plovdiv, committed on February 14, 2014, representatives of different ethnicities and religions met again to respect the intercultural and inter-faith peace and understanding with a cup of coffee of tolerance.

This year the joint tradition of Regional Mufti’s Office - Plovdiv and Muslim Board of Trustees – Plovdiv entitled “Coffee of Tolerance” which turned into a tradition took place on February 14 in the emblematic “Dzhumaya mosque” in the city center.

The event was attended by a number of official guests, including the Grand Mufti of the Muslims in the Republic of Bulgaria Dr. Mustafa Hadzhi, the Consul General of the Republic of Turkey in Plovdiv Hussein Ergani and the representatives of the local authorities – the Regional Governor of Plovdiv Dani Kanazireva, the Chairman of the Municipal Council – Plovdiv Aleksandar Darzhikov and the Deputy Mayor of Plovdiv in the field of “Culture, Archaeology and Tourism” Plamen Panov. “Coffee of Tolerance” 2020 was also attended by representatives of different regional and municipal administrations in the Republic of Turkey, chairpersons of ethno-religious foundations and associations, as well as by representatives of Bulgarian-Turkish NGOs.

The Grand Mufti Dr. Mustafa Hadzhi welcomed all guests and expressed his satisfaction with the opportunity they all to be together again in the “city of tolerance, neighborhood and love”.

“People of different ethnicities and different religions have been living together in Plovdiv for centuries. There has never been a problem between them and I do believe that from now on we will also continue this tradition – to love and respect each other. The Glorified and Exalted Allah created man in the best of stature and there is a place under the sun for everyone. It is necessary however to understand that love, understanding and neighborhood is what will save humanity and will continue the humankind” – said in his address to the participants in “Coffee of Tolerance” in Plovdiv Dr. Mustafa Hadzhi. He urged us to do our best in order to continue this tradition of understanding, respect, tolerance, mutual assistance and well-being between ethnicities and religions.

The other official guests of the Regional Mufti’s Office – Plovdiv also delivered their addresses in which they expressed their happiness from living in peace and understanding for centuries with representatives of different ethno-religious communities in Plovdiv and expressed their willingness to work for the preservation of these harmonic inter-faith relations in the future as well.

According to the host – the Regional Mufti of Plovdiv Taner Veli, the annual initiative “Coffee of Tolerance” aims to mark the anniversary of the vandal attack towards one of the emblematic religious temples in the city under the hills and at the same time to prove that when the representatives of the different ethno-religious communities are together and live in unity and understanding, they can counteract even the worst attempts to disturb the inter-cultural and inter-religious peace.

‘This traditional coffee is a message for unity – that Plovdiv is the city, known for the peaceful co-existence for centuries between the different ethnicities and religious communities.

We continue to respect the tradition “Coffee of Tolerance” with the feeling of togetherness. This historical monument of a local and national importance, “Dzhumaya mosque”, which is located in the city center bears the mark of the co-existence between Muslims, Christians and Jews.” – said Taner Veli to the highly-respected guests of the event on Friday.

“We, who are present here – in this palette of personalities, who respected “Coffee of Tolerance”, prove that we are more tolerant and understanding the other.” – concluded Veli.

Author: L. Chausheva