Volen Siderov, leader of the fascist party Ataka, addresses supporters in PazardzhikHundreds of nationalists rallied in a southern Bulgarian town on Monday in support of the prosecution of 13 religious leaders accused of spreading radical Islam in a case causing communal strains in the Balkan country.

The trial, just months after a suicide bomber killed five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian driver at the Black Sea port of Burgas, has tested a delicate ethnic balance between the country's minority Muslims and its Orthodox Christian majority.

Prosecutors in the southern town of Pazardzhik have charged 12 Bulgarian citizens, most of them Muslim prayer leaders, and one woman for preaching radical Islam between 2008 and 2010. Three of them are also charged with inciting religious hatred.

Protesters, led by far-right parties Attack and VMRO, waved banners reading "Our religion is Bulgaria" and "Tough sentences for fanatics", and said the march aimed to counter gatherings of Muslims in front of the courthouse in support of the accused.

The suspects, who deny any wrongdoing, face up to five years in prison if convicted. They are accused of working with an unregistered branch of Al Waqf-Al Islami, an Islamic foundation set up in the Netherlands and funded mainly by "Salafi circles" from Saudi Arabia, the court said, referring to an ultra-conservative brand of Islam.

About 100 Muslims also rallied near the court under heavy police protection in support of the accused, saying the 13 had preached only traditional Islam. Bulgaria's Mufti Office has also declared its support for the accused.

The trial has the potential to threaten a culture of tolerance in Bulgaria, where Muslims make up about 12 percent of the 7.3 million population, analysts said.

Bulgaria is the only European Union (EU) country where Muslims are not recent immigrants but a centuries-old local community, mostly ethnic Turkish descendants of Ottoman rule that ended in 1878.

"Trials like this could dramatically raise tension in the places where Bulgarian Muslims live," said Antonina Zhelyazkova, head of the Sofia-based International Center for Minority Studies.

The trial has revived memories of the 1980s when hundreds of Muslims were forced to change their names to Bulgarian ones and over 300,000 left the country as a result of a campaign by late communist dictator Todor Zhivkov to revive mainstream Bulgarian culture.

Nationalist parties are also trying to use the trial to gain popularity before a general election next year, analysts said.

Reuters, 29 October 2012

See also "Divided Bulgarian xenophobes stage anti-Muslim protests", Novinite, 29 October 2012

Update:  See "Bulgarian Imams' trial resumes", Press TV, 29 October 2012

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Bulgarian xenophobic party Ataka (Attack) wants the Parliament to pass a moratorium on the construction of mosques in the country.

In a statement sent to the media, the marginal ultra-nationalist formation has reminded that Bulgaria has the highest number of mosques per capita in Europe.

"Let us follow the example of democratic Switzerland, where there is a ban on the construction of new mosques," the party says.

Referring to the "radical Islam" trial recently launched in the town of Pazardzhik, Ataka states that Islamists have been active in the country since 2008.

The party further claims that the ruling centrist-right GERB would "side with Islamism and terrorism" if it does not endorse the moratorium on mosques.

Ataka has also bashed Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov over visiting Ankara, pointing out that Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan "is an Islamist."

In May 2011, Ataka supporters shocked Bulgaria, as the party's rally protesting against the use of loudspeakers by the Banya Bashi mosque in downtown Sofia got out of hand and its activists assaulted praying Muslims in front of the mosque.

Novinite, 1 October 2012

The Swiss ban is of course on the construction of minarets, not mosques as such.

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Volen Siderov heads an Ataka protest against the Banya Bashi mosque in May 2011Two Bulgarian far-right nationalist parties – Ataka (Attack) and VMRO – staged Thursday the latest protest against the volume of the loudspeakers of Sofia's Banya Bashi mosque.

About 100 activists and supporters of the parties gathered across the building of the City Hall in downtown Sofia under the sounds of patriotic songs. 

The municipal counselor from VMRO, Angel Dzhambazki, addressed the rally, saying the noise during the Friday Muslim prayer is challenging tolerance and public order.

Ataka leader, Volen Siderov, noted that there is a petition, launched as early as 2006, already having over 30,000 signatures against the loud noise. He appealed to the City Hall to adhere to the public order decree.

Ataka have also sent an open letter to the City Hall asking for a ban to use the space outside the mosque for religious rites.

"For centuries Sofia is a symbol of religious and social tolerance, and we must preserve this. We should avoid PR actions with the goal of gaining political dividends based on controversy. If there is a violation of public order, measures will be undertaken," Mayor of Sofia, Yordanka Fandakova, stated.

Fandkova reminded that after receiving information about the noise last year, she ordered a probe, and the loudspeakers were turned down. "After that I have not gotten any new reports about the sound violating public order," said the Mayor.

In May 2011, nationalist supporters shocked Bulgaria, as its rally protesting against the use of loudspeakers by the Banya Bashi mosque got out of hand and its activists assaulted praying Muslims in front of the mosque.

The Banya Bashi mosque in downtown Sofia is a part of the city's unique "triangle of tolerance", encompassing also the St Nedelya Church, and the Sofia Synagogue are located within metres of each other in the very centre of the city.

Recently, Bulgaria's Deputy Chief Mufti, Murat Pingov, renewed calls for the construction of a second mosque in the capital.

Novinite, 14 June 2012

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