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July 26, 2006
Bulgaria: Historic Mosque In Arson Attack
News from Focus and the Sofia News Agency reports that a 15th century mosque in the spa town of Stara Zagora (pictured) has been damaged in an arson attack which took place last night.
The mosque was not severely damaged, but wood and joinery was set on fire and its windows were smashed. Passers-by alerted police of the incident. The town of Stara Zagora is in central Bulgaria, and has existed since the time of the Romans, who exploited its spring water to create lavish baths, and it has a community of Turkish residents.
The deputy of the Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Lyutvi Mestan said: "Any violation against a religious temple, no matter whether it is Muslim, Jew or Christian, is a violation against the moral foundations of the democratic civic society."
In Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, there have been complaints from Bulgarian nationalists about the noise emanating from the loudspeakers of the downtown mosque. The speakers are used in the "ezan" which calls Muslims to prayer three times a day.
On 12 July, the mayor of Sofia, Boyko Borissov, sent a letter to the chief mufti requesting a reduction in the noise levels.
Borissov invoked the Sofia Municipal Council's first decree, which concerns public peace. He said that the mosque had been disturbing citizens living in the area, who had complained.
Hussein Hafazov, the mufti's secretary, said for his part that he had not received the letter. He said that the mosque already showed consideration for non-Muslim citizens by having the prayer-calls only three times a day, rather than the requisite five times.
The Bulgarian nationalists from the party Ataka (Attack) were then gathering signatures to protest against the muezzin's prayers from the mosque, and also criticising a ten-minute news break on state television, which is held in the Turkish language.
Now, members of Ataka say that they have collected a total of 35,00 signatures. During their campaign, hackers invaded the official website of Ataka, and placed Turkish symbols and music on its main page.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at July 26, 2006 9:59 AM
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