The Muslims in Bulgaria are facing persecution campaigns

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - “Islam Online” website mentioned that a wave of ethnic and religious acts of violence broke out in Bulgaria in the period that preceded the presidential elections that were held on October 23, 2011, where some citizens attacked racial minorities and Muslims and broke into the mosques in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, and its second largest city, Plovdiv.  Earlier, a number of Bulgarian political symbols and citizens gathered to denounce the brutal attacks against Banya Bashi Mosque, one of the historical mosques in the country that is located outside the borders of the capital. The attack came after a violent demonstration held by the supporters of the extremist rightist “Ataka” party, protesting on broadcasting the Adhan [for the prayer] through speakers, knowing that the demonstrators ended up setting the mosque’s carpets on fire and throwing stones at the prayer attendants.Commenting on these events, Dr. Mustapha Haji, the Mufti of Bulgaria and the Head of the Muslim community there, confirmed to “The National” newspaper that “these events were absolutely not expected, and that they created a state of anxiety within the Islamic and Christian arenas that have never witnessed such wickedness before.”In spite of the radical discourse promoted by the extremist rightist “Ataka” party, the act of burning the mosque and attacking the prayer attendants did not achieve any of the goals aspired by the radical rightist currents, for many political symbols and the civil society institutions, in addition to millions of Bulgarian citizens, conclusively rejected the attempts to incite confessional and religious sensitivities that could result in the country’s disruption.His Eminence, the innovative Religious Authority, Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlullah (ra), says: “Dear loved ones, when we face our reality, we find out that an international war is waged against Islam and Muslims under the titles of Islamic “terrorism”, Islamic “extremism” and Islamic “radicalism”. Let the people know that we are not radical in the western sense of radicalism which means to cancel the other and not to recognize him; whereas, Islam actually recognized the People of the Book, coexisted with them and did not cancel them…We are not extremists, but committed, and there exists quite a difference between extremism that oversteps the natural limits of things and commitment that insists on the nature of things. We are not fanatic, but open-minded, for we call for dialogue and debating with the word that is best. We might be weak in certain positions, but we, as a nation, enjoy many points of strength and all we ought to do is organize them bring them together and render them active in the world…The battle between the arrogant and the downtrodden goes way back in time, and we ought to prepare ourselves for this battle in a civilized manner; i.e. in an Islamic way; thus, beware of all the methods used to derail you from the line of reasoning and balance…/129