Associate Professor Doctor Simeon Evstatiev: Bulgaria will be a road for Muslim emigration to Europe

http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=f1280
22 February 2007 | 21:14 | Focus News Agency

Arab scholar Associate Professor Doctor Simeon Evstatiev in an interview for Focus News Agency.

Focus: Associate Professor Evstatiev, in an operation the ChiefDirectorate ‘Combating Organized Crime’ busted two radical Islamistsites spreading holy jihad and an establishment of a new social systemin Bulgaria – caliphate. Do you think such ideas are dangerous and arethere conditions for them in Bulgaria?
Simeon Evstatiev: I have always thought there are not seriousconditions for radical Islam in Bulgaria. If these signals turn out tobe true, this will be a reason for intensifying caution and worry. Forme the incident is surprising because I have been engaged in Islam formany years and I know Bulgarian Muslims. I hear the Union of BulgarianMuslims has also been brought in. The Union’s initially announced goalswere legitimate. That is why I think experts should examine the contentof the sites because what we have to find out is whether these sitesencourage religious intolerance and violation of social order. If theydo, the people responsible should be punished according to the law.

Focus: Recently the Islamic sect ‘Ahmadiyya’ was denied aregistration in the Bulgarian town of Blagoevgrad. In Germany there isa large number of Ahmadis and their sect is not banned in the country.Why is there such a difference in the understanding of radical sects?
Simeon Evstatiev: I think denying a registration is just movingthe problem into the future. Ahmadis are a sect indeed because theydiverge greatly from orthodox Islam but at the same time they areneither an extremist sect, nor a sect that encourages radical actionsand violence. Their doctrine deviates from the mainstream Islam. Ipersonally do not see a reason for banning Ahmadis. They are not aproblem – in London, for example, Ahmadis are very much respected.There is a misunderstanding – it’s high time Ahmadis were separatedfrom radicalism. They are not dangerous.

Focus: So Bulgarians are a bit afraid of different religious ideology?
Simeon Evstatiev: Yes, they are. Bulgarians are conservative.Actually we can put Protestants in the above group as well, evenclassic Protestants. In the years of transition they were labeled asect. Bulgarians should learn to be more flexible and open whensticking a label but also careful when assessing new Christian andIslam movements.

Focus: It is claimed the sites are spreading Al-Qaeda ideology? What kind of ideology is this?
Simeon Evstatiev: I cannot say there is an ideology typical ofAl-Qaeda. What they have as an ideology is something every Muslim cansay to a certain degree because Al-Qaeda uses separate statements fromthe classic Islam. So it does not have a homogeneous ideology as MuslimBrothers do. They are already part of the political life in Egypt andthey have a clear and concrete ideology that depends not only on commonIslam principles but also on certain historical moments in therespective countries. Whereas Al-Qaeda is a global organization, whichselectively takes classic Islam statements that are consideredlegitimate by all Muslims. What makes Al-Qaeda different is that it isspreading radical violence towards the western world.

Focus: Do you think there is a security threat for Bulgaria?
Simeon Evstatiev: For the time being I do not think there issuch a threat. However in a time when Bulgaria is integrating into theEU and global processes affect the country, and Bulgarian Muslims inparticular, more deeply there could be a potential medium-term threatto Bulgaria’s security. We should not forget that when we become partof a greater community we are attractive to Muslims from othercountries and the road for Muslim emigration to the west will crossBulgaria. New emigrants will settle here, which was the case in Hungaryand the Czech Republic. What is more, in Bulgaria over 12 % aretraditional Muslims, which means the challenge for Bulgarianinstitutions is how not to make Muslims susceptible to dangerousinfluences. And of course another challenge is working out a nationalstrategy for integrating Muslims in Bulgaria.
Galina GIRGINOVA