Banya Bashi Mosque clashes
Banya Bashi Mosque Clashes | |
---|---|
Location | Sofia |
Date | 21 May 2011 |
Injured | 5 Muslims
1 Far-rights supporter (Denitsa Gadzheva) 5 Policeman |
Perpetrators | ATAKA |
Motive | Anti-Turkish sentiment Islamophobia |
Banya Bashi mosque clashes (
Background
Between 10 July 2007 – 20 May 2011, 45 attacks on Islamic buildings and Muslims were recorded all over Bulgaria, including an attack on four women for wearing hijab and three other separate attacks in which three Muslims (including a child) were injured in Sofia, Dobrich, and Plovdiv.
Previous attacks on Banya Bashi mosque:
- Vandalizing the mosque with hate speech on 20.05.2010;
- Attacking a worshipper and chanting hate slogans on 06.11.2010;
- Playing Christian chants during the sala (this act was led by ATAKA as well)[3] to “noise the terror”[4]
The incident
The events took place just one day after the traditional commemoration of the
It was not the first time in which Siderov led a campaign against the mosque’s loudspeakers. In 2006, he gathered 35,000 signatures for the removal of the device, and another protest against the “howling” was organized, although the noise always has been adjusted to the level of urban noise.
At the very beginning, the ATAKA supporters started to shout “Turkish stooges”, “scum”, “cut-offs”, “off to Ankara”, “your feet stink, that's why you wash them” etc. One supporter cut a fes, a traditional hat, with a knife and said “we shall now show you what will happen to each one of you![4] The Muslims kept their composure while the imam asked all the believers from the loudspeaker not to give in to provocations and to trust the police.[7] During the clashes, the nationalists used wooden flagpoles, metal pipes, eggs, and stones to attack the worshippers, and the last used plastic tubing. Five Muslims and five police officers were injured. Denitsa Gadzheva was the only protestor who was wounded. Her injury was caused by a stone however since the Muslims didn't use stones, it is unknown who was responsible for the wound.[4][8]
Reactions
The incident was criticized by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan .[1] Many Bulgarians brought flowers to the mosque, as an apology for the incident.[9] President Parvanov and the Parliament condemned the incident a few days after the events.[4]
Aftermath
Two weeks later, the municipality reduced the mosque's decibels and prohibited worshiping in its courtyard.[6] However, even after the incident, the attacks on the Muslims did not stop. A few days after the events, on 23.05, Chief Mufti’s office in Sofia was vandalized with swastikas, and on 25 May and 12 June, two believers were attacked in the same mosque. In September, an ultra-nationalist group attacked mosques in Plovdiv and Sofia.[3] 35-year-old Veli Karaahmed, one of the wounded Muslims[10] filed a case in Strasbourg against Bulgaria, because of the passivity of the police, the allowing of Islamophobic protests around a shrine, especially during the Friday prayer, and the lack of punishment for the perpetrators. He won the case, and Bulgaria was penalized to pay 3,000 euros for non-property damages and another 4,668 for expenses in the case.[11]
References
- ^ a b "Bulgaria: Attack on Muslims 'Not Mere Hooliganism'". Balkan Insight. 2011-05-24. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
- ^ "Бой и пожар след митинг на "Атака" пред джамията Баня Башъ". bTV Новините (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2022-10-15.
- ^ a b https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/8/c/82972.pdf
- ^ a b c d e https://adsdatabase.ohchr.org/IssueLibrary/ECtHR_Karaahmed%20v.%20Bulgaria.pdf
- ^ Kutlay, Muzaffer. "Cami Baskını ve Bulgaristan'da Yükselen Irkçılık".
- ^ a b c Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Мъчният живот на българските мюсюлмани | DW | 16.05.2012". DW.COM (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2022-10-15.
- ^ a b Capital.bg (20 May 2011). "Фотогaлерия: "Атака" провокира мюсюлманите в София". www.capital.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2022-10-15.
- ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Истината за боя пред джамията | DW | 25.05.2011". DW.COM (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2022-10-15.
- ^ "Sofya'da Cuma saldırısına uğrayan Müslümanlara çiçekli destek (Video)". 23 May 2011.
- ^ "Religious minorities suffer violent attacks from Bulgarian nationalists". The World from PRX. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
- ^ "България е осъдена в Страсбург заради боя пред Баня Башъ в София през 2011-та". www.viapontika.com (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2022-10-15.