The Orient Within: Muslim Minorities and the Negotiation of Nationhood in Modern Bulgaria 9781501720239

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The Orient Within

THE 0 RIENT WITHIN Muslim Minorities and the Negotiation of Nationhood in Modern Bulgaria MARY NEUBURGER

Cornell University Press ITHACA AND LONDON

Copyright © 2004 by Cornell University All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 5I2 East State Street, Ithaca, New York I485o. First published 2004 by Cornell University Press First printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 2011 Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Neuberger, Mary, I966The Orient within : Muslim minorities and the negotiation of nationhood in modern Bulgaria I Mary Neuberger.- ISt ed. p.cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8014-7720-1 I. Muslims-Bulgaria. 2. Nationalism-Bulgaria. 3· Bulgaria-Politics and government-I99o- I. Title. DR64.2.M8 N48 2004 30 5.6'97'09499--dc22 2003020I 55

Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetable-based, low-VOC inks and acid-free papers that are recycled, totally chlorine-free, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu. Cloth printing

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To Donald For your patience and understanding during my many trips to the Balkans and innumerable hours at the computer.

Contents

Illustrations Preface A Note on Transliteration, Translation, and Sources Introduction I.

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The Bulgarian Figure in the Ottoman Carpet: Untangling Nation from Empire Muslim Rebirth: Nationalism, Communism, and the Path to 1984 Under the Fez and the Foreskin: Modernity and the Mapping of Muslim Manhood The Citizen behind the Veil: National Imperatives and the Re-dressing of Muslim Women A Muslim by Any "Other" Name: The Power of Naming and Renaming On What Grounds the Nation?: Parcels of Land and Meaning Conclusion Bibliography Index

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Illustrations

Figures 1.

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A Bulgarian family in typical late Ottoman-period dress. A scene just prior to the forced conversion of Pomaks during the First Balkan War, I9I2. Scene from the forced conversion of Pomaks during the First Balkan War, I9I2. The leaders of the Rodina organization, I938. An illustration from Yeni l§tk showing Turks participating in a parade, I95I. A Yeni l§tk political cartoon depicting a Turkish family in caricatured traditional garb. A Turkish family in a refugee camp on the Turkish side of the Bulgaro-Turkish border, I953· A group of Turkish men in berets in Kirdzhali, I996. A group of Pomak men in berets in Shivachevo, I996. "Veiled" Pomak women, I996. "Veiled" Pomak women represented as a political threat, I996. An elderly Pomak woman in Shivachevo, I998. The author seated between two elderly Pomak women near Ribnovo, 2000.

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Maps 1.

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The Changing Borders of Bulgaria I878-I945 The Distribution of Turks and Pomaks in Postwar Bulgaria

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Preface

This is an exciting time to be working in the field of Balkan history. My generation of scholars came of age in the late I98os and I990S when the world we were studying fell apart and came back together again, however tentatively in places. The fall of Communism in the region opened up unimagined possibilities for research, even as war raged in the former Yugoslavia closing other doors. Many of the difficulties encountered by our senior colleagues have been eliminated, but new challenges have kept our field small. The diminutive size of the field and the countries we study means a scarcity of secondary sources, of historiography to build upon. As a result, Eastern Europeanists, by necessity, are still pioneers in searching out untapped archives and new research directions. Patience and a taste for adventure remain requirements for serious research in many parts of Eastern Europe. And though my patience was often in short supply, I devoted a decade to researching and writing this book, driven above all by a profound passion for Bulgaria and the intricacies of Balkan history. The Balkans as a physical place drew me in by its warmth and color, and the story of Bulgaria's Muslim minorities seemed to tie together all my intellectual interests into a large knot, begging to be unraveled. But perhaps unraveling the knot was never really my goal. Instead I attempted to hold it up to the light, look at it from new angles, tug at a strand here and there to see where it tightened and where it let loose. I never came close to fully unraveling it, let alone weaving it into a coherent new tapestry. As with all histories, this one is necessarily partial-it is more process than finished product. I hope it inspires thought and discussion and contributes to a growing and exciting field still in its intellectual infancy. I also hope that this book contributes to scholarly debates in the numerous fields that it brushes up against and brings more attention to work in the field of East European history. XI

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Preface

Although I take full responsibility for the contents of this book, certain people and institutions deserve special recognition for their roles in making my research possible. I thank the Fulbright commission for funding my research year abroad in Bulgaria (1995-96) along with the other funding sources that contributed to my study of the Bulgarian, Turkish, and Russian languages including the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), and numerous Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) grants through the University of Washington. I extend additional credit to IREX for funding two summers of research in Bulgaria in 1998 and 2ooo; their efforts to support research on this understudied region are commendable. Also, I am sincerely grateful to the National Council for East European and Eurasian Research (NCEER) for funding my research in Bulgaria and writing during the 2000-2001 academic year. Finally, the University of Texas has been more than generous in extending me summer funding and a Dean's Fellowship in 2ooo-2oor. A number of individuals deserve special recognition for helping to make this book a reality. Special thanks go to the people at the University of Washington who encouraged and coddled me both during and after my graduate program. James Felak helped and inspired me in the early stages of my graduate career; had I not witnessed his witty and informative rendition of "Balkan History Since 14 53" in his 1992 course, I would neither have developed my "Balkan obsession" nor written this book. I extend my gratitude to Hillel Kieval whose profound wisdom and creative intellect made a deep imprint on my way of conceptualizing history. In addition, Re§at Kasaba was a veritable rock of support, encouragement, and inspiration throughout my doctoral program. I thank him and all the members of the Turkish Studies Seminar at the University of Washington for offering comments on the manuscript. Thank you Selim Kuru for your help with the Turkish language and suggestions on transliteration for the book. A number of my fellow graduate students at the University of Washington motivated and encouraged me with their comments, suggestions, and personal examples; thank you Melissa Martin, Kate Brown, Paulina Bren, and Ali Igmen. So many people in Bulgaria and Turkey helped in various phases of this project that I can't possibly name them all but I would like to mention a few. I thank all of the numerous librarians and archivists in Sofia, Plovdiv, Kirdzhali, Smoyan, and Haskovo who helped gather materials for this project in spite of the topic's sensitivity. Thanks also to Kostadin Grozev, Mariana Stamova, Marin Bachvarov, Yulian Konstantinov, and others for all of your help and insights. I extend thanks to the Igmen family, Turhan Gen