Book description
The book by Magdalena Lubanska examines the role of religious syncretism in the social and religious life of Muslim-Christian communities in the Western Rhodopes. The author is interested mainly in the origins and motivations of various beliefs and behaviors which at first sight may appear to be syncretic. She looks at syncretism in the context of anti-syncretic tendencies, particularly pronounced among the Muslim neophytes and young members of the Muslim religious elite, who are not interested in the local forms of post-ottoman Islam (“Adat Islam”), preferring instead a “pure” form of religion, a class of fundamentalist religious movements rooted in orthodox Islam and seeking to remain faithful to mainstream Islamic thought and tradition (“Salafi Islam”). Lubanska findings offer an insight into the fact that although certain actions may appear syncretic in nature, their underlying intentions are often not in fact motivated by syncretic tendencies. This is the first study to look at syncretism in Bulgaria from this perspective.
Table of contents
- Cover
- Glossary of Religious Terms
- 1 Introduction
- 1.1 Research Method
- 1.2 Transliteration, Spelling and Terminology
- 1.3 Field Research and Methodology
- 1.3.1 Ribnovo
- 1.3.2 Satovcha
- 1.3.3 Garmen
- 1.4 The Respondents
- 1.4.1 Bulgarian-Speaking Muslims (Pomaks)
- 1.4.2 Orthodox Christians
- 2 Religious Syncretism: History of the Concept; the Subject of Research
- 2.1 Theories of Religious Syncretism: State of Research
- 2.2 Problems in Studying Muslim-Christian Syncretism in Bulgaria and South-Eastern Europe
- 3 Komshuluk (Good Relations Between Neighbours) and Ressentiment Against Members of a Different Religion
- 3.1 Komshuluk as a Cultural Strategy of Peaceful Coxistence
- 3.2 The Narrative of Komshuluk
- 3.3 The Limits of Komshuluk
- 3.4 The Ressentiment Narrative
- 3.5 “The Politicians are to Blame for All of This”
- 4 “Adat Orthodox Christianity”
- 4.1 Kurban in the Religious Life of Christian Respondents
- 5 The Muslims: “Adat Islam” and “Salafi Islam”
- 5.1 “Adat Islam”
- 5.1.1 Elements of Ritual Practices from the Orthodox Christian Calendar in the Religious Life of the Pomaks
- 5.1.2 Incubation in St. George’s Church in Hadzhidimovo
- 5.2 “Salafi Islam”
- 5.2.1 Attitudes Towards “Adat Islam”
- 5.2.2 Attitudes Towards “the West”
- 6 Muslim Religious Narratives and Perceptions of Christianity
- 6.1 Christians as “Perjurers” and “Adam and Hawwa’s Worse Children”
- 6.2 Worshippers of an “Inferior Book”? Muslims, Christians and a Dispute over God’s True Word
- 6.3 Christianity as a Religion Based on “Misunderstanding” and “a False Cult of the Son of God”
- 6.3.1 The Heresies of the Apostle Paul
- 6.3.2 Narratives Questioning the Christian Cult of the Cross
- 6.3.3 The Pernicious Reforms of Pope Gregory I
- 7 Christian Narratives About Bulgarian-Speaking Muslims
- 7.1 “Purest-Bred Bulgarians” or “Conformists and Traitors”?
- 7.2 “Crypto-Christians” or Poturcheni (“People turned Turk”)?
- 7.2.1 The Pomaks as Crypto-Christians
- 7.2.2 The Pomaks: Poturcheni (“People Turned Turk”) or “People of the Orient”?
- 8 Christian Perceptions of Pomak Religious Life
- 8.1 Stories of Healing and Muslim Behavior in Christian Sacred Places
- 8.2 Muslim and Christian Rituals
- 8.3 “The Orthodox Christian Muslim” – the “Syncretist” from “Vodino”
- 9 Seeking Healing from Members of a Different Religion as a Case Against Religious Syncretism
- 10 Conclusions
- 10.1 ‘’Shallow’’ Syncretism
- 10.1.1 Syncretism Resulting from Fear and Fascination with the Alien Numinosum: Visiting the Holy Sites of the Other Religion
- 10.1.2 Syncretism as a Symptom of Komshuluk
- 10.1.3 Syncretism as a Proselytizing Strategy
- 10.2 “Deep” Syncretism
- Bibliography
- Index
Product information
- Title: Muslims and Christians in the Bulgarian Rhodopes.
- Author(s):
- Release date: March 2016
- Publisher(s): De Gruyter Open
- ISBN: 9783110470611
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