For a history of written culture in Italy (16th-18th centuries)

The conference deals with the common life of two ethnically and religiously different communities within the Ottoman Empire. This coexistence continues to this day. Bulgaria is the most "Muslim" state in the European Union. Alongside Orthodox Christian Bulgarians, Muslims make up over a tenth of the population. This "human legacy" of Ottoman rule (1396-1878) is fairly heterogeneous. Around nine-tenths are Hanafi Sunnis; those known as Kizilbachs or Alevis belong to the Shiite movement. Around three-quarters are "Bulgarian Turks"; the "Pomaks" are Bulgarian-speaking; the Tatars form a very small community; around one hundred thousand Gypsies or Roma are Muslims. Their common religious affiliation creates bonds of solidarity that vary in strength from one group to another.

Muslims first appeared in Bulgaria with the Ottoman conquest. It has been interpreted as a confrontation between nomads and sedentaries, although this opposition is highly simplistic. Gradually, Islam imposed its customs and attracted a number of Christian Bulgarians: by force (the blood tax, "devchirmé", which recruited future janissaries), by propaganda and by social and material privileges. The country took on an Oriental appearance.

Ottoman power divided the Balkan population into two large communities, millets, according to their religious affiliation - Muslims and Christians. Officially, Orthodox Bulgarians, members of the Rum milleti, were "protected"(dhimmis), but in reality subjugated and often treated as "infidels"(ghiaours). The authorities insist on a strict separation between the two communities, and inequality is felt at every level.

Although separated by ethno-religious barriers, Christians and Muslims inevitably establish complementary relationships that lay the foundations for komchoulouk. This Turkish word refers to the small opening in the fence between two neighbors. The French translation would be "le bon voisinage" or "le respect réciproque". Komchoulouk facilitates communication between members of the two communities, who retain their own identities. It is based on the imperatives of cohabitation, which takes precedence over religious difference/opposition, which cannot be categorical. Islam and Christianity are "sister religions" whose dogmas, prescriptions and rituals are based on monotheism. The latter is grafted onto the common features of pagan beliefs inherited by local Christians and Muslims alike during their migration from Central Asia to the Balkans. Monotheistic similarities and this syncretic heritage facilitate the crystallization of an intermediate cultural and social model. This model is the result of a constant dynamic of mutual influences and adaptations, and is realized at the level of a popular Christianity and an Islam far removed from Sunni orthodoxy. Its character and content reveal the specificities of the religious porosity between the two communities on Bulgarian soil.

This porosity, its dimensions and limits, find their characteristic expression in the celebration of the feasts of the two religions. These public ceremonies have become an integral part of their shared life. The association of the "Other" with the celebration of its own feasts stimulates rapprochement between the two communities. During "its" festival, the religion of the "Other", though "different", is no longer so much "foreign" as threatening.

The celebration by both communities of a large number of festivals, either in parallel or together, reveals a number of common features. Predictions and prophecies about the coming harvest, the weather, personal and family happiness are uttered. Prohibitions and taboos, magical procedures designed to bring health and longevity are also common. Among the most frequent rites are animal sacrifices(kourban) and the preparation of ritual soup(kourban tchorba). These common celebrations frequently take place in sacred places shared by Christians and Muslims, sometimes under the invocation of real or mythical saints. This rich spectrum is nourished by pagan traditions, stemming from centuries of cohabitation.