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.
