The United States is concerned that poverty and discrimination in Bulgaria against the Muslim minority could make them more vulnerable to extremism, according to a leaked diplomatic cable Thursday. "Rampant unemployment, weak moderate Islamic institutions, and a history of discrimination enhance the vulnerability of Bulgarian Muslims to extremist exploitation," according to a 2005 cable signed by John Beyrle, who was Washington's ambassador to Bulgaria at the time, and released via WikiLeaks.
"Islamic extremism in Bulgaria is a very real concern," the cable stated. While "the overwhelming majority of Bulgarian Muslims are moderates who are not receptive to radical ideology... among certain sub-groups, Islamic extremism could potentially thrive on the lack of strong, adequately funded moderate Islamic institutions and the alienation of Muslim youth through discrimination and lack of opportunity".
Bulgaria has one of the largest indigenous Islamic communities in Europe, with over 900,000 Muslims constituting approximately 13 percent of the overall population. The Muslim community is largely made up of three groups - Turks, Muslim Roma, and ethnic Bulgarian Muslims ("Pomaks"). Ethnic Turkish Muslims constitute the biggest minority in Bulgaria,
accounting for around seven percent of the population. But their "strong sense of communal identity and relative economic prosperity has made them less receptive to foreign Islamic influences than other Muslim communities", the cable stated. By contrast, the extreme social marginalisation and lack of opportunity faced by Muslim Roma "may increase their susceptibility to recruitment by Islamic extremists". And poverty, isolation, and social marginalisation of Pomak communities, too, "have made some members receptive to exploitation by such groups", Beyrle wrote, pointing to a Bulgarian Pomak, Toni Radev who was known to have participated in the Madrid bombings in March 2004. Pomaks had received "far more money and attention from foreign Islamic groups than have Turks and Muslim Roma, in part because of their fair-skinned European appearance", the cable said. "According to another US government agency, the desire of terrorist organisations to attract 'European-looking' Pomak recruits has been a principal motive of Islamic NGO activity in Pomak regions of Bulgaria."