SOFIA - The Jewish community of Bulgaria has expressed sympathies to the country’s Deputy Chief Mufti, Birali Birali, whose wife and two daughters were attacked as they were shopping in the capital Sofia in an apparent hate crime.
The Shalom Organisation of Jews in Bulgaria and the Central Israelite Spiritual Council issued a joint statement on Wednesday calling for coexistence and asking that the police move swiftly to deal with the assault.
“We are most sincerely sympathetic to the entire Birali Birali family for the stress and physical pain experienced,” the groups said. “At the same time, we believe that law enforcement will do their best to find the perpetrators, and they will bear all responsibility for this criminal act.”
The Mufti’s office issued a statement declaring that the “whole Muslim community in our country is very worried” as are “many non-Muslims who have declared their support to the family. The Chief Mufti of Muslims in the Republic of Bulgaria strongly condemns the hate crime committed, as well as any other form of religious intolerance – no matter what religious community the victims are.”
“We believe that the state must take urgent measures to ensure the security of its citizens. At such times we need not new laws on religions but serious work in the sphere of interreligious dialogue, faithful tolerance and the unhindered coexistence of people of different ethnicities, religions and nationalities on the territory of Bulgaria,” the statement added.
Two teenage girls were arrested in connection with the incident.
