Between Empire and Nation: Muslim Reform in the Balkans.

• Author: Celik, Faika

By Milena B. Methodieva

Stanford University Press, 2021, 344 pages, $65, ISBN: 9781503613379

The modern Bulgarian state was founded in 1878 on former Ottoman territories. It became the first Balkan Ottoman successor to inherit a considerable Muslim population, accounting for more than a quarter of the inhabitants of Bulgaria. After providing an overview of the Muslim community in the newly established Bulgarian nation-state, this study explores in detail the emergence and development of a cultural and political reform movement among the Muslims of Bulgaria. It also addresses how they "navigated between empire and nationstate and sought to be a part of an increasingly wider modern world" (p. 1). As perceptively observed by Methodova, "There is a considerable body of scholarship on the Muslims and Turks of Bulgaria in various languages" (p. 4). Nevertheless, most of the studies on the subject take a rather long duree approach, spanning a hundred-year period with a particular focus on assimilationist policies carried out by the Bulgarian state in the 1980s. This study, however, by focusing on the period between 1876 and 1908, aims to shed light on the experiences of the Muslims in the three decades after the end of Ottoman rule in Bulgaria, a period which has "remained understudied" (p. 4). Yet, more significantly, by focusing on the reform endeavors among the Muslims of Bulgaria during this period, a topic "almost completely neglected" (p. 4) by the current scholarship, the study deliberately seeks to provide a narrative on "Muslim perspectives and agency" (p. 5) on modernity, nationalism and belonging by shifting the focus "away from the prevailing state-centered approaches" (p. 5).

This study is based on Ottoman and Bulgarian archival records and a variety of newspapers and periodicals published by the Muslims of Bulgaria. Among these sources, periodicals published by the local Muslims, such as Muvazene (Equilibrium), Tuna (Danube), Uhuvvet (Brotherhood), Balkan, and Gayret (Zeal) are read very closely and excerpts from these are presented throughout the study. Methodieva notes that "Ottoman and Bulgarian archival records provide valuable information about Ottoman and Bulgarian aspirations, as well as insights into the context that engendered the rise of reform initiatives" (p. 9) among local Muslims; however, she points out that they fall short of providing their ideas, struggles, and aspirations regarding their community during the...