“The disaster that struck us showed the compassion of the Bulgarians irrespective of our religion and convictions and the representatives of all religious communities opened their temples and hearts for the affected by the disaster. The people saw how Muslim refugees offered help to restore orthodox monasteries. This is also happening today, in Bulgaria, and makes us proud of the yet another proof that solidarity is a universal value, that humanness and the helping hand lent have no religion.” This is what the Head of State said in his address to the participants in the Iftar dinner, organized on the occasion of the Holy for the Muslims month of Ramadan.
Rosen Plevneliev said that wisdom lies at the basis of Ramadan, that a society is strong when it is united by the intransient strength of compassion and mercy, when it bestows compassion and kindness to the poor, to the underprivileged, to the lonely and sick. The President emphasized that the Bulgarian nation shows solidarity not only in words and has proved its tolerance throughout the centuries. “The Muslim community in Bulgaria is an inseparable part of this compassion and humanness,” the Head of State said in his speech and recalled the example set by the thousands of contributors and volunteers of all denominations who lent a helping hand to unknown people in trouble in the wake of the disastrous floods.
“I believe that such hardships help us make our lives worth living. The compassion showed to the people in trouble, the strength of the pooled efforts, the belief in kindness, the shared piece of bread, the generosity to give when you have nothing, is what makes life worth living. Wherever there is love, harmony and commitment things happen. I hope our daily lives are filled with more humanness and understanding, I hope that we will be together not only in times of hardship, but also in times of holidays. This is the only way we can live a worthy and valuable life,” the President called on for and wished the people peace, happiness and prosperity.
Mustafa Hadzhi, chief mufti of the Muslim denomination, voiced his gratitude to the Head of State for organizing the Iftar dinner, which is a “clear sign of the peaceful co-existence between the adherents of different religions and ethnic groups.” “No matter how often we repeat this phrase, the good-neighborly relations and understanding between us are not new. The people in these lands have been living together centuries on end, they have helped each other, they have been together in times of happiness and hardship and have together kept peace and maintained good relationships,” Mustafa Hadzhi said in his address. In his opinion, it is beyond doubt that gathering religious leaders at dinner is a sign of respect to the other. “This will undoubtedly contribute to strengthening the relations between the people in the whole country,” Mustafa Hadzhi further said.
His Holiness Patriarch Neofit and representatives of all traditional denominations in Bulgaria, Assembly deputies, diplomats, intellectuals and public figures attended the solemn Iftar dinner on the occasion of Ramadan.