The Turkish media commented on the opening of a secondary religious school in Sofia under the Chief Mufti's Office. The school was opened on September 15 in the capital's "Iliyantsi" district in the presence of the Chief Mufti Dr. Mustafa Hadji and the Turkish Ambassador to Bulgaria Mehmet Said Uyanık, BTA reported.
Many Turkish media reported on the event, emphasizing that this is the first school in Sofia of the "imam hatip" type (secondary Muslim religious school).
"The capital of Bulgaria Sofia has acquired its first "imam hatip" high school," the state-run Anadolu Agency reported in the headline of a correspondence from Sofia. The information, published on the day of The event was reprinted in a number of Turkish publications.
The pro-government newspaper "Yeni Şafak" described the opening of the new Islamic religious school in our country on September 15 as a "historical step".
"A historic step in Bulgaria: The first "imam hatip" high school was opened in Sofia," reads the newspaper's headline. "Yeni Şafak" quoted the words of the Turkish ambassador, who expressed his belief that "the school will take its place among the respected educational institutions in the country", as well as the statement of the chief mufti, in which he highlighted the assistance of the Bulgarian state for the implementation of the project.
The opposition newspaper "Birgün" at the same time claimed that "despite all the incentives" in Turkey the number of students in "imam hatip" schools hatip" has not increased, which is why the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has "taken action abroad".
"The AKP was not satisfied with imam hatips in Turkey. It also turned to abroad", the publication writes and informs about the opening of the first "imam hatip" school in Sofia.
The newspaper notes that "despite all the incentives offered by the AKP, the number of students attending "imam hatip" schools is decreasing every year". According to the calculations presented by "Birgun" in 2015, the number of students in "imam hatip" high schools was 668,000, but by 2023-2024 it had dropped to 525,000. On the other hand, the number of schools has increased from 1,017 in 2015 to 1,722 last year, the newspaper states.
The opening of the first Islamic religious secondary school in Sofia is also the subject of a short YouTube video by the Turkish section of Deutsche Welle. It raises the question of whether Turks in Bulgaria really need an "imam hatip" school. Aret Demirci, the representative for Turkey of the "Friedrich Neumann" Foundation, who lived in Bulgaria for four years, was contacted for comment, according to whom "what Bulgarian Turks really need is the right to quality education and training in their mother tongue".
"In summary - as many people are happy about the opening of "imam hatip" schools, there are also those who criticize it," says presenter Hülya Topcu at the end of the short video video.