An unidentified man (R) attacks Ahmed Dogan, leader of Bulgaria’s Movement for Rights and Freedom (MRF) party, as he delivers his speech during his party’s annual conference at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia in this still image taken from video footage on January 19, 2013. REUTERS/Nikola Stoyanov/Bnews

Anti-Muslim and anti-Turkish sentiment is rife in some quarters of Bulgarian society, specifically amongst neo-Fascists and Right-wingers such as Ataka and the VMRO who have protested and attacked Mosques and Muslims in the recent past.

Is this another example?

Man points gun at leader of Bulgaria’s ethnic Turkish party

(Reuters) – A man leapt on stage and put a gun to the head of the leader of Bulgaria’s ethnic Turkish party before security guards wrestled him to the ground during a televised conference on Saturday.

Ahmed Dogan, the leader of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) escaped unscathed, and it was not immediately clear why the attacker targeted him at the party congress in central Sofia.

Television footage showed the man jumping out of the audience brandishing the gun which he pointed at Dogan’s head. Security guards pulled him to the ground and he was repeatedly beaten and kicked by conference delegates.

Police said they arrested the attacker, a 25-year-old from the Black Sea town of Burgas, who was also carrying two knives.

Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said the attacker tried to fire two shots but “most likely the gun misfired”.

The liberal MRF party represents ethnic Turks and other Muslims who make up about 12 percent of Bulgaria’s population of around seven million. Most Muslims in Bulgaria are not recent immigrants but are a centuries-old community, mostly ethnic Turkish descendants of Ottoman rule.

“Bulgarian society is traditionally known for its tolerance, mutual acceptance and respect between different ethnic groups and religions,” President Rosen Plevneliev said in a statement. “Such an act is unacceptable in a democratic state.”

Dogan, 58, who has lead the party for almost a quarter of a century, returned to the party conference a few hours after the attack and was greeted with standing ovation from delegates.

In 1996, former Prime Minister Andrei Lukanov was found shot dead near his home in Sofia, but attacks on politicians are rare in Bulgaria.

(Reporting by Angel Krasimirov; Editing by Rosalind Russell)

UPDATE: The assailant has been identified as Oktai Enimemehmedov, which is a Turkish name.:

Enimehmedov was also reportedly beaten by delegates and other officials in the crowd, according to Noinite, a Sofia news agency. “He was not in a good shape, there was blood on his face,” said Prosecutor Nikolay Kokinov. “He told us his version about what motivated him, but I will not discuss it at this point.”

The last time the far right was protesting outside this mosque in Bulgaria they attacked worshipers.

While ‘noise’ from loudspeakers giving the call to prayer is a valid issue of concern anywhere a mosque is built, as Muslims recognize themselves, forgive me if I am not convinced that this is Ataka and VMRO’s real concern:

Bulgarian Far-Right Tries to Stir Up Hate Against Sofia’s Banya Bashi Mosque

(Noninvite)

Two Bulgarian far-right nationalist parties – Ataka (Attack) and VMRO – staged Thursday the latest protest against the volume of the loudspeakers of Sofia’s Banya Bashi mosque.

About 100 activists and supporters of the parties gathered across the building of the City Hall in downtown Sofia under the sounds of patriotic songs.

The municipal counselor from VMRO, Angel Dzhambazki, addressed the rally, saying the noise during the Friday Muslim prayer is challenging tolerance and public order.

Ataka leader, Volen Siderov, noted that there is a petition, launched as early as 2006, already having over 30,000 signatures against the loud noise. He appealed to the City Hall to adhere to the public order decree.

Ataka have also sent an open letter to the City Hall asking for a ban to use the space outside the mosque for religious rites.

“For centuries Sofia is a symbol of religious and social tolerance, and we must preserve this. We should avoid PR actions with the goal of gaining political dividends based on controversy. If there is a violation of public order, measures will be undertaken,” Mayor of Sofia, Yordanka Fandakova, stated.

Fandkova reminded that after receiving information about the noise last year, she ordered a probe, and the loudspeakers were turned down. “After that I have not gotten any new reports about the sound violating public order,” said the Mayor.

In May 2011, nationalist supporters shocked Bulgaria, as its rally protesting against the use of loudspeakers by the Banya Bashi mosque got out of hand and its activists assaulted praying Muslims in front of the mosque.

The Banya Bashi mosque in downtown Sofia is a part of the city’s unique “triangle of tolerance”, encompassing also the St Nedelya Church, and the Sofia Synagogue are located within metres of each other in the very centre of the city.

Recently, Bulgaria’s Deputy Chief Mufti, Murat Pingov, renewed calls for the construction of a second mosque in the capital.

An injured Muslim worshipper holds a towel on his head after suffering a wound in clashes supporters of the Bulgarian ultra-nationalist party Ataka (L) during Friday prayer in front of the Banya Bashi Mosque in Sofia, 20 May. Photo by EPA

(hat tip Euro against Islamophobia)

Sofia Mosque Warden Assaulted, Beaten – Chief Mufti

The warden of the main mosque in downtown Sofia has suffered a brutal assault at the hands of unidentified attackers just minutes before the start of the morning prayer on Sunday, the Chief Mufti‘s Office announced.

“Today we witnessed yet another attack against Sofia mosque. This morning, 20 minutes before the morning prayer, the warden of the mosque in Sofia was cruelly beaten. Unknown people have jumped over the fence of the mosque, beaten the keeper, destroyed the security room and burst into the mosque,” says the statement.

The man was found by worshippers who came to the mosque for the morning prayer, covered in blood and unconcious, it said. He has been taken to the emergency Pirogov hospital.

“Hate crimes, acts of xenophobia and Islamophobia have risen dramatically in recent months,” says the statement of the Chief Mufti‘s Office.

Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry has issued no official information about the incident so far.

The news comes just a month after a Muslim man and five policemen were hurt in clashes between supporters of Bulgaria’s ultra-nationalist Ataka party and worshippers outside the Banya Bashi mosque in Sofia on May 20.

The incident was condemned by authorities and human rights groups as an example of a worrying escalation of xenophobia and religious hatred.