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POMAKS 615
closing the the Greek border in 1919 and the cutting off of Aegean grazing lands
and markets, the economy declined. Cash crops such as tobacco and potatoes
have become the mainstays; farmwork has become mechanized except on steep
slopes; logging, mining and construction have greatly expanded. Most important,
since 1944, land and flocks have been collectivized; only small garden plots
remain in private hands.
Since the Communist regime, a policy of assimilation has been in effect,
conforming to the general anti-religious attitude of the government and its promotion
of ethnic unity. (Due to international pressure, ethnic Turks living in
Bulgaria have relative freedom of religion.) In the late 1960s Pomaks had to
assume Slavic names; the official designation "Bulgarian-Muslim" which appeared
on identification papers was replaced by the unspecified "Bulgarian";
and the word "Pomak" was proscribed in official and public statements.
While in the privacy of their homes Pomaks observe the basic requirements
of Islam such as the fast and celebrations, they have modernized like the rest
of Bulgaria, but perhaps not as rapidly. Paved roads and railroad and bus lines
now link their villages; running water and electricity have been introduced; cars,
radios and television are common in villages. So far, however, the Pomaks have
retained their distinctiveness simply because they feel themselves to be different
from the Bulgarian Christians.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Andreadis, K. G. The Moslem Minority of Western Thrace. Salonika, Greece: Institute
for Balkan Studies, 1956.
Bajraktarevic, Fehim. "Pomak." In Encyclopedia of Islam. Vol. 3. Leiden: E. J. Brill,
1936.
Dellin, L.A.D. Bulgaria. New York: Praeger, 1957.
Georgeoff, John. "Ethnic Minorities in the Peoples Republic of Bulgaria.'' In The Politics
of Ethnicity in Eastern Europe, edited by George Klein and Milan J. Reban. New
York: Columbia University Press, 1981.
Hasluck, F. W. Christianity and Islam Under the Sultans. Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1929.
Inalcik, Halil. "Bulgaria." In Encyclopedia of Islam. New ed. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1960.
. The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age 1300-1600. New York: Praeger, 1973.
Keefe, Eugene, et al. Area Handbook for Bulgaria. Washington, D.C.: Government
Printing Office, 1974.
Pundeff, Marin V. Bulgaria: A Bibliographic Guide. Washington, D.C.: Library of
Congress, 1965.
Shoup, Paul. The East European and Soviet Data Handbook: Political Social and Developmental
Indicators 1945-1975. New York: Columbia University Press, 1981.