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May 24, 2016 edition

LAST March, Mustafa Ali Haji was once again chosen as Bulgaria's grand mufti, reinstating him as the highest Muslim leader in the country. This Balkan country's muftiate is today made up of 21 areas, each led by a regional mufti. According to the National Statistics Institute in Bulgaria, almost 10 percent of its 7.3 million population are Muslims. As such, this former communist country has set a new record for a Balkan country and in Europe, as a nation with the fastest-growing Islamic community after the 1989 fall of the its communist regime.
Mustafa acknowledges that Islam in Bulgaria, and in the Balkans in general, is very different from that in Indonesia. "Here the state does not require religious education and Islamic school graduates have no interest in becoming imams (clerics) and taking care of the congregation," he told Tempo in a recent interview. This is one of our major problems," said Mustafa, who holds a doctorate in Islamic theology from Turkey. This is why he is keen to collaborate with Indonesia, as "the quality of its Islamic education is very high," he said.

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More On The Record articles in other editions

March 29, 2016 edition

Rosen Plevneliev, 52, was Bulgaria's fourth democratically elected president in 2011, continuing a new political tradition that began after the fall of communism in 1990. A graduate of Sofia Technical University, he has a business background in the field of construction and real estate, with eight years working in Germany before starting his political career. In 2009, he was appointed as minister of regional development and public works, following general elections for seats in the National Assembly.
Some of his works can be seen in the high-quality highways that stretch along the country's borders with Greece and Turkey, also in the construction of the Sofia Business Park and the Sofia Residential Park. He has maintained his good relations with Germany since he became president. "Germany is now our biggest market," he told Tempo in an exclusive interview.

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March 22, 2016 edition

To many people, retirement means an easy life and relaxation. But to Malaysian elder statesman Tun Daim Zainuddin, freedom from government duties and politics means a chance to indulge in a longtime passionart. Yet, for this former Malaysian finance minister, it is not just about collecting paintings, sculptures and antique potteries. For the Tun (Malaysia's highest honorific bestowed on deserving citizens)as he is referred to by friends and associatesthe pleasure is in being able to share art with everyone. Hence the Ilham Art Gallery, containing exhibits that are open to the public for free, the first in Malaysia and perhaps even in the ASEAN region. It occupies three floors of the brand-new and imposing 60-floor Ilham building, which the Tun happens to own.
The 78-year-old Tun's unassuming and soft-spoken persona belies the power he once held and the influence he still retains. Trained as a lawyer and an urban planner, he rose high in his country's political and corporate world, specifically in property development and banking. He retired from public service in 2001, after having servedon two separate occasionsas Malaysia's finance minister. He was an elected parliamentarian representing Alor Star and was for years the treasurer of UMNO.

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