The book by Magdalena Lubanska examines the role of religious syncretism in the social and
religious life of Muslim-Christian communities in the Western Rhodopes. The author is
interested mainly in the origins and motivations of various beliefs and behaviors which at
first sight may appear to be syncretic. She looks at syncretism in the context of
anti-syncretic tendencies particularly pronounced among the Muslim neophytes and young members
of the Muslim religious elite who are not interested in the local forms of post-ottoman Islam
(Adat Islam) preferring instead a pure form of religion a class of fundamentalist religious
movements rooted in orthodox Islam and seeking to remain faithful to mainstream Islamic thought
and tradition (Salafi Islam). Lubanska findings offer an insight into the fact that although
certain actions may appear syncretic in nature their underlying intentions are often not in
fact motivated by syncretic tendencies. This is the first study to look at syncretism in
Bulgaria from this perspective.
