Ashim Hadjiasan, president of the Straight Path Foundation for Bulgarian Nationals of Turkish Origin, warned of a threat from Islamic fundamentalism in Bulgaria at a press conference on Monday.

"Sixty foundations associated with Islamic fundamentalism currently operate in Bulgaria," he said.

"Such a thing cannot exist in Bulgaria. Bulgarian Muslims have never been and will never be fundamentalists," said chief mufti Selim Mehmed.

Sheikh Abdul Kemal of Saudi Arabia, uncle of alleged terrorist Osama bin Laden, has been to Bulgaria, according to Hadjiasan. He said that before 1999, Kemal came for recreation to the Pavel Banya Spa (central Bulgaria) after staying for some time at Sofia's Princess Hotel. "During his visit, the Sheikh met with members of various foundations in Bulgaria financed by fundamentalist circles based in various countries, which brainwash young Muslims under the cover of religious training," Hadjiasan said. He added that behind these foundations are bin Laden's people and members of the fundamentalist Islamic organizations Ahab al-Aleini al-Islami, Hezbollah, and Muslim Brothers.

"This is pure fantasy," the chief mufti told The Echo, commenting on Hadjiasan's allegations. "These people are impudent and are taking advantage of the consequences of the attacks in the U.S. to discredit the chief mufti's office and to force a split in the Muslim community.

"Bulgarian Muslims have never been and never will be fundamentalists. They profess traditional moderate Islam. We will make sure to ban alien radical beliefs and ideas," Mehmed said.

"Fundamentalist indoctrination has been the main function of religious schools," Hadjiasan said. He explained that these schools have been established in contravention of Bulgaria's laws on religions and education.

Their appearance followed a movement started in the Rhodope Mountains in southern Bulgaria, and now there are 3,000 such schools nationwide, including northwestern and eastern Bulgaria, according to Hadjiasan.

He also accused the Bulgarian chief mufti's office of knowing that training in fundamental Islam has been carried out in Bulgaria. "The courses are based on a trend of Islam not popular in Bulgaria," he said.

Hadjiasan is one of the very few Bulgarians who has met bin Laden. He told reporters that, in 1994, he went to the Sudan thanks to arrangements made by the president of the East European Islamic Centre. He was taken to a fundamentalist base, where he met bin Laden. That was also the time when he first saw the so-called desert warriors, whom bin Laden described at that time as a source of terror to the Americans.