ABTTF President: “We strongly condemn this provocative action of the appointed mufti regents, which the Turkish community in Western Thrace has never accepted, disregarding the will of our community and aiming to disturb the peace in the region’’.
On Friday, 11 October 2024, the appointed mufti regents of Komotini, Xanthi and Didymoteicho, who attended the opening ceremony of the Xanthi Madrasah with the participation of the Secretary General of the Greek Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, Yorgos Kalancis, attempted to provoke during the Friday prayers in the Aşağımahalle Çınar Mosque in Xanthi.
While the congregation started to pray in the mosque, the appointed mufti regents, who are not recognised by the Turkish community in Western Thrace, tried to enter the mosque wearing their robes and turbans and faced the opposition of the congregation. The congregation prevented the appointed mufti regents from entering the mosque by highlighting that Elected Mufti of Xanthi Mustafa Trampa was present in the mosque.
The appointed mufti regents had to leave the mosque after the strong reaction of the congregation to this provocation attempt, while the appointed mufti regent of Komotini performed his prayer outside the mosque.
“We strongly condemn this provocative action of the appointed mufti regents, which the Turkish community in Western Thrace has never accepted, disregarding the will of our community and aiming to disturb the peace in the region. The congregation of the mosque gave the best answer to the appointed mufti regents by protecting our elected mufti of Xanthi right there and then. Our community has always been and will continue to be in unity and solidarity against such provocation attempts, as in the case of the Aşağımahalle Çınar Mosque in Xanthi. As ABTTF, we call on our country Greece not to allow such attempts, which ignore the will of our community and blatantly exploit its religious values, and to recognise our elected muftis as a matter of urgency,”, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
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