240 Imams Law was discussed in Warsaw

A side event at the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) has for the first time been co-chaired by ABTTF and BTAYTD

In cooperation with Western Thrace Minority University Graduates Association (BTAYTD), Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) held a side event on “240 Imams Law”, featured as one of the striking issues Western Thrace Turkish Minority encounters regarding freedom of religion and belief. The side event, taken place under premises of OSCE in Warsaw during HDMI in the evening of 26 September, discussed the “240 Imams Law” and underlined that the respective regulation aims for expansion of state control on freedom of religion and belief of the Western Thrace Turkish Minority.

ABTTF and BTAYD: Our target is draw attention on “240 Imams Law”!

Organised in partnership with European Muslim Initiative for Social Cohesion (EMISCO), the side event “State intervention in internal religious affairs of minorities and the freedom of religion: the case of Western Thrace Turkish Minority” was moderated by ABTTF International Affairs Director Melek Kırmacı Arık.

Arık indicated the event aims to discuss the extent of state intervention in minorities’ religious affairs and the actions which can be undertaken by the minorities in response to state intervention. Further to opening remarks, Kırmacı said the event aims to shed a light on the respective regulation, which is named “240 Imams Law” by Western Thrace Turkish Minority, while providing the reasons of elaborated reaction to the regulation from the minority itself.

BTAYTD Board member Dilek Osman during her welcoming address said that co-organising a side event at the OSCE together with ABTTF aims to draw extended public attention on “240 Imams Law” which will have direct and determinant impact on Western Thrace Turkish Minority’s daily life.

Dr. Sebahattin Abdurrahman: 240 Imams Law violates International Law!

ABTTF Board member Dr. Sebahattin Abdurrahman briefed the audience on implementation of religious rights of Western Thrace Turkish Minority under the framework of its rights and status. Abdurrahman pointed that the legislation (3536/2007 and 4115/2013) issued in 2007 and modified in 2013 proves a grave state intervention in religious sphere. The 240 positions opened for “teaching Qur’an in mosques in Thrace” is to be staffed by “Qur’an teachers” appointed by Greece but these occupations are not sufficiently specified whether they would be filled by imams or religious education teachers or by Muslim scholars, said Abdurrahman. Having informed on the implementation of the regulation, the appointment of the respective “Qur’an teachers” and their duty at the minority primary and secondary schools, Abdurrahman provided reasons of minority’s reaction to the respective regulation.

Following his explanations, Abdurrahman stressed that the regulation violates the bilateral agreements and international legal covenants which defines and guarantees the status and rights of the Western Thrace Turkish Minority and warned the full implementation of the regulation would bring out demise of the Minority’s religious autonomy, which was granted by international agreements.

Hayri Emin: Current state of affairs influences relation between state and the institution of Mufti

Hayri Emin, Specialist at the Department of Foreign Relations of Head Office of Mufti in Bulgaria, elucidated the relation of the Mufti institution with the state of Bulgaria. Through his insightful speech on status of the Mufti as the official representative of the Muslim community in Bulgaria, Emin stressed the regime changes in Bulgaria had had a direct impact on relations between state and the institution of Mufti.

The political intervention in Mufti and supervisory bodies’ election manifest itself as the main prob-lematic, yet in the aftermath of turmoil during election of Mufti in the years of 2009 and 2011, since 2011 a considerable improvement in Mufti’s relations with state has been observed, said Emin.

Bashy Quraishy: On the name of teaching Qur’an, the minority has been deprived of the right to determine its own religious leader and its religious autonomy is violated

EMISCO Secretary General Bashy Quraishy stated that Muslim communities in Europe are in gen-eral discriminated on the grounds of Islamophobia and historical hatred. Having voiced the Western Thrace Turkish Minority be exposed to discrimination on several grounds in Greek social and politi-cal life, Quraishy echoed Human Rights Without Frontiers International (HRWF) findings from its mission to the region in October 2012 while asserting HRWF’s mission report reveals the situation on the ground with full transparency. On EMISCO’s position regarding the “240 Imams Law”, Quraishy explained the legislation with was modified with an additional regulation has been kept classified until its adoption in 2013, by then no consultations with the Minority representatives in Athens had been held. Quraishy suggested on the name of teaching Qur’an, the minority has been deprived of the right to determine its own religious leader and its religious autonomy is violated.

On behalf of EMISCO, Quraishy called on Greek authorities to review the legislation and reminded that Greece known as the cradle of democracy is expected to act accordingly, otherwise it is bound to be in contradiction with its very spirit of existence.