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Situation and issues of the Muslim community in Greece were discussed at ABTTF’s programme titled “Facts about our Country” 

13.12.2021

The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) launched its online programme series titled “Facts about our Country” on 10 December 2021.

Anna Stamou, Public Relations Officer of the Muslim Association of Greece, was the guest of the first programme, which was held exclusively at the occasion of the International Human Rights Day and broadcast live. Stamou answered questions posed by Nihan Ayan from ABTTF Athens Office.

Stamou noted that there are two different Muslim communities in Greece, one is the Muslim Turkish community in Western Thrace which has a special status, and the other is the Muslim community with an estimated population of 500,000 throughout Greece. Stamou added that about 80,000 Muslim migrants and asylum seekers live in Greece.

In response to a question about the most important issue of the Muslims in Greece, Stamou indicated that as a non-governmental organisation of the Muslim Union of Greece, they have been striving for equality of all citizens before the law for many years, regardless of religion, and that this is a long and difficult process, adding that the most important problem is the lack of equal laws for all in the country.

Moreover, Stamou noted that Islamophobia is a new phenomenon that has recently emerged and used in Greece and that the Greek state has a new perspective on Muslims in the country, and that they as Muslims demand reconciliation not only at the level of civil society but among all political parties in order to speak together, this indeed because racism and hate speech affect not only vulnerable people, but also the whole society and do no one any good.

In response to the question of whether a mosque of 350 people without domes and minarets, converted from an old prefabricated hangar following 14 years of intensive efforts by the Muslim community in Athens was sufficient, Stamou said that she could not regard it as a real mosque because it is an inadequate structure that does not have the characteristic architectural features that mosques usually have, and that this constitutes an example of the state’s view of the Muslim community in the country.

Regarding the Greek Council of State’s decision banning the slaughter of animals without them being stunned and which directly concerns the country’s Muslim and Jewish communities, Stamou indicated that it was a decision which included a restrictive nature to religious freedom and that she had difficulty understanding the purpose of such a decision.

Finally, underlining that the main issue is the failure to fully integrate Muslims into the society, Stamou noted that the vast majority of the country’s political class unfortunately continues to ignore this reality.

You can watch the recording of the programme, which was performed on the Zoom platform and broadcast live simultaneously on ABTTF’s YouTube channel and Facebook account, by clicking on the links below in English and Greek:

YouTube English recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_3WL-XTDvY
YouTube Greek recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcgQqj3kAeY&t=153s
Facebook English recording: https://www.facebook.com/939989616164959/videos/200823965502832
Facebook Greek recording: https://www.facebook.com/939989616164959/videos/2015909678585453

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