Organization of Islamic Cooperation supports Turkish Minority of Western Thrace

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has expressed its support to the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace with regard to the adoption by the Greek Parliament of Law No. 3536/2007 with additional amendment on the appointment of 240 religious preachers i.e. Imams by the Greek State to serve at mosques and schools in Western Thrace. In the Final Communiqué adopted at the 12th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference entitled “The Muslim World: New Challenges & Expanding Opportunities” that was held from 6 to 7 February 2013 in Cairo, Egypt, the Member States express their support to the just cause of the Turkish Muslim Minority in Western Thrace and the Muslim population of the Dodecanese islands.

In the 75th paragraph of the Final Communiqué, the OIC Member States call on Greece to take all necessary measures to ensure the respect of the rights of Muslim community and their identity and culture, taking into account the widespread reactions of the Muslim Minority in Western Thrace against the latest regulations on the appointment of 240 Imams in Greece, and for refraining from taking further steps on that matter against the will of its Muslim citizens.

The Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) had sent in February 2013 a letter to the diplomatic missions in Athens of the OIC Member States, the OIC Secretary General and the State’s Permanent Representations to OIC in Jeddah, expressing the reaction of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace against the “240 Imams Law”, and asked the OIC Member States to bring the issue on the agenda of the 12th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference on 6-7 February 2013 and to issue a joint statement on the said situation in Greece with regard to the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace.