Greece further ignores the religious autonomy of the Turkish minority of Western Thrace

ABTTF President Halit Habip Oğlu: “We call on Greece to end immediately its policies and practices intending to eradicate the religious autonomy of our minority”

Within the framework of the “Lifelong Learning” programmes having been carried out under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs, an international scientific conference on “Intercultural Religious Education and Islamic Studies: Challenges and Prospects in Greece and Europe” took place from 10 to 11 October 2015 in the Greek city of Kavala. According to the daily Birlik, the conference, which was hosted by the MOHA Centre, was held on the occasion of completion of the education programme for theologians and instructors of religion. Theologians belonging to the Turkish minority of Western Thrace and who have been employed by the Greek government as short-term civil servants within the scope of the Law 4115/2013 which is better known as the “240 Imams Law” by the Turkish minority, instructors of religion and teachers having graduated from the Special Pedagogical Academy of Thessaloniki (EPATH) and who have been serving at least for two years at public schools in Greece. The purpose of the concerning education programme is to teach the children belonging to the Turkish minority at public primary and secondary schools in Western Thrace their own religion Islam through religion books in the Greek language that have been already published and are going to be soon distributed.

“The international conference held in Kavala has again proved the rightness of all criticism and reservations of the Turkish minority of Western Thrace with regard to the “240 Imams Law”. The instructors of religion having been trained within the framework of the “Lifelong Learning” programmes will teach as religion teachers according to the said law the children belonging to our minority attending public primary and secondary schools their own religion Islam in the Greek language. Moreover, within the scope of the concerning law which has first been implemented at public schools, an instructor of religion was appointed in March 2014 to the mosque belonging to our minority in the village of Mega Derio. Accompanied by uniformed police officers, he arrived in the village on a Friday before the call to prayer, walked into the mosque with apparent intention to lead the service, but the community in the mosque did not allow him to do so. All these examples clearly indicate that the ultimate aim of the “240 Imams Law” is the eradication by the Greek state of our minority’s religious autonomy that has been guaranteed under the 1923 Lausanne Peace Treaty. Our homeland Greece should be honest with the Turkish minority of Western Thrace and end immediately such policies and practices intending to eradicate the religious autonomy of our minority” stated Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).