ABTTF President: “Attacks on places of worship and mosques belonging to the Turkish community of Western Thrace are provocative attacks aimed at disrupting the peaceful environment in the region while targeting freedom of religion and belief”
The Greek Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs has just released its 2018 report on incidents in areas of religious importance in Greece. The 2018 report on attacks against the Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Judaism and Islam in Greece also includes the Turkish community in Western Thrace.
According to the report, which stated that a total of 591 attacks on religious sites took place in 2018, 564 of the 591 attacks were carried out on the Orthodox Church, 1 to the Catholic Church, 3 to the Jehovah's Witnesses, 20 to the Jews, 1 to the German Military Cemetery in the Attica Region, and 2 to religious areas belonging to Islam. Of these attacks, 61 per cent were committed by unidentified perpetrators and remained unresolved, while it is highlighted that 39 per cent had been resolved.
Under the heading of attacks on religious areas belonging to Islam, there is a separate section on the Turkish community in Western Thrace. The report, which uses the expression of a “Muslim minority in Thrace”, states that the Turkish community in Western Thrace has the legal status of a religious minority under the Lausanne Treaty, stemming from private and international law. Moreover, with respect to the issue of muftis which is detailed under a different chapter, the report underlines that government-appointed muftis are independent public services linked to education and religious affairs, and that the ministry covers the costs of the muftis. In addition, appointed muftis are recorded as senior civil servants at the level of general manager from a bureaucratic point of view and have religious, administrative and judicial powers according to traditional Islamic law, appointed for a period of 10 years. In addition, the report refers to the law which prefers the traditional law-based judicial powers used by muftis on inheritance, marriage and divorce issues related to members of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, and which stipulates that the Greek Civil Code should also apply in the event of disagreement between the parties and the Presidential Decree dated 52/2019 on the restructuring of three muftis’ offices in Western Thrace. On the other hand, the report does not mention in any form that the muftis which were appointed are not recognised by the Turkish community in Western Thrace.
The report, which also includes a section related to reparations, construction and protection of mosques in Western Thrace within the scope of cultural heritage, as well as the protection of historical mosques in Rhodes (Rodos) and Kos (İstanköy) outside of Western Thrace, has been included in separate headings. With respect to attacks on religious sites, the report also refers to attacks between October 2017 and March 2018, where unidentified people entered the old madrasah building in the village of Echinos(Şahin), knocked over tables, chairs and books and damaged the doors of the building, noting that the attack was reported to the police. Secondly, the report also stresses that another attack had been realised on 30 June - 1 July 2018, on the wall of the mosque in Iasmos(Yassıköy), where insulting writings had been written with black spray paint. It also underlines that the attack has been reported to the prosecutor.
ABTTF President Halit Habip Oğlu underlined the following: ‘The report of the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs on attacks on religious sites in Greece refers to two incidents in Sahin and Yassiköy in Western Thrace. Attacks on places of worship and mosques belonging to the Turkish community in Western Thrace are provocative attacks aimed at disrupting the peaceful environment in the region while targeting freedom of religion and belief. As we all know, not only places of worship belonging to the Turkish community in Western Thrace, but also executives in associations belonging the Turkish community in Western Thrace, association buildings and Turkish schools have become targets of attacks, and profanities and insults are written on the walls of association buildings, mosques and schools belonging to the Turkish community. However, no perpetrator of an attack has ever been caught or punished. Furthermore, the refugee crisis in the country has also exacerbated hate speech and heinous attacks against the Turkish community in Western Thrace and Islam. Unfortunately, the government does not have a holistic policy in face of this dangerous situation. In addition, the report which highlights the attacks on places of worship ignored the Turkish community in Western Thrace by failing to voice the problems and concerns of the Turkish community in Western Thrace with respect to mufti and waqfs. As long as this policy and attitude continues at the state level, it is impossible to establish a dialogue’.
