ABTTF President: ‘Changing the signboard with a policy of fait accompli in the middle of the night without the knowledge of the school administration, the school council and the parents’ association shows that insidious practices targeting the educational autonomy of the Turkish community in Western Thrace are continuing'.
The signboard of the Madrasah of Hayriye Foundation Minority Secondary and High School in Komotini, a historical religious school belonging to the Turkish community in Western Thrace, was changed to ‘Komotini Muslim Madrasah of Hayriye Secondary and High School’ on Thursday morning (24 December) at the occasion of the Christmas holiday. The description of ‘Minority’ written on school signboards belonging to the Turkish community in Western Thrace was removed from the signboard of the madrasah and replaced with the word ‘Muslim’.
Komotini Madrasah of Hayriye Minority Secondary and High School Council and School Parents Association made the following statement: ‘We absolutely do not accept the operation which was organised in the middle of the night with a policy of fait accompli. As a result of our consultation, the principal of the school is also not aware. We the councillors and the Parents’ Association also is not aware of this. We absolutely and absolutely do not accept this. We in no way approve this. Alright, we are asking this. Who is implementing something which has ABSOLUTELY NO APPROVAL from the school owners and administrators, who is giving instructions for this and to whom the bill of this is being sent to?’
Madrasah of Hayriye which was known as Softalar Madrasah until 1948 began to operate in 1949 in order to train religious officials by the Muftiate of Komotini. The Madrasah, which was founded in Komotini with the same name in order to keep the name of Madrasah of Hayriye in Kavala alive, started its operations in education as a three-year school, but there were problems with respect to it gaining its official status. In 1999, the status of courses of Madrasah of Hayriye were indicated in the official journal and the Madrasah had been elevated to the level of Secondary and High School with an education period of six years. In 2009, the word ‘Hayriye’ was removed from the new signboard of Madrasah of Hayriye, which was renovated in the summer season, and the name of the school was changed to Komotini Madrasah. In recent years, students left the ceremony with protest applause after the deputy mufti appointed by the state wanted to attend the opening ceremony of the academic year in 2019 at the school, which was boycotted due to the reduction of Turkish courses in the curriculum program in Madrasah of Hayriye in 2018, and after the appointed deputy mufti refused to allow access to the school, the principal Üzeyir Ahmet, was removed from his position by the decision of Konstandinos Bandikos, Director of Education in the Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Region. Finally, in August 2020, appointed deputy muftis which are nominated by the government but not recognised by the Turkish community in Western Thrace were brought to head the school councils in two madrasahs in Komotini and Xanthi within the framework of the law entitled ‘Improving private education and other emergency provisions’ prepared by the Greek Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs. According to the new law, it was decided to bring the appointed deputy muftis to head the school councils of the madrasahs in Komotini and Xanthi and to terminate the contracts of employment of teachers working at the madrasahs starting on 31 August 2020.
Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) made the following statement: ‘The signboard of the Madrasah of Hayriye in Komotini shows that the school belongs to the Turkish community in Western Thrace and it is unacceptable to remove the word ‘Minority’ and replace it with the word ‘Muslim’. Changing the signboard with a policy of fait accompli in the middle of the night without the knowledge of the school administration, the school council and parents’ association shows that insidious practices targeting the educational autonomy of the Turkish community in Western Thrace are continuing. It should not be forgotten that the Turkish community in Western Thrace has the right to establish, manage and monitor its own schools according to the Lausanne Peace Treaty. The madrasahs which are operating in Komotini and Xanthi are thus schools granting religious education with autonomous status. We therefore demand from the Greek government to immediately end its interventions aimed at eradicating the educational autonomy of the Turkish community in Western Thrace and which manifest itself by interventions to the status, functioning and management of the madrasahs which are our religious schools and we want the state to stop its repressive practices on our religious schools’.
