ABTTF President: ‘As ABTTF, we follow not only the international reports but also the national reports. In all reports about our community, instead of others speaking for us, we will speak for ourselves’.
The report of the Greek Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs titled ‘Incidents in areas of religious importance in Greece – 2020’ details the status of the Turkish community in Western Thrace in the field of religion, the right to choose its muftis, the functioning of muftiates and the restructuring of muftiates, and the status of mosques in the region. The report only quotes the official opinion of the state.
Under the heading of the Muslim minority in Thrace, the report states that according to the Lausanne Peace Treaty, the term Greek Orthodox Christians and Muslims in Thrace is used in Istanbul, and that the minority in (Western) Thrace is a religious minority. The report claims that Greece’s religious and cultural character is fully respected by law, along with the status of the Turkish community in Western Thrace.
With respect to the mufti offices, the report indicates that the mufti offices in Didymoteicho, Xanthi and Rodopi provinces are at the level of independent general directorates subjected to the Minister of Education and Religious Affairs, and that the (appointed) muftis are director at the level of senior civil servants and that are appointed for 10 years and hold religious, administrative and judicial powers according to traditional Islamic law. In addition, the report mentions Presidential Decree No. 52/2019, which represents a clear intervention in the autonomous structure of Turkish community in Western Thrace in the field of religion, and the way the three mufti offices are structured in Western Thrace.
Under the heading of Thrace mosques, it is noted that Muslims have fulfilled their religious duties in more than 260 mosques in the region, repeating what was stated in the previous report, and that the demands for the maintenance and repair of old mosques and the construction of new mosques were fulfilled by the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs. The report further notes that the Ministry of Culture and Sports carried out the restoration of historical mosques, adding that the licenses and regulations for construction permits in places of worship for repairs or expansions in places of worship in Western Thrace have been updated with a circular.
Although it is stated that Greece recognises a Muslim minority according to Lausanne, the report claims that Alevism is independent from Islam under the heading of Alevis in Thrace and noted that religious ceremonies/worships were temporarily allowed in the Ruşenler Tekke or Syed Ali Sultan Tekke as a result of the application made by the Committee of Thrace Alevi Muslims.
Under the heading of attacks on religious sites, in 2020, it is indicated that the Mastanlı cemetery in Western Thrace, the Old Mosque of Komotini, the Kayalı Mosque of Komotini, the Serdar Mosque in Komotini had faced some attacks and several attacks outside Western Thrace are also included.
‘When we examine the report published annually by the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, of course, the official opinion is repeated but no explanation is expressed as regards our right to choose our muftis which is usurped by the state and the rights to determine the administrations of our charitable foundations which are taken away by the state in violation of the autonomous structure of the Turkish community in Western Thrace in the religious sphere. As such, the report is nothing more than an attempt to create a false, distorted and unrealistic perception that the state provides all rights and freedoms to the Turkish community in Western Thrace in our region. As ABTTF, we will express our views in parallel with this report and report the attacks in our region to the ministry, as we have done in Greece over the last few years, as we report attacks on our places of worship, institutions and organisations in our region. Indeed, as ABTTF, we follow not only the international reports but also the national reports. In all reports about our community, instead of others speaking for us, we will speak for ourselves’ said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
