ABTTF President: “We call upon our country, one of the oldest members of the European Union, which constantly claims to be the cradle of democracy, to honour its obligations in this area by addressing the needs of collective worship of thousands of Muslims living in Athens and Thessaloniki, showing full respect for freedom of religion and worship”.
In a news report published on 3 February 2026 on the website Thriassio.gr, it is indicated that 20 mosques in the Attica region, which includes the Greek capital Athens, are operating illegally without the necessary permits, and that the competent authorities are pursuing their inspection and registration efforts.
The news report notes that, due to growing concerns about extremism in recent years, the authorities have launched a systematic crackdown on unauthorised mosques, with many being closed down over time, reducing their number to 20.
“It is an undeniable fact that the sole official mosque in Athens, the capital of Greece, which is home to approximately 300,000 Muslims, with a capacity of just 500 people, cannot meet the collective worship needs of the Muslim community. Converted from an old prefabricated hangar belonging to the Greek Navy, the mosque, which has no dome or minaret, opened in November 2020, making Athens the only capital city in Europe without a mosque until that day. As in many other parts of our country, the Dizdarağa Mosque and the Fethiye Mosque, both inherited from the Ottoman Empire, are closed to worship in Athens. Similarly, in Thessaloniki, our country’s second largest city, home to thousands of Muslims, the Hamza Bey Mosque, Hortacı Süleyman Efendi Mosque, Yeni Mosque and Alaca Imaret Mosque, all Ottoman-era heritage sites, remain closed to worship. We call upon our country, one of the oldest members of the European Union, which constantly claims to be the cradle of democracy, to honour its obligations in this area by addressing the needs of collective worship of thousands of Muslims living in Athens and Thessaloniki, showing full respect for freedom of religion and worship’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
*Image: www.anadoluimages.com
