ABTTF President: “The Ministry’s statement regarding the mufti is a statement that disregards international law. Even when the Constitution defines the Orthodox Christian Church as the prevailing religion, the state does not appoint the Church’s clergy itself. Other known religions in the country also have autonomy in religious matters. The state is only usurping the religious autonomy of the Western Thrace Turks!’’
Following the appointment of a mufti to Didymoteicho, disregarding the religious autonomy of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, and the initiation of the appointment process in Komotini and Xanthi, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of our motherland, the Republic of Türkiye, issued a statement on 8 April 2026. In its statement, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the non-recognition of muftis elected by the Turkish community in Western Thrace and the imposition of state-appointed muftis constitutes a violation of the religious rights guaranteed by the Treaty of Lausanne.
Responding to Türkiye’s statement, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that the minority status in Western Thrace is determined by international conventions and that deviating from this framework is out of the question. The Greek Foreign Ministry further explained that the Treaty of Lausanne contains no provision regarding the election of muftis, and that this would be impossible given that muftis also bear judicial and administrative responsibilities. The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs asserted that, as a country committed to the rule of law, Greece addresses issues concerning the ‘‘Muslim minority of Thrace’’ on the basis of equality and equal treatment, and above all, by guaranteeing the religious freedom of its members.
“We read the statement from the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs with astonishment. First, we would like to reiterate that if the minority defined by the Treaty of Lausanne is the ‘‘Muslim minority’’, then why does our country, Greece, use the term ‘‘Greeks’’ based on ethnicity rather than religion for the Greeks in Istanbul, Gökçeada, and Bozcaada, whose status and rights are also defined by the very same treaty? Therefore, when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs refers to its own minorities in Türkiye, it should use the term ‘‘non-Muslims’’. Furthermore, regarding the mufti issue, the Ministry’s statement is one that disregards international law. The 1913 Athens and 1923 Lausanne Peace Treaties granted autonomy to the Western Thrace Turks in the fields of education and religion. Laws were enacted in accordance with this, and until 1985, our community itself elected its muftis. To now disregard this and claim that there is no provision in the Treaty of Lausanne regarding the election of muftis is unlawful. From another perspective, we would like to ask our country, which claims to be a state governed by the rule of law and asserts that it guarantees equality before the law and religious freedoms for all: Even when the Constitution defines the Orthodox Christian Church as the prevailing religion, the state does not appoint the Church’s clergy itself. Other known religions in the country are also autonomous in religious matters. The state is only usurping the religious autonomy of the Western Thrace Turks! Since 1990, it has been appointing our muftis, and with the latest law, it is appointing them under the guise of elections. Our mufti offices are defined by law as public offices, and the appointed muftis are defined as civil servants at the level of general directors in the public sector. Is this equality for all based on the principle of the rule of law?”, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
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