The problems of the Muftis
At the three provinces of Thrace, the muftis are the higher on charge religious person of the Muslim Communities, one in each province. Mufti is in the level of a metropolitan. The way that a mufti was appointed was organized with a speccial law that was valid from 1920, and it was foreseeing that an election would be made within the Muslim Community.
At the end of 80's the "religious leaders", the old muftis were died. The government didn't allowed the Muslim Communities to elect their muftis, as the law was indicating before they were appointed by the government. First it appointed "temporary muftis" although that there was no such a position indicated in the law. Another democratic process was canceled and despotism was applied. And it was proved once more that the laws were not valid for the Minority and that an arbitrary status was valid and any type of illegal measures could be executed.
After a while the law which was foreseeing election of Muftis was abolished, despotism was validated, and it was replaced with a new law stating that the muftis would be appointed by the governors (=government). When after a while the governors started to be elected this authority was transferred to the general governors of the region. It was foreseen by the law that the appointment would be advised from an advisory board, which was symbolical without any authority.
Formally the muftis would be appointed after the advice of the board. At the reality, intelligence service was advising and Ministry of Foreign Affairs was appointing them.
Being appointed after the involvement of intelligence service, according to their criteria, the possible responsibilities that they had previously, was giving clues about how these new muftis were conceptualizing the role of the superior religious person, the religious leader , within the Minority their attitudes against the government's Minority Policy and their consequences. Almost ten years have forwarded and these muftis' movements and actions as disciplinary, typical civil servants didn't disappointed neither intelligence services nor Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But this was the aim.
The involvement of the religious on charge people and the muftis on the political issues and sociopolitical problems is not a strong tradition. "The on charge religious people should be involved only with religious issues" principle was valid to great extend. But the strengthening oppression and discriminating measures started politicizing them, they became more and more involved with the Minority's struggle at the '80s. The involvement of the muftis had a positive and grouping effect in the Minority. It also increased the attention of the foreigners too. The muftis and their offices became centers of struggles. In the basis of the government's illegal, anti democratic, arbitrary and despotic behavior, was lying the aim of reducing the role and the importance of the muftis. The government was successful on this issue.
The problem of muftis is the most important institutional problem that is valid for more than 10 years. The followings are among the thesis of the Minority:
The election of the mufti which is a religious leadership position of Muslim Community is an absolutely inner issue of the community. The Muslim Community elects its own mufti. It is an unacceptable application, the appointment of a religious leader from the state without the advise of the community, and in conflict with the Minority's will. It is an application seen in totalitarian regimes. If a community does not have a religious autonomy, this means religious freedom does not work there. The appointment of the mufti by the government is a harsh violation of religious rights. It is an open oppression and discrimination measure because it is only applied in Muslim Community, and from the other hand it reduces the relation of "sovereign religion" and "recognized foreign religion" to a relation of "master and servant" as it is applied by a state that is not secular and it has been equated with Orthodoxy.
It was very natural for the Minority to react against a right that have been recognized in 1920 and was violated after 65 years. The appointment of the muftis created conflicts within the Minority that continues till today. After the appointments, symbolic elections were held and "alternative muftis" were elected in the beginning of 1990s. The alternative muftis have no real and official authorities. Illegitimacy of the appointment process by the government, its conflict with the Minority's will, and non-recognition of the muftis that were appointed and placed on the top of the Minority, was tried to be symbolized and to be emphasized by these elections. In other words a political objection, disapproval was worded. The despotic mentality Greek Government did not endured this action. The authorities of the mufti was carried by the appointed ones in the appointed offices, buildings and it is still the same today. Although this reality the "alternative muftis" were accused and sentenced many times for using the authorities of the muftis.
A problematic religious freedom
The freedom of religion is under the constitutional guarantee in Greece. From there after, the recognition of the Orthodoxy as the official religion "Sovereign Religion" , the "marriage" of the Orthodox Church with the state, the privileges recognized to the Church, the discrimination of other religions as known (=recognized) and unknown (=unrecognized), some laws and some regulations and applications for the non-Orthodox Greeks, turns "The Freedom of Religion, an absolute value to an misleading impression". If the national tradition of the Orthodox Church, and the identicallness of the Orthodox Religious awareness and the Greek National awareness, that sovereigns the dominant ideology in Greece is concerned the applicability of the religious freedom is becoming difficult.
The discrimination of "foreign dogma, foreign religion" member (=not from us) is valid, as the discrimination of "foreign ethnic origin"(=not from us)is valid in the legislation. Moreover than that the dictionary meanings of these concept include exclusion, this negative dimension is used in reality:
There are some other small religious groups from different dogmas of Christianity expect orthodoxy. It is not rare the complaints of these groups that they face discriminative behavior.
The most functional troubles on religious rights is lived in the Muslim community in Thrace. The minority problems that we are mentioning could be identified as problems of a foreign religious community.
When a Muslim in Thrace changes his religion, and becomes Christian (very rare, but happens) the repeated scenery is meaningful and interesting enough to reach to some results. The local Church and the state add a lot magnificence to the activity to increase its "publicity". The authorities of the state, the Governor, military and police officers etc. are present and the name father usually is a high rate bureaucrat. The ex-Muslim, new Christian has transferred from Minority to majority. With the presence of the state representative in his baptize ceremony, it is symbolized that the state has accepted peace with him, and will remove all the difficulties and stress from him.
The right of Orthodox Church to use power on the other religions
The Orthodox Church has the right of using power onto other religion, according to the Greek legislation. This way the meaning of "sovereign religion" has gain content.
It is in the authority of the local Orthodox Metropolitan the license of establishing and operating a temple by a non Orthodox (foreign religion or dogma) community. It is impossible the establishment operation of such a temple without the approval of the local metropolitan. The building permission of this type of a temple usually becomes a real adventure that takes years circulating around public offices and Church, being modified and not accepted at the end.
The Council of The state has decided that the Church don't have an authority of approval but an authority of recommendation. But without the approval of the church in the practice, no religious community can establish or operate a temple.
There is no mosque in Athens. The ambassadors of the Arab countries took the initiative to establish a mosque in Athens. The claimed demand waits for approval more than decades. Although the governments announced time by time that they would permit the building of a mosque, it is not realized because of the Church's resistance.
At Thrace the problem is becoming more severe about the Turkish Muslim Community. The Muslim Community has enough temples and mosques inherited from the Ottoman Era. The problem that rises here is because of the need to repair ats ome mosques. When there is such an application the local metropolitan's are using it as a chance to show their fanaticism.
In the firs months of 1997 Thrace become an arena of religious and nationalist fanaticism demonstrations, leaded by the local Church, against the minority, because of the requirements of licenses to repair two mosques. The repairing permission was given finally at the two villages mosques at Koyunköy-Kimmeria, and at Bekirli-Pelekiti. When the repairing works started, somehow the height of the minaret (18m) and some other details were exaggerated and made major problems by the church. The church was claiming that it didn't approved these details and that the provincial authorities has mislead them, and that the repairing permission was illegal. The Church, the local media, the metropolitans themselves were characterizing the 18m height of the minaret as an incitement of Islam against Christianity, and with many other claims it was provoking the Christians to resist. Government this time prevented any progrom development against the Minority by taking measures on time. But the government took under consideration the thesis of the church and its surroundings, and stopped their repairing works. It demanded to decrease the height of the minaret, and sent to court and sentenced the workers, the executives of the village. Almost 8 months until now Muslims of the village were without a mosque to pray. Because the police was not allowing prays in the mosque. At the last week of the September it was declared that the repairs could re-begin. The church and its surroundings may re-provoke the issue.
The Waqf Institutions Problem of Minority
Another institutional problem of the Minority is related with the waqfs.
Waqf is according to the old Islamic tradition religious charity institution which is consisted of the real property donations of Muslims. The waqf incomes are used for the religious and educational needs of the Minority. The prosperity of the Minority, as a juristic personality is considered as waqf. The waqfs are the financial basis of the commune life of the Minority and they have vital importance.
The anti Minority policy of course would not forgive the waqfs and it would create different arrangements to make them not to work, not to serve for their missions and would terminate them. It happened as it is expected. In the 30 years of adventure of the waqfs, from the military cup till today (1967-1997) it followed almost a parallel path with the Minority itself. We will just mention some of the important points of these adventure.
* The waqfs are all the donated property that finances the operating expenditures of the mosques and schools that belong to the Turkish Muslim Community, in all the villages and towns of Thrace. (All the villages have small waqfs, and the status of these small waqfs are different.) The waqfs until the 1967 military cup, were administered by the waqfs' executive boards that were elected each four years in each town's Muslim Community as it was shown in the law. This way under some regulations was quite democratic working way and was satisfying and developing the Minority's will and needs. Since 1967 they are ruled by anti democratic and despotic ways where it is not clear which rules are used. Today they are in a disorganized and non working status and they are in their disintegration phase.
* With the 67 military cup the previously elected boards were dissolved and new boards were appointed. When in 1974 the democratic regime was established, the appointed boards of all NGOs and institutions, new boards were elected according to the law. Only the waqfs boards remained unchanged. Generally the cup status continued in the Minority. This status hasn't changed from 1974 to 1997.
* The article on the related law stated that elections should be held for the waqfs administration is still valid. But for 23 years the Greek Governments does not allow the elections to be held. On the other hand the board members that had been appointed by the cup in Komotini-Gümülcine have all died. The Board of Xanthi-Ýskeçe consists of a single person. The Dedeaðaç-Aleksandrupolis, Dimetoka boards are dissolved years ago. In this status that there is no board, no supervision the incomes from the waqfs decreased, the properties are misused and decreased generally. Some municipalities and state have taken away, seized some properties of the waqfs because of the ownerlessness. The waqf property are not allowed to be sold, but some have been sold in a situation of nonexistence of supervision. Under these circumstances the donations from the Muslims have stopped.
* In 1979 with a new legislation Greek government tried to legitimate the dissolution of the waqfs with very complex rules that are too long to be explained in this report. After huge reactions to the legislation, because there were no Minority members found that was required, the law did not work although it is still valid. To summarize, the Turkish Muslim Minority waqfs are actually administered by the state and Ministry of Foreign Affairs services as some are boardless or single person board is on charge, or sometimes appointed boards are on charge, sometimes ruled by appointed muftis, sometimes with second intermediaries. Actually they are kept in an anarchist environment and they are pushed to a position of dissolution. The Minority waqfs, Minority education and the muftis are reflecting the situation of the Minority in the policies that are followed against it.
* A new tax legislation that was enacted in 1997 was foreseeing taxation of the religious communities properties for the first time. The Orthodox Church showed a big reaction to this measure. As a result government and church representatives started a debate to find a mid point. The Catholic community stated that this would be a very big discrimination for them as they were not a prosperous church as the Orthodox church is and also that the Orthodox churches' personnel is paid by the state budget. It also claimed that its income is not enough to cover its expenses and that it would apply to European Courts. The appointed waqfs boards or muftis as nice and good civil servants they did not worded any reaction for the tax measure.
* On the other hand the incomes of the religious communities are not taxed as they are considered charities. But for 20 years this exclusion of taxation for Muslim Community is not valid. Exceptionally the Muslim Community waqfs are taxed every year. The reasoning for this measure is: the Orthodox communities waqfs in Turkey are taxed and the same is applied for the Muslim Community in Greece. The illogical progress is: the Ministry of Finance obviously after Ministry of Foreign Affairs directives started refusing the collection of taxes from waqfs and started mortgaging the real estate of the waqfs. It is unknown to where this application will lead.
Retortion which is mentioned a lot is existing in the measures, legislation, implication regarding minority issues. It is impossible to supervise the existence or not of the retortion although someone can accept its mentality.
