Me Allah and you…bureaucracy

The adventures and the backward steps for the establishment of the Athens mosque

Source: Vima Newspaper

By Mariniki Alevizopoulou

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“If today we are able to ask the Greek prime minister ‘when we will open the Athens mosque?’ that happens thanks to the steps we made,” stated the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan allying the nationalistic groups in his country.

At the same time the Christian pilgrims were attending the historical service at the remains of Holy Mary Soumela of Pontus, for the first time after 88 years. A few days before some other nationalistic groups had desecrated the graves of a Muslim cemetery in Komotini. Those two facts made the Turkish prime minister feel ‘one step in front of the Greeks’ causing discomfort (and) of the Muslims that live in Greece.

“If the government looked this matter of the mosque with greater seriousness, they wouldn’t have pressure via statements from abroad,” responds the almost disappointed  president of the Muslim Association of Greece Mr. Naim Elghandour and continues, “Everything was ready since 2006. Even the funds were there; 15 million euro are in the treasury of the Ministry of Education since that time. This is important to emphasize that in a so crucial financial period for Greece. Maybe part of this money comes from EU.”

The blame is not only on the backward steps of the political will and the political timing that almost four years have passed without a step. The mosque is one but the authorities that are involved in the construction are endless: foreign ministry, education ministry, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Finance and the City of Athens are all basic players.  And the Greek bureaucracy is there at every step.

Meanwhile the square footage of the mosque, that he and the thousands of religious Muslims that live in our country are waiting from 2006 to be constructed, are decreasing. “In the beginning the measurements in the blueprint from the general secretary of the minister of education Mrs. Marietta Giannakou, was 56.000m². At the next meeting, it became 42, the governments change and I make a third meeting to drop at 24 and we reached today 16.000m².”

The objections came from the Church. “Since the first moment that the construction of the mosque came up, the Holy Synod had not an opposite opinion. And that because every human has the right of religious freedom where worship is included, which is a respectful right and is entrenched by the constitution,” states the representative of the Holy Synod, Bishop of Nafpaktos Ierotheos. “In fact, at the same time, in an action of good will the Church bestowed for use 30.000m² from its land in Shisto to create a Muslim cemetery.” The truth is that in the plans of the new Christian cemetery in Shisto, in order to cover the needs of the municipalities of Piraeus and Moshato, was from the beginning a plan for a Muslim cemetery in this area.

Then everything changed. “The Church objected at the establishment of an Islamic educational center,” clarified Mr. Ierotheos. “The concern of the Archbishop Christodoulos was intense for such a center because centers like that promote not only the religious teachings but also political propaganda.”

The area for the cemetery at Shisto finally was found unsuitable because of the terrain, the Islamic center was found “dangerous” and somehow the discussion (and the concern) came back to the mosque. “The law of 2006 at the first New Democracy party government was zoning the mosque at a part of Eleonas. At the second government of Karamanlis, under the authority of his office was formed a committee where we as City of Athens were participating, because this area belongs to the Ministry of National Defense and is characterized as a ‘navy fort’ but it must become a green park and come to the authority of the City of Athens,” states Mrs. Tasia Lagoudaki, topographer of the City of Athens.

Things already became complex without calculating the reef of National Defense ministry, that owns the “navy fort” based on a royal order. “In fact it is a garage with five buses,” Mr. Elghandour supports and continues. “The defense ministry is compromised with 5 million euro and 10 month time to relocate the navy. While the minister was Mr. Meimarakis (and after a formal question of PM Pericles Korovesis in the parliament) he asked initially 68 million (!). We proposed to go out with coupons – not from abroad, we do not want foreign money to build the Athens mosque, we want the Greek state to control it, to gather money from the immigrants and from the Greek Muslims.”  This proposition was not accepted and the last elections came.

When will we come out of the underground garages?

“After the first 100 days of the new government and particularly the 110^th day I sent a letter to the Defense ministry because the problem is with them. As a Greek who has served the Hellenic army I have the courage to complain,” notes Mr. Naim Elghandour who lives 38 years in our country. As a result they invited me and went with all data in hands. For the time being the only movements you can observe are statements before the visit of the prime minister to a country that is in danger to be asked for the mosque, and endless calls from foreign and domestic press to my phone for the development of the mosque. I do not want to harm the image of Greece abroad. At “Focus” I did not respond to them after the front cover with Aphrodite with the finger. Does anyone appreciate that? Will our children ever come out of the underground garages, and now that we have Ramadan with 40°C we are risking to be carried by the ambulances?” he wonders.

The adventure started at 1996

The adventures of the mosque in Greece, as states at “Vima” the vice president of the government Mr. Theodore Pangalos, have their roots way back. “This story started at 1996 by my initiative and based in two thoughts. Firstly that we are the only European country that has not a mosque and secondly that in Athens that time were gathered about 50.000-60.000 without an official and established place to perform their religious duties, when in all Muslim countries there are Orthodox Churches even in Teheran.”

That time as a foreign minister he prepared a draft law describing the establishment of a Muslim religious and cultural institution in the Hellenic capital. “The Greek state would have the control, the majority of the funds would be ours but we would accept contributions from countries that were willing to do so. At that time Arab countries as Saudi Arabia and Egypt showed interest. The Institution would include a library, a place of worship and a place of gathering as in weddings, for example, men and women celebrate separately.”  The plan proceeded for Peania.

“The Archbishop of that time had stated his approval, the mayor of Peania the same, the Arabs as well.”  But on 1999 Mr. Pangalos left the foreign ministry with Otsalan case and somewhere there “the plan was abandoned and the reactions started.”