We want to pray in a mosque
September 13, 2010
Source: Ta Nea
Translation © Muslim Association of Greece
Kotzia Square was transformed into an outdoor mosque yesterday morning for about two hours, just opposite of the town hall of Athens. About 4000 Muslims without a mosque prayed the last prayer of Ramadan.
The festive prayer called Eid Al Fitr was organized by the Muslim Association of Greece after consultation with the City of Athens that gave them permission to pray in the square. Muslims living and working in Athens attended the last prayer in celebration of the end of Ramadan (the month of Ramadan).
Once again, however, the representatives of the Muslim Association of Greece and other Muslims pointed out that it is necessary to build a mosque in Athens; thousands of Muslims who live in Attiki pray in inappropriate places such as warehouses, basements, garages, apartments etc.
As the president of the Association said, Kotzia square was chosen because of the no cost. “In previous years we held the prayer at the Olympic Stadium, either in closed or an open space, but you pay rent of about 1,700 euros. This year, things are strained by the economic crisis, so we came to an agreement with the City of Athens.”
Votanikos. The government in April decided to go with direct procedures for the construction of a mosque for 500 people in the Navy base of the Botanical Fortress. According to information from the Ministry of Education, the preparation for the relocation services of the Navy from the site has now completed.
“Unfortunately these procedures are progressing slowly, as with other things in Greece. It is though a cultural requirement to have a mosque in Athens. Therefore I appeal to the Ministries of Education and National Defence and the Municipality of Athens to find a solution quickly,” said Mr. Elghandour. Indeed, the Muslim Association of Greece is the one that in recent years has raced and is liaising with ministries in order to build a mosque in Athens.
As a reminder, the bill for the construction of the mosque is in place since 2006. Indeed, the ND government then had promised that the mosque will be ready in late 2009. However, the bureaucracy and misunderstandings between the ministries turned the case of the “mosque in Athens” to Artas Bridge…
Seraphim “delirium” for the granting
In a four-page announcement … holy crazy issued yesterday, Eparch Seraphim of Piraeus says the prayer of the Muslims should not be in public open space as in Kotzia Square. The Eparch, who for some time now is a member of the Standing Holy Synod, used harsh words to characterize the granting of the square by the municipality of Athens irresponsible. He connects even the prayer for the Muslims with the Turks in Greece, saying that such prayer is the “first in regular life again after the revolution and the shaking off of the brutal Turkish atrocities.” Please note that they [the Muslims at the prayer] come from various countries.
Translated by: Elena Nikolova
Evidence for international courts
August 17, 2010
Source: Enet
This is a photo from material that was saved and sent to “Eleftherotypia”. It shows Israeli soldiers with the guns in their hands on Greek flag cargo ship “Eleftheri Mesogeios” (Free Mediterranean) while they are arresting an activist, professor Vangelis Pissias.
The initative “A Ship to Gaza” stated at “E” that the whole material and the photograph will be used as evidence at international courts.
The initiative addresses a question to the Greek government: “What is Netaniahou doing in Greece? He is accountable both to UN and to his country.”
Shocking stories told by Greek activists who returned back to Athens
June 2, 2010
Source: Enet.gr
© Translation Muslim Association of Greece
The first six Greek activists condemned the illegal detention of the Greeks at Ashdod port in Israel and the violence they faced after their arrival at the airport Eleftherios Venizelos this morning. They characterized Israel’s action as “piracy” and they stressed that the ships carried only humanitarian aid and were thoroughly checked before departing from their ports.
As Aristidis Papadokostopoulos stated, on the Greek ship was humanitarian aid, wheelchairs, prefabricated homes and medical supplies.
According to the activist when the ship was raided by the Israelis, the Free Mediterranean was 70 miles away from the waters of Gaza.
He described the Israeli actions as “clearly piratical” and underlined that “we can not allow Israel to play the role of the policeman.”
On his part, activist D. Gelalis from Larissa said that “around four o’clock in the morning we saw inflatable boats everywhere approaching us and within seconds fully armed commandos boarded the vessel.”
Activists also tell of beatings and use of electric shock and said, “We didn’t even have the right to get up of the chair. We had to raise our hands to use the toilet.”
The rest of the Greeks which are illegally detained will be brought against Israeli justice as Thanos Petrogiannis, an engineer from the Greek university, stressed.
“We went to offer help. According to the Israelis 80 miles away from the land is considered Israeli international waters and that we had entered their country illegally,” he said.
He continued by saying, “The ones who are still detained refused to sign any papers given to them by the Israelis. They will be taken to court in about 10-15 days.”
He added, “That the humanitarian aid carried by the ships bound for the Gaza strip has been seized.”
The use of violence from the Israeli commandos was condemned by the activist Michalis Grigoropoulos.
“We were in international waters. The Israelis hijacked our ship. They took us hostage as they kept aiming guns at our heads,” he said. He continued by saying that, “I was the steersman of the boat. They descended from the helicopters dropping and threw tear gas. We didn’t resist, we couldn’t do anything against the commandos.“
He also witnessed the use of electroshock to whoever tried to create a human shield in front of the bridge. Concerning the conditions of the detainment he said, “They wouldn’t even let us use the toilet, eat or drink water as they also made videos of us.
As far as the confiscation of the humanitarian aid and other personal belongings is concerned Michalis Grigoropoulos stated, “They confiscated everything. They left nothing but my papers. They took mobiles, laptops, cameras and personal belongings.”
He also said that he refused to sign papers submitted to him by the Israelis and he was removed against his will.
”They did not let me contact my lawyer or even the Greek embassy,” he said. He continued by accusing the Greek government by saying that, “Taken to trial will be the ones who refused to sign Israeli documents. The Greek government has done nothing to safeguard the Greek ships. They did not do anything to prevent them from jumping on our ships.”
Israeli claims
On the other side, the spokesman of the defence ministry in Israel, Sady Muoni, speaking on NET, said that the passengers of the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara aimed at provoking us.
He insisted that the occupants of the ship tried to lynch the Israeli soldiers while he claimed that an activist fired first.
Following that, Muoni added that the soldiers had to use violence.
Greek protest
The ambassador of Greece in Israel responded to the illegal detainment of Greek activists by Israel with a protest, calling for their immediate release.
He states that the arrest of the activists took place in international waters and that Israel could not ask from the detainees to sign documents for attempting to enter the country illegally.
According to the latest reports, 610 people have been transferred to Dire Sheva prison and held as prisoners until their cases are heard by the Israeli court.
Amongst the 610 prisoners are 31 Greeks, in which the Greek ambassador of Tel Aviv is going to visit.
From their part, Israeli authorities note that they are not held as prisoners but detained in a specially designed place in prisons.
Even though the custody of the Greek activists remains unclear, in Jerusalem and in parts of Northern Israel, Israeli Arabs are protesting against the bloody attack against the Freedom Flotilla.
Translated by Julie Jalloul
Abbas sought to abort conference in Athens
July 2, 2009
Source: AlJazeera.net (AlQuds Press)
(Διαβάστε στα Ελληνικά. قراءة العربية)
According to Greek sources
Abbas has sought to abort the Jerusalem Conference in Athens
Greek political source said that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas intervened to frustrate the holding of the solidarity of Jerusalem and the conference in the Greek capital Athens, he used strong pressure to limit the attendance, although the conference was successful at the end.
The congress was held on June 22 in Athens in the form of an international symposium titled “Jerusalem, the capital of Arab culture 2009 - Europe for Jerusalem and Gaza.” This event was organized by the Hellenic-Palestinian Friendship & Europeans for Jerusalem with the participation of eminent personalities from Greece, Europe and Palestine, including politicians, parliamentarians, religious leaders and thinkers, intellectuals and representatives of civil society institutions.
However, sources in the Greek Socialist Party revealed the accurate information described, that communications are carried out by the Palestinian president in order to “encircle and reduce the participation in the conference as much as possible.”
The source added that Abbas had contacted George Papandreou personally, President of the PASOK Greek Socialist Party, and asked him to put pressure on his party’s parliamentarians and officials and to get them not to attend the conference “so that the level of political presence, to be low as much as possible.” Abbas also held communications to leaders of other political parties in Greece for the same goal, as assurances of the source.
The source said that “the arguments advanced by Mr. Abbas to put pressure on the politicians was that the Greek organizers of the conference, mostly are close to the government of Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza and do not agree with the views of the PLO and the Palestinian Authority to adopt a negotiating approach in dealing with Israel.”
According to the sources, Abbas has also expressed dismay about the increasing activity of groups advocating the right of return for the lifting of the siege of Gaza in Greece, called on “all that is related to the movement of Palestinians should be done through the PLO and its ambassadors and representations abroad exclusively.”
To the President and then to Euro Court
May 31, 2009
Source: Kathimerini
The Chairman of the Muslim Association of Greece Mr Naim Elghandour reveals through “K” the intention to appeal to the European Court if their demand for an Islamic Mosque in Athens is not met. “The time is running out ,putting as deadline the answer of The President of The Democracy in a related letter of the Union.
“The President of The Democracy is our last hope,” stresses Mr Elghadour “If there is no answer ,or if we see that despite his positive attitude ,still nothing is being done, the only way is The European Institution. 
However already via specific websites (such as the popular greeksrethink.com) Muslims who live in our country are in a race to mobilise their “brothers” abroad.
The Global Greek community is large and scattered in every corner of the globe(Canada, USA, UK, Australia and elsewhere.) “ We are asking for their support in our cause ” says the Chairman of MAG . “Initially just to ask the priest in their local parish if they would accept the creation of an Islamic Mosque in Athens.” Given recent statements by Archbishop Ieronymos who spoke about the obvious and inalienable right of every human being to freely worship his Lord. The Greek Muslims have secured a positive response from their priests.
“Listen! Things are simple” says Mr Elghandour. “ Thirty years have passed since allegedly started the construction of the Islamic Mosque but we are still at talks. I consider that the demand is not only ours but of every freedom loving person on the planet”.
Athens , a city in which live more than 700,00 Muslims , is the only European country without a Mosque and a Muslim Cemetery. For their worship needs the Muslims are served by app 100 informal mosques operating in various parts of the Capital , in apartments, garages, warehouses and basements. Even this way of exercising their religious duties is not without a hindrance. A few months ago the Prefecture in Athens fined the owner of a basement in Nea Ionia ,which was being used as an informal mosque 60,000 and 30,000 Euros as there was no special licence for the premises.
The decision sparked off one of the largest (up to then) mobilisation of Muslims in Athens involving more than 1000 believers demanding an official place of worship.
We all remember the strong opposition of the Municipality and of the residents of Paeania, when in 2000, by law 2833 it had been decided the construction of the Islamic Centre with the expenses to be borne by Saudi Arabia.
This project never materialised and the only reminder of the story is the cross on the slope of the mountain which continues to welcome those who leave the airport with Athens as their destination.
However neither the last chapter seems to have a happy ending for the Muslim community. This project which in 2006 passed in the Parliament according to which the Islami Mosque would be constructed at a naval base in Botanicals ( where at the moment there is a supermarket and offices of the Greek Navy) and gave provision to a series of safeguards to prevent such as the Imam being a civil servant.
In the beginning we were told that there were 57 acres.
From discussion to discussion and while ministers were changing the area kept on being reduced and finally it was down to 16 acres.
“Even if it is 16 acres or 16 yards , please let us built at last” pleads Mr Elghandour.
Difficult…….. The navy claims that it needs 5 million Euros to relocate , money that nobody is willing to spend. “ We told them that we can mobilise our people to find the money and give it to them but they replied that it ….sin. At the same time they can not find the money. In response to a recent question by a member of parliament, Mr Perikles Korovesi , the Defence Ministry said that they would investigate if the construction of the Islamic Mosque raises an issue of safety to the base.
“ Now all of a sudden they are afraid that the Muslims might go to the supermarket and steal macaroni and rice” says frowning The Chairman of MGA , Mr Elghandour. And the letter we have sent to the Minister of Education remains unanswered.
“The truth is that we have not fallen to zero. We have fallen below zero. And for you to know, the American Embassy and other International Human Rights Organisations have approached us asking about these problems and I have answered “ No thanks, there is the possibility that there is a mistake.” Because we are Greeks and we have no intention to expose our country or be reported in the state department.
“We love Greece. The problems are ours and we do not need “the neighbourhood” to know.
But this is not appreciated by the Government” concludes Mr Elghandour.
Operation broom: racism in all its glory
May 22, 2009
Source: Enet.gr
The “Operation Broom” of the Greek Police, a careless act and a torn up Qur’an brought to the streets hundreds of Muslims in Athens.
The night before last and during a police raid in an Arab Café in Aharnon St. in Athens, a meeting and a recreational point of the many Muslims of the city, a police officer smashed to pieces one of the very few things that support these people: ” Their Faith.”
Hundreds of Muslim immigrants gathered in Kypseli protesting against the insult towards their religion.
According to eye witnesses, a police team of about 7-8, who were yesterday patrolling the area of Agios Panteleimonas, entered at 9.00pm the specific café, which at the time was full and asked the patrons to produce their documents.
“They ordered them to take off their shoes, socks and they were searching everything,” say the immigrants, pointing out that the café has a good reputation and families often visit.
During the raid one of the police officers approached Mohammad, 24, who speaks poor Greek and asked him to empty his pockets.
The police officer among the belongings of the young man discovered a booklet with Arabic characters.
“What is this?!” he asked. “It is the Holy Qur’an, which I recite every morning and evening” he replied. “As you recite the Gospel, we have the Qur’an” he tried to explain. The police officer then snatched the Qur’an from the young man’s hands and ripped it to pieces.
“Don’t rip it man” shouted one of his fellow officers. “They can ….” He then shouted and threw the Quran on the floor. Later with a torn up Qur’an in their hands the representatives of Muslims in Greece addressed the Ministry of Public Order and Safety, reporting the abuse.
“This is the first time such an event has taken place in Greece and it should not be repeated” they replied.
Yesterday afternoon, when the incident was announced, large groups of Muslims gathered and marched in front of the A.T Kypselis at the junction of Thira and Patision.
In that position there were two MAT Squads. The assembly started shouting slogans, reacting and responding to the insult towards their religion, at the same time throwing some stones and rubbish resulting in the cause of some damage to one vehicle and one shop.
Bystanders reported that the police retaliated by throwing tear gas and chemicals aiming to move the demonstrators on, forcing them towards Omonoia Sq. to continue with their protest.
“The fact that the police officer tore up the Qur’an and stepped on it is a major crime as far as Muslims are concerned” says the Chairman of the Muslim Association of Greece, Naim El-Ghandour.
“The Qur’an is our symbol and represents our faith.” And a Muslim is only worth what his faith is worth. In the meantime communities and associations of immigrants from Arab countries (Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh) are calling in protest this afternoon. The movement “Abandon Racism is demanding an immediate dismissal of the police officer.
This demand is based on the laws of racial discrimination. They also demand an official apology by the Greek government.
“It is a tremendous insult of the religious beliefs of people, people who have found themselves targeted by wars and Islamophobia that follows them even in Greece.
“It seems that Pavlopoulos and Makrogiannakis were enough to encourage the police to take on literally a crusade against immigrants of Greece.
Anti Capitalistic Left Wing in cooperation with Anatropi ( ANT.A.R.SY.A) are talking about the racist and oppressive acts of the police in Agios Panteleiomonas.
As a Muslim Union, we from all the mosques have refused to participate in today’s protest march” says Mr. El-Ghandour. “We choose the legal channels. We are waiting to learn the name of the police officer involved in order that we follow the legal route. Of course we have every confidence in the Greek judicial system. As the whole country faces depression and crisis, an irresponsible man comes along commits an irresponsible act and creates a problem. Many of the new immigrants are young kids of 19, 20, who have no jobs, face every day hunger and have lots of problems…
For them in those circumstances the slightest provocation can cause an explosion. We should have mutual respect for each others religions. Every one should treat the other’s sanctuaries with respect. The politicians need to hurry and find a solution for the immigrants’ problems and we must learn to live together respecting each other.”
No Authorized Imam in Greece?!!
April 23, 2009
Source: IslamOnline.net
After several attempts to uncover the Muslims’ status in Greece, IslamOnline.net (IOL)’s Euro-Muslims Page is shedding the light on the role of Greek imams as an alternate solution to many challenges they face in their way to integration into their European society while maintaining their religious Islamic identity.
For that purpose, IslamOnline.net (IOL)’s Euro-Muslims Page hosted Mr. Naim EL-Ghandour, President and Co-founder of the Association of Muslims in Greece, in a Live Dialogue session on April 6, 2009, to talk to IOL’s audience on the status of imams in Greece.
Naim El-Ghandour was born in Egypt in 1955 and has been living in Greece since 1974. He has the Hellenic citizenship and is a successful businessman. El-Ghandour dreams of seeing the Athens Mosque and the Muslim Cemetery in Athens and he exerted all his efforts for these two main projects.
Accordingly, he has proposed many requests to the Greek Government asking for the Muslims’ rights to have their own official Mosque and cemetery in Greece. His attempts are still going on.
In a response to a question from IOL’s audience during his Live Session about the mosques and its role in Greece, Mr. Naim said, “We, the larger Muslim community, are exceeding 700,000 only at the capital Athens, but we have no official mosque, just unofficial places to pray. We are fighting hard to have our own official Athens mosque and cemetery and en shaa Allah we will succeed. It is essential for us to have a mosque.”
IOL’s audience also raised an important question on what can be done to make it easier for immigrants to feel accepted in the Greek community. Our guest replied, “Greece is the number one destination for the illegal immigrants of Europe, and this is very difficult for all. But education is above our strength as the Muslim countries are not contributing, they may have not realized the current situation in Greece. At a governmental level, we are trying to start contact between the Greek state and the Muslim states to allow Islamic education to be a subject taught at schools.”
What does the Greek Muslim community lack in your opinion? Do you agree with El-Ghandour on his views on Greek Muslims’ challenges?
Read the full Live Dialogue, if you have any comment or suggestion for the coming Live Dialogues’ guests and topics, please write them below or email them to Euro_Muslims@iolteam.com
Greeks Rethink note: click through to the article to find some juicy comments by the visitors!
Με επιστολές ζητούν τζαμί και νεκροταφείο; Muslims in Athens upset at mosque delays
February 4, 2009
Source: Enet.gr
(English article below)
Το τζαμί και το μουσουλμανικό νεκροταφείο είναι δύο θέματα που απασχολούν μεγάλο μέρος του πληθυσμού της Αθήνας και όχι μόνο, καθώς εκατοντάδες χιλιάδες κάτοικοι του λεκανοπεδίου είναι μουσουλμάνοι. Ωστόσο, στην πράξη και τα δύο έχουν παγώσει. Οι μουσουλμάνοι της Αθήνας με επιστολές προς τους υπουργούς Παιδείας και Θρησκευμάτων Αρη Σπηλιωτόπουλο και Εσωτερικών Προκόπη Παυλόπουλο τα φέρνουν και πάλι στην επικαιρότητα σε μια προσπάθεια να προκαλέσουν την ευαισθητοποίησή τους. Οι δύο επιστολές εστάλησαν στις 27 Ιανουαρίου.
Η Μουσουλμανική Ενωση Ελλάδος χαρακτηρίζει και τα δύο θέματα μείζονος σημασίας και περιγράφει τους κινδύνους που προκαλεί η στάση της κυβέρνησης. Ειδικότερα για το θέμα του τζαμιού, που σύμφωνα με την τελευταία απόφαση προβλέπεται ν’ ανεγερθεί στην περιοχή του Ελαιώνα, εξηγούν μία από τις σοβαρές παραμέτρους του προβλήματος: «Η αθρόα και ανεξέλεγκτη εισροή μεταναστών από τα μουσουλμανικά κράτη πολλαπλασιάζουν τον μουσουλμανικό πληθυσμό μεταφέροντας μαζί τους τις όποιες ιδέες και διδαχές που δεν έχουν τη βάση ενός επίσημου φορέα. Ετσι, καθώς δεν υπάρχει επίσημο τέμενος στην Αθήνα, ο καθείς μπορεί να δημιουργήσει έναν άτυπο χώρο προσευχής όπως κάναμε όλοι μας στο παρελθόν, με τη διαφορά ότι δεν έχουν ως κέντρο αναφοράς την αρμονική συνύπαρξη των ανθρώπων και το καλό της Ελλάδας, αλλά προωθούν τις δικές τους βλέψεις για ίδιο όφελος».
Σ’ ό,τι αφορά το θέμα του μουσουλμανικού νεκροταφείου, για το οποίο η Εκκλησία της Ελλάδος επί αρχιεπισκοπίας Χριστοδούλου έχει παραχωρήσει έκταση στο Σχιστό, γράφουν προς τον υπουργό Εσωτερικών ότι ενώ όλα τα αρμόδια στελέχη της κυβέρνησης τους διαβεβαιώνουν ότι το θέμα έχει διευθετηθεί, δεν έχει γίνει απολύτως τίποτα. Και αφού τονίζουν ότι πρόκειται για μείζονος σημασίας θέμα, κυρίως για την αρμονική συνύπαρξη όλων των ανθρώπων που ζουν σε μια πολυπολιτισμική κοινωνία, προειδοποιώντας επί της ουσίας για όσα μπορεί να ακολουθήσουν, προσθέτουν: «Οι μουσουλμάνοι της Αθήνας δικαίως βιώνουν το αίσθημα της ματαίωσης και της απόρριψης καθώς δεν έχουν τη δυνατότητα να προσεύχονται, να παντρεύονται, να κηδεύονται αξιοπρεπώς».
Source: The Earth Times
Muslims living in Athens voice displeasure over mosque delay
Muslims living in Athens voiced their displeasure Monday over a delay in the construction of a mosque for tens of thousands of Muslims who have been using abandoned factories and converted coffee shops as makeshift prayer houses for years. The president of the Muslim Union of Greece said the construction of a state-funded mosque and cemetery in Elaionas near the centre of Athens has been faced with countless delays.
In 2007 the Greek government unveiled a bill for the construction of the mosque, saying it would be built on a large plot of land owned by the Greek Navy.
According to the bill, the new Athens mosque will be run by a non- profit organisation staffed by Greek state officials and members of the capital’s Muslim communities. The head imam will be appointed by a government-backed committee and be paid by the ministry.
A previous proposal to build a mosque near Athens’ International Airport ahead of the 2004 Olympics was blocked following objections by residents and opposition from the Greek Orthodox Church, which disagreed with the location and plans for funding from Saudi Arabia.
“There are apprxomately 150 illegal mosques operating across the Greek capital and this cannot continue,” said Naim Elgantur, President of the Muslim Union of Greece.
“The authorities have told us to send them certain documents which we have sent them twice, and which they claim to have lost.”
Athens is the only European capital which does not have a proper mosque or cemetery to serve its more than 300,000 Muslim residents, mainly from various parts of northern Africa and Pakistan.
At present, the only operating mosques in Greece are in the northeastern region of Thrace, home to some 100,000 Muslims.
The largest makeshift mosque currently exists in the Athens district of Moschato. The mosque, based inside a disused factory measuring 800 square meters, has reportedly been funded by a Saudi Arabian donor.
Israeli weapons at Greek port: the real story
January 16, 2009
“Go Greece!!! Greeks hinder US arms delivery to Israel!!!“ When I saw this title posted on www.islamify.com, it made me smile. By now, the word is getting out that Israel is trying to obtain another U.S. weaponry shipment that is tied up at the Astakos port in Greece. Although many news networks are covering the story* around the world, I thought it was interesting to hear the details directly from one of my sources in Greece that are in the area:
Astakos is one of the very few ports that is big enough and it’s private so it doesn’t belong to the government. This way, the Greek government is somehow explaining the fact that it is not interfering in that matter that much. However, Greek law states that whatever lies in Greek waters is under the jurisdiction of the Greek Navy and the government. And since the European Union and the U.N. condemn what Israel is doing, the Greek government had the right to not allow those ships to deliver those cargos. But these days, the Greek government went on saying that such a matter (i.e. sending weapons to Israel for the war in Gaza) doesn’t even exist.
Some journalists (who live close to the area) said that these weapons were already stored here in Greece and this is why those ships were sent here to take them. Some American ships were on the port on January 7, 2009. Some people have claimed that they carried many containers with unknown types of weapons. Also, some military analysts claim that because of the heavy load, they are probably carrying GBU-28 bombs, each of them weighing 2.2 tonnes, that can bomb through 6 meters in concrete!
The U.S. is now saying that it will not happen anymore even though the shipment is still at the port, but since practically no one believes them, there have been demonstrations at the port. The Greek government, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, has tried to say that the matter is not even discussable and they treat it as it doesn’t exist. The Greek people, however, are not going to pretend to be blind. So far, Muslims and non-Muslims in Greece have been protesting at the port twice in addition to all the demonstrations going on in Greece, including the Communist Party being involved in the protesting.
Please join the facebook groups protesting to stop this Gaza genocide:
Σταματήστε το φονικό στην ΓΑΖΑ! | Stop killing in GAZA!
GREEKS PROTEST Against Israel For Shooting At a Greek Aid Ship Heading Gaza
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*Note: Some other reports about the incident:
http://athens.indymedia.org/front.php3?lang=el&article_id=967338
http://astakos.wordpress.com
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N12348891.htm
http://www.inteldaily.com/news/163/ARTICLE/9285/2009-01-14.html
اعتصام بمرفأ يوناني يستخدم لنقل أسلحة لإسرائي AlJazeera
Riots in Greece – Are Muslims behind it?
December 9, 2008
This is a ridiculous claim made by some Islamophobics online (here and here) who are quick to judge but way off the mark. It just shows how someone can put their foot in their mouth. In fact, this issue has nothing to do with Muslims and all to do with police, youth and government in Greece. Below, Br. Amir covers the facts of the news report.
Chaos has broken out in Greece after the killing of a 15 year old boy by a special forces police officer. The positions given by news channels are two. On the one hand, the police claims that the two cops of whom the one shot the boy, allegedly where attacked by a group of 30 anarchists, when they were patrolling the area of Exarchia, and in self defense, they threw teargas and shot three times, hitting the boy by mistake.On the other hand, three eyewitnesses claim that the boy was only with his two friends, both named Nikos, who were just going out to buy their friend a drink to celebrate their ‘Name Day’ as in Orthodox Christian tradition, when they started arguing with the two cops, of which, the one showed his genital organs, and after that, shot the boy in cold blood in the chest.
After this, today is the third day of riots taking place in Athens and other major cities of Greece, with many wounded, shops, houses, banks, the archeological museum and the national library of Athens burned to the ground. Special forces police hitting innocent demonstrators, and throwing teargas grenades into the demonstrating masses, while not even touching the anarchists who destroy the cities, such are the claims of live radio stations like Skai and so on.
Claims of special forces blocking the exits of the metro stations, keeping large numbers of people kept inside the metro stations and wagons, and people shouting from inside “I am 15 years old, will you kill me?” in response.
The funeral of the child was held today approximately at 3:00 pm Greece time, and was being ‘protected’ by special forces. Demonstrations are being held the entire day, with as reason, not only the death of the child, but also the other scandals of the government in rule as well (the Zachopoulos matter, the economical crisis matter, the Siemens matter and much more). After the starting of the riots, as reported, Greece’s Interior Minister, and the police Deputy tried to resign, but Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis refused to accept their resignation.
Greece has come to it’s peak of reaction, and some think that even a revolution or civil war are to be expected. Officials claim that such an incident has not happened since 1973 on 17 of November, which is still considered a feast day in Greece because of the fall of the Junda of that age.
We can only hope for something good to come out of this, and we all feel the pain and rage that the parents of the child must have.
Other news stations covering the story: Zougla.gr and Yahoo!
