Green light for mosque in Athens
May 1, 2010
Source: Ethnos
© Translation: Muslim Association of Greece
Fifteen days before the arrival of the Turkish Prime Minister T. Erdogan in Athens, the Greek parliament hasted yesterday to announce the “direct building of the Mosque in Athens” officially, an issue that Mr. Erdogan has, repeatedly and systematically, raised in the past years, claiming the role of “protector” of all Muslims who reside and work in Greece.
This hasty announcement of the parliament raises many questions, since, though correct at its base, creates negative impressions regarding the time chosen for the announcement of the building of the mosque, since it will be regarded as pleasing the firm demand of Mr. Erdogan which he raised systematically without any legalization.
The Islamic temple will be built in Votanikos, though, as it seems, without the traditional tall minaret.
The Minister of Education, Anna Diamandopoulou, made the relative announcement yesterday, during the Cabinet. While in an announcement by the government spokesman Giorgos Petalotis, it is noted that the building will be immediate, the mosque will have a capacity of approximately 500 individuals, it will be built on part of the land where the Navy Fort is, in a way that it will be organically integrated into a wider green environment.
Also, a seven-member board is being appointed, of whom, two are proposed by recognized, reputable Muslim societies, while five are Greek civil servants.
Asked by “Ethnos” about the developments and mainly the fact that the mosque would not have a minaret, the president of the Muslim Association of Greece, Mr. Naim Elghandour, said, “We said from the beginning that we do not want to get in dissociation with the Church and we told them that the mosque will not be alienated from the local architecture. Actually, in our discussions with the relevant bodies, we showed them pictures from the Mosque in Granada which resembles the architecture of Christian churches.”
Paraskevi Vonatsou
Translated by Amir Arvanitis
Greece: the Church, the Mosque and the lost vote
February 10, 2010
Source: Enet.gr
By Thomas Tsatsis
© Translated by the Muslim Association of Greece
Ten years ago, when the issue of the identity cards and the indication of the religion was hot, the former bishop of Alexandroupolis – Anthimos was supporting the position of the official Church in an…unorthodox way.
Referring to a fact that was never clarified if it had a real existence, the bishop was saying that about 70 Muslims that were living in the wider region of Alexandroupolis had asked a “voting paper” to sign their claim to mention religion on the ID cards.
This is the same bishop that gave a battle after – out of solidarity – against the Muslim mosque at Peania, as was ordered by the law that was voted by the parliament.
And now he starts a new battle against the law that gives Hellenic nationality to the immigrants who many of them are Muslims. With a simple argument: “The Church was not asked about that. You can’t bring 700 thousands Muslims in the country and make them Greeks without even asking the Church.”
The Thessaloniki bishop (Anthimos), whatever they charge on him, one must admit that he knows about politics. The governments many times are acting according to the perception of the “lost vote” from the “side-church” that prevails inside the hierarchy. That means that the bishop will shout from the pulpit, the Christian crowd will be terrified, the MPs will feel pressures and they will transfer this to their parties to convey the message.
Thus with the populism of the opposition party and with the fear of the vote that can be lost, the government goes backwards and turns 180 degrees. The issue of the identity cards confirms the above. There were only two or three MPs and ministers of PASOK during 2000-2004 that defended the omitting of the religion from the identity cards publically. The rest had disappeared in order not to be indicated as opponents of the Church.
Four years now the governments do not take over the political cost of the construction of the Mosque at Eleonas as mentions the law of New Democracy government of 2006. But they are also scared to proceed to the construction of the Muslim cemetery in a field that the Church has bestowed! Yes, of the Church!
The government has not many choices. Either they will proceed immediately and solve the problem of the thousands of immigrants – and not only – Muslims that live in Attica and will confront a part of hierarchy in front and behind stage, or they will confront issues that cannot solve.
The scattered mosques-warehouses that are more than 100 in Attica are not under any control. Whatever is heard by “imams” that are self-announced small “prophets” many times are dangerous and cannot be confronted by the police. The legitimacy, the operation of one or more mosques with rules and conditions, official, with moderate imams and not with competing “Mujahidins”, can be a start.
Unless the government is waiting to finish first with the law for the immigrants and after that to take counsel with the Church. And just the day before yesterday the Hoy Synod stated that they believe that the law for the nationalities does not coincide totally with the immigration problem and that the government should consider the opinions of the bishops.
Bishops that “on one hand they preserve the teachings of Christ for love to everyone, on the other hand they do not know the partial national and social sensitivities, thus their opinions should be co-calculated to face such crucial matters.” This is the Holy Synod whose president is Archbishop Ieronymos.
Question to the parliament for mosque and cemetery by MP Gr.Psarianos
February 4, 2010
MP of SYRIZA party, Grigoris Psarianos applied yesterday a formal question to the Parliament about the construction of the official mosque and the Muslim cemetery, as this issue seems to be forgotten once again.
Below you can read the entire question
Question To Ministers
- National Defense
- Education, Life Learning and Religions
- Internal Affairs, Decentralization and Electronic Governing
- Infrastructure Transportations and Networks
Subject: “Construction of Muslim mosque and construction of Muslim cemetery”
The Muslim immigrants that live in our country are estimated to be about 700-800 thousand and most of them live in Attica. According to their biggest organization, the Muslim Association of Greece, despite the fact that they do not face problems with the Greek citizens, the same does not happen with the Greek State, which seems to totally ignore their community.
The proof is in the long procrastination of the Hellenic state to fulfill two major issues of the Muslim community: the construction of an official mosque and of a Muslim cemetery in the Attica region.
Today in Athens there are only unofficial praying places, about 100, and the Arabs, Pakistanis, Bangladesh and Kurds that are the majority of the Muslim immigrants. The Muslims from other nationalities pray at the places of the Arab community.
The places are undergrounds, garages, stores, some are neat and others in a miserable situation, depending on the potential of every group. Also in Athens there is not a Muslim cemetery, nor a section for Muslim burial.
Some deceased are transferred to their countries of origin, if this is possible, as it is very costly. Others have no homeland to bury [their dead] as the Palestinians.
The construction of a mosque is described in two laws. The first was by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2004 describing the construction of a worship place for the Muslims at Peania.
But this plan was abandoned after the reactions of the residents of the area and the Church as well. The second law was voted on in 2006 and described the construction of the mosque at Eleonas.
Also, according to a briefing to Muslim Association of Greece by the special Secretary of Religions Ministry when the minister was Evr.Stylianides, there was a disbursement of 15 million euro for the construction of the mosque taken by the State expenditure treasury, as the law of 2006 describes, and that the only delay was the relocation of the supermarket of the navy base from this area, something that was under the authority of the Ministry of National Defense.
With a relative question from Syriza PM Pericles Korovesis, on March 2009 to three ministries, the National Defense Minister replies that on August 2008 there had been sent to the Ministry of Education and Religions, “document that are mentioned the possible locations that the mosque can be constructed at the Navy Base of Votanikos, as well as the financial demands for relocation of the activities of the Navy to another area…”
The Ministry of National Defense and the navy headquarters are expecting the notification of the intentions from the Ministry of Religions. The Ministry of Environment and Zoning replied that “the issue of the Islamic mosque is being handled by the Ministry of Education and Religions.
And the Ministry of Education and Religions, refusing any responsibility, replies, “We are notifying you that the responsibility of the ministry lies only to the financial management of the Islamic mosque that starts after its construction.”
However, article 3 of Law 3512/2006 defines that, “the construction of the mosque will be done by the administration of Applying Educational Projects of the Ministry of Education and Religions and with expenses of the Program of State Investments.” Nevertheless the minister “washes its hands” while the first disbursement has been made.
A similar case stands with the construction of the Muslim cemetery. The Church has bestowed for this reason in 2005 a field of 30.000m² at the Shisto area. But according to the document of the ministry of internal affairs “after reservations that the Organization “Athena” expressed regarding the suitability of the place in question for the specific usage, from zoning and ground aspect, this case is reconsidered…”
After that on June of 2009 the Church states with a letter to the Minister of Environment and Zoning, Mr. Souflias, that this is a social necessity and moves to the next step. [It] bestows another field in the area and has already prepared and given the blueprint and asks the immediate response of the ministries. Until today the State has not responded.
Because of a multicultural Europe of today, Athens is the only European capital that has not taken care of a place of worship and burial of the Muslim population and because it is an issue of social acceptance and mutual respect to the hundreds of thousands co-citizens, the ministers in charge are asked:
- In which stage are the procedures for the construction of the mosque at Eleonas?
- Which ministry is responsible for the funding of the relocation of the services of the navy that is operating in the area?
- What happened to the 15 million euro that according to the Ministry of Education and Religions has been disbursed by the treasury for the expenses of the construction of the mosque?
- Has a notary action been conducted between the Church and State, with which the specific field at Shisto is being bestowed for the construction of the Muslim cemetery? If not why is it delaying, while the church has all good intentions to proceed with this issue?
- Which ministry coordinates the construction of the Muslim cemetery and when is it expected to conclude the works?
The parliamentarian that asks,
Grigoris Psarianos
See related posts by Enet and Zougla
Greek Parliament Member: Glory of Islam
May 29, 2009
Source: Enet.gr
by Pericles Korovesis, PM SYRIZA to the Greek Parliament.
(Διαβάστε στα Ελληνικά. قراءة العربية)
“It needs one thousand sages to find a stone once thrown to the sea by an idiot.” Old Chinese proverb.
But, it needs thousands of responsible citizens to protest in a much louder way than Greek Muslims have been doing for the last couple of weeks, after an idiot police officer in Athens, Greece had torn and stepped on a copy of the Noble Quraan.
At the end of the story, it seems convenient that we must stop the link of the Quraan with immigration: it’s time to accept that the truth of Islam embraces Greek citizens’ beliefs.
That poor cop didn’t know that Jesus and the Virgin Mary are venerated in the Muslim world with the same honour as the Christians do so. How could he know that they are mentioned so many times in the Quranic text?
How might he explain to his parents that he had spat on Jesus and Virgin Mary? Islam is a religion and one of the great civilisations in the history of humanity. Thanks to the great philosophers and wise men of Islam, we have today important texts from the literature and science from the classic antiquity saved. In plain words, no chance for modern science to exist without the Islamic contribution in mathematics (algebra), physics, medicine, geometry and astronomy.
Islam means submission to God: not so far from “obey to God” in Christian terms. Islam is one of the three monotheistic (Abrahamic)religions – Judaism and Christianity the other two.
The Noble Quraan appears during the 7th century as a text revealed from God to the Prophet Muhammad doesn’t bring any innovation; it reasserts what already existed as monotheistic values.
But it is focused on the issue of poverty, emphasizes on our responsibility to the poor and social solidarity, speaking the present tongue; this is a sine qua non for the Islamic faith.
Now we can understand why Islam had such a triumphant course in Pakistan and Indonesia, still on the move forward.
Islamic moral code includes these commandments: do not kill; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not tell lies. Everybody knows their origin in religion.
There are about 15 million Muslims in Europe (2002 statistics). Today, roughly estimated they approach 20 million. But what does it mean to us? Perhaps the person next door may be a Muslim and feeling Greek as we do.
Today the campaign against Islam is much the same as happened against communism at the cold war time. Let us recall what G.W. Bush said about the war of the good against the evil or Berlusconi’s statement about the superiority of Christianity over Islam, the theory about the clash of civilisations by S.Huddington since 2000, meaning the clash of the Christian vs. the Islamic world.
It is the Imperialism hidden behind anti-Islamism. This does not mean that corrupted and authoritarian governments and regimes do not exist on the name of the Prophet. But, G.W. Bush wasn’t speaking on behalf of God? Or our Jesus Christ blocked black business in Vatopaidi monastery or bribes to come from Siemens?
Therefore, we as Greeks, have more reasons to come closer to our Muslim brothers.
Pericles Korovesis is an accomplished writer and journalist. His books are published in many languages and he is a regular columnist at various newspapers. He struggles for environmental, human rights, education, and immigrant causes. He is member of the Greek Parliament at Syriza party (left). perikliskorovesis.wordpress.com
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Photo credits: perikliskorovesis.wordpress.com,
Special report: Greek Parliament member pushes religious freedom for Muslims
March 30, 2009
Parliament member Mr. Periklis Korovesis from the Syriza party lodged a formal question [about religious freedom] to the Greek Parliament, in particular the Ministers of Internal Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Education and Religions, National Defence. (Please view the seven questions at the end of this report.)
Subject: Muslim Cemetery and Mosque in Attica
In Athens, where 700 000 Muslims of all nationalities live, there is neither a mosque nor a Muslim cemetery, making Greece the only country in Europe that has not taken care of this. This practice opposes Article 13 of the Constitution and Article 9 of the European Convention for the Human Rights that clearly state “the freedom of religious conscience is unhindered”.
Understandably, the Muslims in Athens feel the sense of rejection as they have no ability to pray, get married, and have a funeral service with dignity. As a result, this brought the existence of over 50 unofficial praying places in the region, often located in undergrounds and garages.
Just recently, the Prefecture of Athens fined the owner of an underground building at Nea Ionia 60 000 euro and 30 000 euro because he used it as an unofficial mosque without special permission of a “bethel”, allowing Muslims of the area to pray there.
There were significant local protests from the immigrants who opposed the prefecture as well as Greek inhabitants and authorities, demonstrating on Saturday February 7th at a massive movement in this small area (more than 1000 people) asking for a proper place to conduct religious tasks, which is a right registered by the constitution.
However, the decision of the prefecture and the reactions on behalf of the immigrants is not new. Thirty years have passed since the first claim in 1976 was lodged for building a mosque in Athens from the Arabic embassies, when all Greek governments projected several barriers in order not to proceed to its fulfillment.
Meanwhile, in other countries like Sweden, there are five mosques, 150 praying places and 10 Muslim cemeteries; in France there are 2000 praying places and 12 mosques when the cemeteries (except for one Muslim cemetery established in 1930) where it is obliged to have place of burying Muslims; in Norway (Oslo) the mosque was established in 1980, in Poland (Gtansk) in 1989, in Russia (Moscow) in 1912, in Scotland (Glascow) in 1983, in Portugal (Lisbon) in 1988, in Malta in 1978, in Ireland (Dublin) in 1978, in the UK there is the biggest Muslim cemetery in Europe and many mosques.
In 1983 the Greek state was committed to construct a mosque in Marousi, but this did not work due to the reactions of the local authorities. In 2000 the law 2833 was including the establishment if an Islamic Cultural Centre and Mosque in Peania with expenses that the Saudi Arabian Government would cover. This project was cancelled and in the very same place they realized that was already been built an orthodox church!
In October 2006 the Ministry of Education presented a draft law for building a mosque at Eleonas, a feasible project in harmony with the protected green of the area. The decision remained inapplicable because at the area that was given for the mosque is located navy base and the transfer of that means that 5 000 000 euro should be found. Although the Muslim Community was willing to offer that amount, this offer was not accepted, for it is the obligation of the Ministry of Defense to provide the funds to the Navy.
The Muslim Association of Greece sent a recent letter (27.01.09) to the Minister of Education and Religions asking to fulfil the governmental commitments and accusing the ministry’s palinodes twice for losing the necessary documents for the realization of this project.
Similar luck seems to have the permanent claim of the Muslims for the establishment of the Muslim cemetery in Athens, for which we have lodged a question (number of lodgment 1334/15.7.2009).
Despite of the bestowal of the field at the area of Schisto for the establishment, and the commitments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that was authorized as a coordinator of the engaged authorities, no procedure has proceeded. Hence, since the Muslims of Attica have no official mosque, nor a cemetery, nor a religious scholar who will be under a law to practice their religious rituals, they are forced to move their dead to Thrace or abroad with a huge economic cost for the family, that rates even 5000 euro (for Pakistan).
For the construction of the Muslim cemetery in Schisto, the Muslim Association of Greece has sent a letter again to the Minister of Internal Affairs on 27.01.2009, asking for intervention, as far as the bureaucratic procedures of the local authorities are concerned for the following reasons:
- All these are unprecedented for an elemental democratic country and equals to “Islamophobia” and discrimination if the Islamic civilization;
- The pertinacious non-immigration policy of the governments has created a suffocating place of living for Muslim immigrants and refuges that are in Greece, insulting fundamental and obvious human rights of every civilised country;
- The immigration stream of the last decade has definitively changed the face and composition of the Greek society affecting even its deeper structures, transforming it to multicultural and religious differentiation, which in fact compels changes in point of vision, criteria and methods.
The ministers are asked:
- What is the status of the procedures for the construction of the Eleonas mosque and what are the obstacles of moving the navy base, the cost of the moving etc.
- Have the funds been found by the Ministry of National Defense for the move of the navy base from the area of Eleonas?
- In which point are the procedures for the establishment of the Muslim cemetery in Shisto? Is the topographic survey of the area that was expected to be completed within a two months period starting from July 2008, according to the response that was given to us by the Deputy Minister of foreign affairs Theodoros Kassimis?
- Has the transfer of the proprietary title of the area been made by the Church of Greece to the local authority in charge of the Muslim cemetery?
- Are the procedures of the Ministry of Zoning and Public Works finished as concerning the zoning of the cemetery area?
- How do they think to improve the conditions of religious freedom and equity, having in mind the condition that has prevailed in Greece and in Europe, in order to reduce the distance that separates our country from the rest of Europe?
- Which constitutional preconditions they think to create will allow all religious communities to enjoy the internationally acknowledged equity of rights and parity for the religious rights?
Athens, March 26, 2009
Member of Parliament
Periklis Korovesis
Exclusive coverage of Gaza demonstrations in Greece – with photo gallery
January 18, 2009
Muslims, anti-war organizations, students and the general Athens population came together daily to protest in support to free Gaza against this humanitarian tragedy.
Main Demonstrations – Saturday, January 10
We participated at a large demonstration brought forth by many organizations, political parties, syndicates and the Arab community at Syntagma square. It was very successful and peaceful although it was crowded and long. Walking from U.S. embassy to the Israeli embassy, people expressed their frustration and promised not to stop demonstrating until the attacks are stopped and the Israeli troops are withdrawn from Gaza Strip.
Children’s Demonstration – Sunday, January 11
In front of the Greek Parliament, Palestinian, Greek and Arab children up to 14 years old stood with their parents in unity to raise their voices in hopes to make a difference. Heading to the U.N. offices and stopping to the E.U. offices, this was the most successful protest, completely peaceful with small children.
Blood for Gaza
The Ministry of Health & Welfare along with the Minister Avramopoulos personally responded instantly to the request of the Muslim Association of Greece and organized a two-day blood collection for Gaza on Monday and Tuesday. Many people among Greeks and Arabs donated their blood and as soon as the blood reaches Gaza, they will hold another blood collection very soon, but the ministry needs to assure the route first because blood is a sensitive material and Gaza is a very difficult destination.
(click on image to view video)
Demonstration in Astakos, Greece
On Thursday, the authorities of the region of Etoloakarnania, the mayor of Astakos, political party Synaspismos, anti war coalition, Palestinian community and the Muslim Association in Greece all took part at the second demonstration at the Greek port in Astakos.
The speeches were at the center of Astakos, where the mayor was one of those who acted immediately and dynamically to stop this ship. Everyone spoke with flaming words about the war in Gaza who stood at the side of the Palestinians suffering but still enduring this slaughter.
Protests continued at the port facilities, but we were not allowed to enter because port police and special forces blocked the entrance. The citizens of Astakos were actively following the demonstration, conscious about what was about to happen in their laps.
Next demonstration on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Athens. The demonstrations continue until this brutality in Gaza is stopped.
