Radio Muezzin: a unique theatrical play

The Greek Festival

In Greek: Στα Ελληνικα

The Greek society had a great chance to attend the theatrical play “Radio Muezzin“, sponsored by “Greek Festival”. It was a play balancing between theater and a documentary, where five muezzins from Egypt unfolded their personal life stories in a simple narrative way.

Through the use of the images, they showed the viewers their mosque, their neighborhood, their house, their family and significant moments in their lives. With their melodic voices, they took the crowd to a journey through the sound of Islam, of the prayer and Qur’an plainly with no excess. They explained this nature of their task humbly and directly.

They made important comments that in a country like Greece the call for prayer is not allowed, but also that Athens is a city without a mosque and a cemetery for the Muslims.

They spoke about the recent decision of the Egyptian State, where the athan, the call for prayer, will be broadcasted live through a radio frequency at the thousands mosques of Cairo, from only one voice per day. In fact they have already chosen the 30 best muezzins (moadhinin), one of those was Mohammed Ali who presented his story at “Radio Muezzin”.

The public filled the theatre of Pireos 260 on both days of the play and applauded with warmth respectfully to the “protagonists”. Many famous people of art and culture watched the play as I saw.

Personally, I was impressed by the advanced artistic aestheticism and at the same time the warm and direct presence of the muezzins who did not pretend.  On the contrary, they showed every spectator the images of their lives, that they are people with deep religious feeling that gave the simple view of Islam, Quran and prayer.

I was also impressed by the warm reaction of the public that enjoyed the play.

Congratulations to the director Stefan Kaegi – Rimini Protocoll and all contributors.

The play has already travelled through Europe and will continue to the famous festival d’ Avignon.

Photo gallery:

Some say freedom, some say acceptance

I’ve been watching this poll on our site closely and I find it interesting to see that there is a major split between two answers:

My guess (and this is just a guess) is that many Muslims chose “religious freedom” and many non-Muslims chose “acceptance into Greek society”. 

But this could be problematic.

I mean, how can we solve this problem if we don’t even see eye-to-eye on what the problem is exactly?

Muslims know that the constitution of the European Union guarantees the right of religious freedom, which includes a right to pray in a mosque and be buried in a local cemetery.   And the world knows that Muslims are being withheld their basic human rights.

Why are non-Muslim Greeks not able to understand this?

Muslims want what everyone else wants:

• safety
• a place to pray
• a place to be buried
• a job to sustain their families
• peacefulness with their neighbours
• proper education for their children
• to contribute to society

If ‘acceptance into Greek society’ was our end goal, then we would leave our Islam (that we embraced as an intellectual choice) and just assimilate or revert back to the Greek Christian Orthodox identity. 

But that’s not what we want.

So, the answer here is not ‘acceptance into Greek society’. 

Rather, it’s mutual respect. 

I am a Greek Muslim and I respect you for the freedom of your choice.  You are a Greek Christian, Buddhist, Agnostic, Atheist, Pantheist and you respect me for the freedom of my choice.  We are both humans, both equal, both free to choose our religion and live peacefully together.

The day that people in Greek society realise that the issue is religious freedom and mutual respect is the day that Greeks of all religions can coexist in harmony and enrich its civilisation together.

Fury of Muslims in Greece, Leading Where?

Translated By  Ms. Anna Stamou >

The torn copy of the Holy Qur’ http://www.islamonline.net For two subsequent days hundreds of Muslim immigrant demonstrators filled the streets in Athens protesting against an incident that a police officer had torn up a copy of the Holy Qur’an. The incidents caused different kinds of reactions and resurfaced the problematic status of the marginalized Greek Muslims.According to Mr. Naim El-Ghandour, President of the Muslims Association in Greece (MAG), there was an abrupt police raid on a Syrian café in Athens, across Nicolas Church Street. The clients were checked by Greek policemen who asked the immigrants to show their ID credentials. They also ordered the immigrants to take off their shoes, socks. They were thoroughly searched. However, nothing illegal was found and the immigrants proved to be legally residents of the country. Up to that point, nobody was to blame… During the raid, one of the Greek officers, whose identity is still anonymous, approached Mohammad, 24 years, speaks poor Greek, and asked him to empty his pockets. Worth mentioning that the Syrian café is a meeting and a recreational place for many Muslims in Athens. Among the belongings of the young man, the officer found a booklet with Arabic characters and asked what it was. “It is the Holy Qur’an, which I recite every morning and evening” Mohammad replied. “As you recite the Gospel, we have the Qur’an” he tried to explain. The police officer’s reaction to those words was that he tore the Holy Qur’an up, threw it on the floor, and stepped on it. One of his fellow officers asked him to stop because this was the Holy book of the Muslims, but in vain… Immediate Reactions With a torn up version of the Holy Qur’an, the President of the Muslim Association of Greece headed for the closest police station and the Public Order and Safety (Ministry of Internal Affairs in Greece) and reported the sacrilege. Statements of the Greek Authorities As a rejection to any kind of anti-religious freedom action, Mr. Evangelos Antonaros, the Deputy Government Spokesman, issued the following statement on May 22, 2009 (full statement is on the official website of the Ministry of Interior, Hellenic Government, click here): “The Greek State totally respects the religious freedom of everyone and distinctly convicts any kind of insult for such freedom, especially insulting sacred texts and symbols that are inextricable parts of any faith. Every action that is turned against the religious freedom of the others warrants total disapproval of the Greek society that traditionally accepts with hospitality people belonging to any race or religion, since they respect the laws of our country.” Muslims’ Feelings after the Insult Mr. Naim El-Ghandour with the torn copy of the Holy Qur’an. “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,” Mr. Naim El-Ghandour explained.“The Qur’an is our sacred symbol and represents our Faith,” “It is a tremendous insult of the religious beliefs of people who have found themselves targeted by wars and islamophobia evoked against them even in Greece,” El-Ghandour highlighted with sorrow. On the governmental level, Mr. Christos Markogiannakis, the Deputy Minister of Inner Affairs stated that: “The General Police Administration of Athens is investigating this case in which a policeman is accused of insulting a religious symbol. The inquiry goes into depth and whoever is proven responsible for such act will be brought to justice. Escalating the Situation Moreover, Mr. Naim added that some of the small Left parties misused the situation by provoking the immigrants to demonstrate against the racist and oppressive acts of the police in St. Panteleimonas area. Demonstrations centred in the heart of Athens where those parties distributed posters with their claims, using the ripped part of the Qur’an as a trigger for violent reactions. Consequently, the Hellenic Government replied to those actions saying: “The incident is still under investigation. Yet, it does not justify the actions by some people who are determined to commit damages to civilians’ properties nor to engage in civil clashes causing injuries and disturbing severely the social and economical life of the city,” added Mr. Markogiannakis. MAG Attitude On the other hand, Mr. Naim El-Ghandour stressed “the Muslim Association of Greece as well as the habitués of all mosques in Athens has refused to participate in any demonstration.” “We resort to the legal channels. We are waiting to recognize the name of the involved police officer in order to sue him. Of course we have every confidence in the Greek Judicial System. As the whole country faces depression and crisis, a reckless man commits an irresponsible action and creates a problem. To All Immigrants During his statement, Mr. Markogiannakis addressed the whole immigrant community saying: “We ask the legitimate immigrants who live in Greece to respect peace and order assuring that the State will not allow such extremist behaviors. We expect from all political forces to show responsibility, to satisfy the demands of the civilians within law and order. The problem of illegal immigration is a sensitive national issue.” (Full Statement by the Greek Deputy Minister of Interior for the current events in the center of Athens in Greek, Please click here to view) Causes for the outrageous reaction “Many of the new immigrants are young, kids of 19, 20  years old, who have no jobs, face every day hunger, and have lots of problems..” Mr. El-Ghandour explained. Under such circumstances, the slightest provocation can cause an explosion and especially for a religious symbol. We should have mutual respect for each other’s religions. Everyone should treat the other’s sanctuaries with respect. The politicians need to speed up action and find a solution for the immigrants’ problems and we must learn to live together respecting each other,” he added. Political Declarations On a broader level, all the political parties in Greece have condemned this incident. Characteristically, the PASOK Spokesman Giorgos Papakonstantinou pointed out that the “phenomena of humiliation and disrespect of the religious rights and the insult of symbols of any religion cannot be tolerated for any citizen;  Greek or immigrant.” (For more information, please click here). Causalities on all levels The Pakistanis, Afghanis, and Bangladeshis participated in those demonstrations that lasted for two days and serious damages occurred: many stores, cars, bus stops were smashed. Many thieveries occurred; there were also injured policemen and immigrants. Again, the smell of tear gas and of the cocktail Molotov canisters was spread everywhere in Athens. Late at night, a small group of people set fire to a basement of a residential building where there was a prayer place, an unofficial mosque for the Bangladesh community. Four people were inside the prayer place at that hour and luckily they were not hurt. However, none was blamed for this terrorist act which was regarded as an act of revenge. Mohammed, the immigrant involved with the officer, having the torn version of the Holy Quran accompanied by Mr. Naim El-Ghandour, the president of Muslim Association of Greece, and represented by the distinguished attorney Frangiskos Ragousis filed a lawsuit at the Hellenic Courts on Monday May the 24th. All parties are waiting for the Court’s ruling…

My Big Fat Greek Project

I was intereviewed by the Queen of Sheba program so I thought I would share my dreams with you too.

I had this insane dream to revolutionize Islam in Greece. I sat down one day and just wrote out a 10 year vision plan. I kept writing and writing and I couldn’t stop. Then I just stared at it and I remember thinking, this is insane! But it was just an exhilarating feeling to even allow myself to take my imagination that far. At that point, I was determined more than ever to go through with it.

I was scared because I was only one person and I barely knew any other Greek Muslims let alone in Greece but I did know that Greece was the only European Union country where there is still no mosque allowed in its capital city. This is the place where every Muslim is called a Turk who “enslaved them for 400 years”. So, you can imagine the mountain of a task in front of me.

On the other hand, practically speaking, it is proven that in order for women to feel stress-free while they are succeeding, they need to feel that they have support (which is not [necessarily] the case for men). I have been blessed to find a team that works with me on the same vision and this is my backbone.

Iman: I want to see religious freedom for Muslims in Greek society as well as mutual respect between people of different faiths. I hope that through our efforts, we will establish a thriving communal system that will become an integral part of Greek society.

 

——–

Special report: Greek Parliament member pushes religious freedom for Muslims

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 7^th 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:

1. 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.
2. Have the funds been found by the Ministry of National Defense for the move of the navy base from the area of Eleonas?
3. 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?
4. 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?
5. Are the procedures of the Ministry of Zoning and Public Works finished as concerning the zoning of the cemetery area?
6. 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?
7. 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

Welcome our latest News Manager

Please give a warm welcome to our latest addition to our team, our News Manager, Hayrullah Mehmeti.

Br. Hayrullah is from Northwestern Greece and now lives in the U.S.  He works to unite Muslims in Greece and in Greek society by building bridges.  His speciality lies in politics and history and he is our newest author for our news blog.  He will be compiling a team of more authors in the future to bring you top quality articles to our news blog insha Allah.

If you would like to join the news team or contact Br. Hayrullah, please email him at news@greeksrethink.com.

Please give a warm welcome to Br. Hayrullah.