Thousands of Greeks Orthodox became Muslims as soon as they became adults
January 11, 2011
*A great number of them live abroad away from relatives
By Andreas Papageorgopoulos
http:// ellinas-xoris-ellada.blogspot.com
Completely different to the belief, the one we are losing day by day or with the one that is going to almost change by the government’s strict financial policy ( regardless those that are going to follow!). This is the religious belief of Muslims, which seems to gain more and more believers among the Greek Orthodox Christians that is us. Few years ago, we could not even think about it, but modern reality is completely different. We are talking about thousands of our fellow countrymen who have as adults convert with a full consciousness in Islam.
As for how many thousands are exactly, the numbers are vague as the vast majority of the converted Greeks prefer to keep hidden their conversion and their preference to Allah. Though it is certain, that most of the former Christian Orthodox Greeks lives beyond our country’s national borders, in America, in Europe, in Africa up to the land of Far East. But not to confuse ourselves, the Muslim legal or illegal immigrants who live in Greece temporarily or permanently, as well as the Muslim minority, who live close to our Northern borders, is a whole different story.
The very first demographic “disclosures” about the Greek believers of Allah happened approximately two years ago. May I remind you an excellent research article by Stella Kasdagli at “Pontiki” (4.12.2008) with plenty of informative material of the Internet (www.greeksrethink.com, www.greekmuslim.wordpress.com), interviews both named and unnamed about the suspicion, the fears of the Greek society, up to the hiding from their families. For example, Iman Sotiria Kouvalis, Muslim since 2000 and founder of the previously referred blog, refers an example of a parent’s reaction: “Oh my God!! You became a Turk! It would be better if you were telling me that you are pregnant or a drug addict”.
So to conclude: “Jamilah Kolocotronis, author and lecturer in Islamic schools, originates (as she states in her curriculum vitae) from the family of Theodoros Kolocotronis, grew up at the United Sates of America with the stories of her grandfather about the Greek revoluti0on of 1821 against the Turks. “ When I went to college, I started learning about Islam. I was though, still carrying inside me the suspicion against the Muslim Turks, the people that my ancestor fought for the Greek Independence. It took me four years to convert to Islam. One of the reasons, I think, is that I could not take this decision and talk to my grandfather about it. He died in 1979, and I became a Muslim in 1980.”
Greek Muslims in Kuwait
January 6, 2011
By Gerasimos Loukatos
It was the first time I heard the adhan (call to prayer) from my room’s half-open window. No compass needed since the arrow on the ceiling is already pointing the direction to Mecca. The small colorful carpet for the guests and access to water was everything I needed to perform my five daily prayers..
The second Kuwaiti European Convention was held at The Regency Hotel and hosted by the Islamic Presentation Committee (IPC). The aim of the convention was to provide European Islamic organizations with top-level knowledge in leadership and communication.
Lectures were delivered from scholars and practitioners, famous in the Muslim world such as Dr. Tareq Al Suwaidan, public speaker, author and expert in management and Dr. Moosa Al-Jowaiser, consultant and expert in psychology and personality types. Mahmoud Al Saify Phd researcher in Islamology, Dr. Abdullah Hakim Quick historian and ShaikhMuhammad Alshareef founder and president of Al Maghrib Institute almost completed the 2-week program of the convention.
Among the lecturers was Iman Sotiria Kouvalis, founder of Greeksrethink, expert in Strategic and Operational planning and author of the groundbreaking program “10 steps forward” and how to build an Olympic-level organization.
Muslim Association of Greece’s delegation was able to meet with participants from other organizations from Holland, Sweden and Norway and exchanged ideas and valuable information.
Side activities included visiting a dessert farm, the Cultural center, the Grand Mosque and several excursions to the streets of Kuwait city. It should be noted that Kuwait is example of a country where East meets the West, where the Imam’s call to prayer is heard in view of a decorated Christmas tree and people of different cultural and religious background live together in harmony.
Finally, in a well-meant competition the Greek team won the prize for an outstanding overall performance during the convention and for the best presentation of project as per following link:
Enjoy the Photo Gallery
[Gallery not found]The Islamification of Britain: record numbers embrace Muslim faith
January 4, 2011
Source: The Independent UK
The number of Britons choosing to become Muslims has nearly doubled in the past decade, according to one of the most comprehensive attempts to estimate how many people have embraced Islam.
Following the global spread of violent Islamism, British Muslims have faced more scrutiny, criticism and analysis than any other religious community. Yet, despite the often negative portrayal of Islam, thousands of Britons are adopting the religion every year.
Estimating the number of converts living in Britain has always been difficult because census data does not differentiate between whether a religious person has adopted a new faith or was born into it. Previous estimates have placed the number of Muslim converts in the UK at between 14,000 and 25,000.
But a new study by the inter-faith think-tank Faith Matters suggests the real figure could be as high as 100,000, with as many as 5,000 new conversions nationwide each year.
By using data from the Scottish 2001 census – the only survey to ask respondents what their religion was at birth as well as at the time of the survey – researchers broke down what proportion of Muslim converts there were by ethnicity and then extrapolated the figures for Britain as a whole.
In all they estimated that there were 60,699 converts living in Britain in 2001. With no new census planned until next year, researchers polled mosques in London to try to calculate how many conversions take place a year. The results gave a figure of 1,400 conversions in the capital in the past 12 months which, when extrapolated nationwide, would mean approximately 5,200 people adopting Islam every year. The figures are comparable with studies in Germany and France which found that there were around 4,000 conversions a year.
Fiyaz Mughal, director of Faith Matters, admitted that coming up with a reliable estimate of the number of converts to Islam was notoriously difficult. “This report is the best intellectual ‘guestimate’ using census numbers, local authority data and polling from mosques,” he said. “Either way few people doubt that the number adopting Islam in the UK has risen dramatically in the past 10 years.”
Asked why people were converting in such large numbers he replied: “I think there is definitely a relationship between conversions being on the increase and the prominence of Islam in the public domain. People are interested in finding out what Islam is all about and when they do that they go in different directions. Most shrug their shoulders and return to their lives but some will inevitably end up liking what they discover and will convert.”
Batool al-Toma, an Irish born convert to Islam of 25 years who works at the Islamic Foundation and runs the New Muslims Project, one of the earliest groups set up specifically to help converts, said she believed the new figures were “a little on the high side”.
“My guess would be the real figure is somewhere in between previous estimates, which were too low, and this latest one,” she said. “I definitely think there has been a noticeable increase in the number of converts in recent years. The media often tries to pinpoint specifics but the reasons are as varied as the converts themselves.”
Inayat Bunglawala, founder of Muslims4UK, which promotes active Muslim engagement in British society, said the figures were “not implausible”.
“It would mean that around one in 600 Britons is a convert to the faith,” he said. “Islam is a missionary religion and many Muslim organisations and particularly university students’ Islamic societies have active outreach programmes designed to remove popular misconceptions about the faith.”
The report by Faith Matters also studied the way converts were portrayed by the media and found that while 32 per cent of articles on Islam published since 2001 were linked to terrorism or extremism, the figure jumped to 62 per cent with converts.
Earlier this month, for example, it was reported that two converts to Islam who used the noms de guerre Abu Bakr and Mansoor Ahmed were killed in a CIA drone strike in an area of Pakistan with a strong al-Qa’ida presence.
“Converts who become extremists or terrorists are, of course, a legitimate story,” said Mr Mughal. “But my worry is that the saturation of such stories risks equating all Muslim converts with being some sort of problem when the vast majority are not”. Catherine Heseltine, a 31-year-old convert to Islam, made history earlier this year when she became the first female convert to be elected the head of a British Muslim organisation – the Muslim Public Affairs Committee. “Among certain sections of society, there is a deep mistrust of converts,” she said. “There’s a feeling that the one thing worse than a Muslim is a convert because they’re perceived as going over the other side. Overall, though, I think conversions arouse more curiosity than hostility.”
How to become a Muslim
Islam is one of the easiest religions to convert to. Technically, all a person needs to do is recite the Shahada, the formal declaration of faith, which states: “There is no God but Allah and Mohamed is his Prophet.” A single honest recitation is all that is needed to become a Muslim, but most converts choose to do so in front of at least two witnesses, one being an imam.
Converts to Islam
Hana Tajima, 23, fashion designer
Hana Tajima converted to Islam when she was 17. Frustrated by the lack of variety in Islamic clothing for converts she founded Maysaa, a fashion house that designs western-inspired clothing that conforms to hijab.
“It’s true that I never decided to convert to Islam, nor was there a defining moment where I realised I wanted to be Muslim. My family aren’t particularly religious. I was interested in religion, but very disinterested in how it related to my life. I grew up in rural Devon where my Japanese father was the ethnic diversity of the village. It wasn’t until I studied at college that I met people who weren’t of the exact same background, into Jeff Buckley, underground hip-hop, drinking, and getting high. I met and became friends with a few Muslims in college, and was slightly affronted and curious at their lack of wanting to go out to clubs or socialise in that sense. I think it was just the shock of it, like, how can you not want to go out, in this day and age.
“It was at about that time that I started to study philosophy, and without sounding too much like I dyed my hair black and wore my fringe in front of my face, I began to get confused about my life. I was pretty popular, had good friends, boyfriends, I had everything I was supposed to have, but still I felt like ‘is that it?’ So these things all happened simultaneously, I read more about religion, learned more about friends of other backgrounds, had a quarter life crisis. There were things that drew me to Islam in particular, it wasn’t like I was reaching for whatever was there. The fact that the Qur’an is the same now as it ever was means there’s always a reference point. The issues of women’s rights were shockingly contemporary. The more I read, the more I found myself agreeing with the ideas behind it and I could see why Islam coloured the lives of my Muslim friends. It made sense, really, I didn’t and still don’t want to be Muslim, but there came a point where I couldn’t say that I wasn’t Muslim.
“Telling my family was the easy part. I knew they’d be happy as long as I was happy, and they could see that it was an incredibly positive thing. My friends went one of two ways, met with a lack of any reaction and lost to the social scene, or interested and supportive. More the former, less the latter.”
Denise Horsley, 26, dance teacher
Denise Horsley lives in North London. She converted to Islam last year and is planning to marry her Muslim boyfriend next year.
“I was introduced to Islam by my boyfriend Naushad. A lot of people ask whether I converted because of him but actually he had nothing to do with it. I was interested in his faith but I went on my own journey to discover more about religion.
“I bought loads of books on all the different religions but I kept coming back to Islam – there was something about it that just made sense, it seemed to answer all the questions I had.
“I would spend hours in the library at Regents Park Mosque reading up on everything from women’s rights to food. Before I went to prayers for the first time I remember sitting in my car frantically looking up how to pray on my Blackberry. I was so sure people would know straight away that I wasn’t a Muslim but if they did no-one seemed to care.
“During Ramadan I’d sit and listen to the Qur’anic recitations and would be filled with such happiness and warmth. One day I decided there and then to take my shahada. I walked down to the reception and said I was ready to convert, it was as simple as that.
“My friends and family were rather shocked, I think they expected there would be some sort of huge baptism ceremony but they were very supportive of my decision. I think they were just pleased to see me happy and caring about something so passionately.
“I grew up Christian and went to a Catholic school. Islam to me seemed to be a natural extension of Christianity. The Qur’an is filled with information about Jesus, Mary, the angels and the Torah. It’s part of a natural transition.
“I do now wear a headscarf but it wasn’t something I adopted straightaway. Hijab is such an important concept in Islam but it’s not just about clothing. It’s about being modest in everything you do. I started dressing more modestly – forgoing low cut tops and short skirts – but before I donned a headscarf I had to make sure I was comfortable on the inside before turning my attention to the outside. Now I feel completely protected in my headscarf. People treat you with a new level of respect, they judge you by your words and your deeds, not how you look. It’s the kind of respect every dad wants for their daughter.
“There have been some problems. Immediately after converting I isolated myself a bit, which I now recognise was a mistake and not what Islam teaches. I remember a lady on a bus who got really angry and abusive when she found out I had converted. I also noticed quite a few friends stopped calling. I think they just got tired of hearing me say no – no to going clubbing, no to going down the pub.
“But my good friends embraced it. They simply found other things to do when I was around. Ultimately I’m still exactly the same person apart from the fact that I don’t drink, don’t eat pork and pray five times a day. Other than that I’m still Denise.”
Dawud Beale, 23
Dawud Beale was a self-confirmed “racist” two years ago who knew nothing about Islam and supported the BNP. Now a Muslim, he describes himself as a Salafi – the deeply socially conservative and ultra-orthodox sect of Islam whose followers try to live exactly like the Prophet did.
“I was very ignorant to Islam for most of my life and then I went on holiday to Morocco, which was the first time I was exposed to Muslims. I was literally a racist before Morocco and by the time I was flying home on the plane a week later, I had already decided to become a Muslim.”
“I realised Islam is not a foreign religion, but had a lot of similarities with what I already believed. When I came back home to Somerset, I spent three months trying to find local Muslims, but there wasn’t even a mosque in my town. I eventually met Sufi Muslims who took me to Cyprus to convert.
“When I came back, I was finding out a lot of what they were saying was contradictory to what it said in the Qur’an. I wasn’t finding them very authentic, to be honest. I went to London and became involved with Hizb-ut-Tahrir, the political group who call for the establishment of an Islamic state.
”But while I believe in the benefits of Sharia law, I left this group as well. The problem was it was too into politics and not as concerned with practicing the religion. For me, it is about keeping an Islamic appearance and studying hard. I think we do need an Islamic state, but the way to achieve it is not through political activism or fighting. Allah doesn’t change the situation of people until they see what’s within themselves.
“I have a big dislike for culture in Islamic communities, when it means bringing new things into the religion, such as polytheism or encouraging music and dance. There is something pure about Salafi Muslims; we take every word of the Qur’an for truth. I have definitely found the right path. I also met my wife through the community and we are expecting our first child next year.”
Paul Martin, 27
Paul Martin was just a student when he decided to convert to Islam in an ice-cream shop in Manchester four years ago. Bored of what he saw as the hedonistic lifestyle of many of his friends at university and attracted to what he calls “Islam’s emphasis on seeking knowledge,” he says a one-off meeting with an older Muslim changed his life.
“I liked the way the Muslims students I knew conducted themselves. It’s nice to think about people having one partner for life and not doing anything harmful to their body. I just preferred the Islamic lifestyle and from there I looked into the Qur’an. I was amazed to see Islam’s big emphasis on science.
“Then I was introduced by a Muslim friend to a doctor who was a few years older than me. We went for a coffee and then a few weeks later for an ice cream. It was there that I said I would like to be a Muslim. I made my shahada right there, in the ice cream shop. I know some people like to be all formal and do it in a mosque, but for me religion is not a physical thing, it is what is in your heart.
“I hadn’t been to a mosque before I became a Muslim. Sometimes it can be bit daunting, I mean I don’t really fit into this criteria of a Muslim person. But there is nothing to say you can’t be a British Muslim who wears jeans and a shirt and a jacket. Now in my mosque in Leeds, many different languages are spoken and there are lots of converts.
“With my family, it was gradual. I didn’t just come home and say I was a Muslim. There was a long process before I converted where I wouldn’t eat pork and I wouldn’t drink. Now, we still have Sunday dinner together, we just buy a joint of lamb that is halal.
“If someone at college had said to me ‘You are going to be a Muslim’, I would not in a million years have believed it. It would have been too far-fetched. But now I have just come back from Hajj – the pilgrimage Muslims make to Mecca.”
Stuart Mee, 46
Stuart Mee is a divorced civil servant who describes himself as a “middle-of-the-road Muslim.” Having converted to Islam last year after talking with Muslim colleagues at work, he says Islam offers him a sense of community he feels is missing in much of Britain today.
“Everything is so consumer-driven here, there are always adverts pushing you to buy the next thing. I knew there must be something longer term and always admired the sense of contentment within my colleagues’ lives, their sense of peace and calmness. It was just one of those things that happened – we talked, I read books and I related to it.
“I emailed the Imam at London Central Mosque and effectively had a 15 minute interview with him. It was about making sure that this was the right thing for me, that I was doing it at the right time. He wanted to make sure I was committed. It is a life changing decision.
“It is surprisingly easy, the process of converting. You do your shahada, which is the declaration of your faith. You say that in front of two witnesses and then you think, ‘What do I do next?’ I went to an Islamic bookstore and bought a child’s book on how to pray. I followed that because, in Islamic terms, I was basically one month old.
“I went to a local mosque in Reading and expected someone to stop me say, ‘Are you a Muslim?’ but it didn’t happen. It was just automatic acceptance. You can have all the trappings of being a Muslim – the beard and the bits and pieces that go with it, but Islam spreads over such a wide area and people have different styles, clothes and approaches to life.
“Provided I am working within Islamic values, I see no need in changing my name and I don’t have any intention of doing it. Islam has bought peace, stability, and comfort to my life. It has helped me identify just what is important to me. That can only be a good thing.”
Khadijah Roebuck, 48
Khadijah Roebuck was born Tracey Roebuck into a Christian family. She was married for twenty five years and attended church with her children every week while they lived at home. Now, divorced and having practiced Islam for the last six months, she says she is still not sure what motivated her to make such a big change to her life.
“I know it sounds odd, but one day I was Tracey the Christian and the next day I was Khadijah the Muslim, it just seemed right. The only thing I knew about Muslims before was that they didn’t drink alcohol and they didn’t eat pork.
“I remember the first time I drove up to the mosque. It was so funny; I was in my sports car and had the music blaring. I wasn’t sure if I was even allowed to go in but I asked to speak to the man in charge, I didn’t even know he was called an Imam. Now I wear a hijab and pray five times a day.
“My son at first was horrified, he just couldn’t believe it. It’s been especially hard for my mum, who is Roman Catholic and doesn’t accept it at all. But the main thing I feel is a sense of peace, which I never found with the Church, which is interesting. Through Ramadan, I absolutely loved every second. On the last day, I even cried.
“It is interesting because people sometimes confuse cultures with Islam. Each Muslim brings their different culture to the mosque and different takes on the religion. There are Saudi Arabians, Egyptians and Pakistanis and then of course there is me. I slot in everywhere. A lot of the other sisters say to me, ‘That is why we love you, Khadijah, you are just yourself.’”
Greek Muslim: Myrto – my journey to Islam
November 25, 2010
Questions were racing through my mind. Does this makes me a Muslim? What is a Muslim after all? And is it easy to become one? And what happens after that? What if I regret?
It was minutes after my shahada (my declaration of the Islamic faith), a few weeks ago.
It took me almost 9 years to believe there is actually a God and choose Islam as the way to worship Him. But why was that? Having a very hard life so far, full of personal traumatic experiences of which I could not be responsible for during childhood, puberty and adolescence, a person does not have the right to make his own choices by law, I was led to disappointment.
I almost completely rejected the presence of God or of any Divinity in my life.
Although I was completely dissatisfied by the behaviour of the clergy in Greece and still having the words of the burial service which says “rest your servant ignoring all sins,” I decided to start reading about religion.
Feeling tormented, tired and a bit desperate to find answers to my questions, I choose to read religion initially and then philosophy and history of sciences instead of trying to find my way through fortune tellers or tarot readers, drugs or alcohol.
No matter how hard someone tries to numb himself so he doesn’t feel any pain, the pain will always be there, waiting to be confronted. Being deeply ethical and raised with the traditional values of a middle class Greek family , values of honesty, pride and dignity, I did not want to be part of any religious or philosophical group just to satisfy my needs for warmth and affection. And I definitely, loved and honoured my Greek cultural identity and I did not want to imitate or fake any other identity or nationality.
I started researching Christianity and mainly the Orthodox Dogma, then Judaism and Buddhism and finally Islam. I started gradually believing in God, my faith becoming stronger with time. At some point I started having questions about the Trinity, questions for which I found the answers in Islam.
What I realised is that Islam is the religion that closes the circle of Divine revelations. Islam means peace and Muslim means the person who offers himself to God and God only, with no remorse or personal benefit. Allah is not a new invention, it’s just the Arabic word for God, the half moon is not a symbol of blood bathing and revenge but is a reminder that Muslim people calculate the time based on the moon rather than the sun.
At this point I seriously started to consider myself as a believer rather than an agnostic. In the meantime, I moved to United Kingdom, to further educate myself though postgraduate studies. I do not know if it was a sign but while I was in UK, I kept meeting really nice people, the majority of them being Muslims, and I ended up marrying one of them.
I continued reading more and more and was becoming focused on Islam this time. Though not only reading, watching documentaries, attending Islamic lectures, going to Islamic museums, attending Islamic classes.
And there comes the questioning. Do I want to be part of a religion that has so many different variations of interpretation of its Holy Book? Would I want to be part of a group that would be a religious minority in my country? Would I want to be part of a religious group where most people, of the ones I have met at least, are paying attention just to the rules of worship and not the worship itself? Or would I want to be part of a religion which is used by its own followers to inspire hate and hostility?
I got again disappointed but this time not by the religion itself or the philosophy itself or from the Quran but from the followers. And then I realised that I cannot blame the religion itself since I found the answers to my questions, from its followers. I decided to start living as a Muslim for a period of time, to see what it takes and see if it is really so hard. As it is stated in Quran, men and women were created equally having their own free will.
But what does it mean to live as a Muslim? Wearing an abaya and niqaab? Praying 10 times a day? Fasting strictly during Ramadan? Staying at home and having loads of children? Avoiding any kind of joyful experience just in case you do something forbidden? Certainly not, in my opinion.
Islam is not a strict system of rules or a kind of imprisonment. Doing good deeds every single day, trying to avoid bad actions, praying as much as you can, fasting as much as you can, showing love and compassion and always fighting peacefully to improve yourself, progressing and evolving in knowledge day by day, trying your best every single day, this is what it takes to be a Muslim.
I realised that I could live as a Muslim, I just changed the way and the frequency of my prayers, I stopped completely eating pork or drinking alcohol and I wore a headscarf. That’s all. So after this so long journey, I decided to have my shahada done admitting firstly to myself that ‘There is no god but Allah (God), and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah (God).
Written by:
Myrto Z.
Athens, Greece
In an underground Mosque, during prayer time, in Athens
November 23, 2010
They have to put an effort to fit in the Greek society”
By Lina Giannarou
It does not take more than 10 minutes to walk between Stathmos Larisis to the underground, small Mosque of Attica square. Last Tuesday night, Naim Elghandour chairman of the Muslim Association of Greece, followed this route with us. He talks to himself “It’s the first time that they do not come here to harass me. Probably, they will feel tired from morning’s harassment.” At Attica square, tension took place during the morning’s public prayer of the Muslims. Habitants and followers of the party of “Chrisi Avgi” throwed eggs at them and other objects, they put very loud music in the radio to cover the imam’s voice and they were dishing out abusive brochures. “But they waste food at these time?” says humorously Mr. Elghandour. This is a way as well to banish the fear.
Walking around the area, you can easily see the fear and in the eyes of the other side. The side of the habitants. Changing pavements in case of “collision” with a company of Muslims is done by some habitants almost unconsciously. Certainly there are not only thickheads who live here. There are people who undergone dramatic changes in their environment, without any preparation. And the reluctance of the State to facilitate the creation of an official Islamic prayer site gave ground to extremities.
If someone does not try to find it, he cannot detect the toned down door next to the building’s entrance. Stickers of Chrisi Avgi and campaign brochures of N. Michaloliakos cover the door’s entire surface. The wall is black and smoked. These marks resemble with the crosses made by Easter candles on the doors, though these are the leftovers of the arson attack of the house by members of Chrisi Avgi in the evening of the 30th of October. The few worshippers, who were there, were literally saved by a miracle. There was no way out. The basement is “blind”.
The prayer site is shaky. In certain points tubes and wires are visible; the moisture has steeped the walls. In the entrance’s ladder –you have to bow to get in- there at about 10 pairs of shoes. The prayer has started. Mr. Elghandour will later explain to us, that when the Muslims lift their hand high during prayer, is to abolish their earthly problems. “All the problems that make us worried and anxious”, he says. And there are many issues, at least for the Muslims who are gathered here. Most of them are youngsters, jobless (they are washing cars’ window panes at the traffic lights), and they came to Greece by mistake. They were promised a better life in central Europe, but they have been dumped in our country. Now, they can neither leave the country nor return to their home countries. The eighteen year old Alamin was there the night of the Chrisi Avgi’s attack. “We do not disturb anybody, but we are treated worse than dogs”, he says. He is the only one of the group that speaks Greek. “This is an issue” Mr. Elghandour admits. “To be honest with you-they have to put a great effort in order to integrate in the Greek society”.
A few meters further down the street, policemen are permanently located. The verbal abuse is a daily phenomenon and the gathering of Muslims at the mosque for prayer is a red flag for the area’s thickheads. “These days, they send their wives to abuse me.”, Mr. Elghandour says. They are shouting at me “You are a fag” and I am answering back gently “My ladies I have 8 children! sometimes, even the policemen are laughing”
One hundred places like this are lying hidden in Athens, most of them similar to this one. Basement sheds. Though, according to statistical data in our capital there are about 700.000 Muslims of all different origins who currently live here. “A Mosque, an official prayer site, where we can gather. This is a request”, says Mr. Elghandour nodding with his head.
“Naim, I want to go over there” Alamin says to him while walking out of the mosque, showing the other side of Attica square. “Do not worry, I will check”, he answers back. “And you guys” Mr. Elghandour says to the rest of the group “Please stay all together. Not get into trouble…” He turns to us. “Whatever happens, do not feel scared”.
The banality of violence
November 23, 2010
Source : http://www.ekathimerini.com
By Nikos Xydakis
The peaceful prayer services held by Muslims in Athens as part of Eid al-Adha celebrations earlier this week were followed by protests and sporadic violence against Muslims, clashes between locals and foreigners, as well as skirmishes among Muslims. The neighborhood around Acharnon Street has recently witnessed attacks on makeshift mosques and the faithful who visit those sites to pray.
In Kotzia Square, an illegal street vendor from Egypt who was stopped by municipal police officers for an ID check, began to yell that they were desecrating the holy scripture of Islam that they found on him.
Some 300 Muslims from nearby streets immediately gathered on the spot, angry at the insult to the Quran. But the affront never really took place, as the confiscated items were not sacred – a fact acknowledged by the street seller’s fellow Muslims.
Both cases demonstrate the failure of the state to implement the law and protect the civic and human rights of Greeks as well as foreigners.
In both cases, the failure was interpreted as the lack of legal order, as the absence of the rule of law – and that vacuum was filled by crowds which sought to take the law in their own hands.
Seeing the state withdraw from the civic realm as the people begin to take the law in their own hands with increasing frequency is one of the most worrying signs of this difficult period in history in which politics, society and the democratic state are coming under great duress.
It is becoming an uneasy coexistence: In the gray neighborhoods, poor Greeks live next to thousands of impoverished immigrants – most of these without legal documents.
The recession is deepening, fueling mistrust and intolerance.
Everyone is threatening to take the law into their own hands. Violence is gradually becoming the rule in our daily existence. This threat against the moral and legal foundations of society is, in many ways, more frightening than the threat of financial bankruptcy.
US State Department religious freedom report on Greece
November 20, 2010
Source : www.athensnews.gr
by (ANA-MPA)
The burnt-out Jewish Synagogue in the old city of Chania, Crete, 25 January 2010. Two British men have been arrested and two Americans sought in connection with arson attacks on the medieval synagogue.
13.000 Muslims prayed in 12 points of Attica
November 18, 2010
Source: Kathimerini
Translation © Muslim Association of Greece
Without any special reactions the religious manifestations of Muslims took place. “Greece is the only European country without a mosque” states the chairman of the Muslim Association of Greece.
Thirteen thousand people, according to the police, participated in all the manifestations of the Muslims’ public prayer in twelve different areas of Attica.
The prayer, who started at 7:40 in the morning and finished at 11, took place without the slightest problem, besides Attica square, where according to eye-witnesses, there was abuse, by a small group of habitants, who threw eggs and other objects against Muslims who were walking by the streets of the area, though there was no response and with the firm presence of the police, there weren’t any violent incidences.
As it has been stated by the Hellenic Police, the manifestations of Muslims joined 4.000 people at Aigaleo, 2.000 at the Arabic-Hellenic Educational Centre at Kiprou str. In Moschato area, 500 at Propylaia, 600 at Attica square, 600 at Koumoundourou square, 1.000 at the old Racetrack Court at Faliro, 1.000 at Karamnanlis Avenue at Menidi, 300 at the basketball court at Elefsina, 250 at Aspropirgos, 1.500 in an abandoned factory at Markopoulos avenue at Koropi, 250 at Oinofyta and 1.000 in the court of Ierotheos at Peristeri.
Backlashes for the religious manifestations
Habitants of the area of Attica square, together with members of “Chrisi Augi” gathered earlier in the area in order to prevent the Muslims to perform a religious manifestation, the Qurban Bayram or the Feast of Sacrifice.
In the area, there was a firm police presence which in order to avoid any violent incidents, drove off all the gathered group-who were demonstrating against the presence of immigrants in Athens-towards Acharnon str., making a slight use of chemicals.
The Bayram is the equivalent to the sacrifice of Abraham that lies also in Christian religion, and which up to a certain point is accepted by the Muslims as well. At this very moment at Propylaia dozens of Muslims are gathered who live in Greece, originating from Greece, Albania and from other countries of Asia and Africa.
The gathering at Propylaia took place under the initiative of the Muslim Association of Greece and it is the third time that prayer takes place in a public place.
Muslim Association of Greece: We should assemble all the prayer sites with the Mosque
The chairman of the Muslim Association of Greece Naim Elgandour participating in the show “Proti Grammi” on SKAI television made clear that the prayers at public areas do not constitute a force mechanism for the construction of a Mosque.
He stated that “It is a matter of culture. Greece is the only European country without a Mosque, it has to be done soon enough in order to assemble all these prayer sites that they are constantly sprout up.”
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Translator: Myrto Zacharof
Eid Al Adha prayer for Muslims in Athens
November 17, 2010
Source: City Press
Translation © Muslim Association of Greece
Yesterday’s public player that was performed by at least 13.000 Muslims in twelve different points of Attica was unprecedented for what is usually happening in the capital. This public manifestation worked as triggering event for the development of a Mosque in Athens but as well as the expected social reactions.
The prayer, which was performed due to the occasion of celebrating the first day of the Muslim feast Eid-Al-Adha (equivalent to the sacrifice of Abraham) started at 7:40 in the morning and lasted approximately three hours. As the Greek Police stated, the Muslims’ manifestations were attended by 4.000 people at Aigaleo, 2.000 at Kiprou str. at Moschato, 500 at Propilea were the prayer took place under the initiative of the Muslim Association of Greece, 600 at Attica square, 1.000 in the old Racetrack Court in Faliro, 1.000 at Karamanlis Avenue at Menidi, 300 at the in the basketball court of Elefsina, 250 at Aspropirgos and 1.000 in the court of Ierotheos at Peristeri.
All the manifestations took place peacefully, with the exception though of Attica square. There, a group of habitants attacked with eggs and with other objects against the offhand prayer site, though other habitants had placed on their balconies Greek flags, they put loud music inorder to interrupt the process of the prayer.
The Request for an Official Prayer Site
Yesterday’s prayer was the third one that took place in a public place, (previously it had been performed in Kotzia square and in Olympic stadium) but it was the most impressive. The representatives of the Muslims referred again on their claim for the development of an official prayer site. Mr. K. Aivaliotis representative of LAOS’s party stated that this is a “demonstration of power in Athens by African Muslims.”
“In the times we live in, it is imposed, in the civilisation we claim we are having and which governs our society, and it is a duty of the Greek state, to facilitate each person who wants to perform his religious duties” the Government’s representative, G. Petalotis, highlighting that “there is a legal commitment made to create a Mosque in Athens, in order for our fellow Muslim citizens to perform with safety and liberty their religious rights.”
In Athens… by Coach
“Athens needs many , small sized religious prayer sites for the immigrants”, the journalist Stavros Theodorakakis claimed yesterday while on air on the radio station Flash, who due to his show for the flux of immigrants in Greece through the land borders( it will be presented next Sunday) , he stayed for a few days in Evros.
“ The loops that originate from Turkey, meaning the slavers and the traffickers have realised that practically the Greek Authorities have no practical means to oppose against the flux of unarmed immigrants” Mr.Theodorakis stated, though Mr. Salamagkas, police officer of Orestiada , referred, participating in the same show , that the Authorities after the capture of the immigrants and their identification, they release all those who cannot be deported (such as Palestinians or Afghanis for whom there are specific international treaties about their immunity.) They are given a piece a paper referring that they should leave the country within thirty days and they leave them free outside the detention centres where they are temporarily located. There usually there is a coach awaiting them who transports them in Athens.
Translator: Myrto Zacharof
Contradictions in the Greek Parliament between Mpeglitis and Georgiadis for the mosque in Votanicos
November 6, 2010
Source: TVXS
© Translation: Muslim Association of Greece
The question that was submitted by the deputy of LAOS’s party, Mr. Adonis Georgiadis, in the Greek Parliament, concerning the Mosque in Votanicos was discussed with great tension. Answering, the surrogate Minister of Defence Mr. Panos Mpeglitis attributed to the inquiring deputy “extreme xenophobic motives that serve suspenseful needs within his political party.”
Mr. Mpeglitis firmly assured that the Mosque in Votanicos, will be built with expenses of the Greek State and its operation will be completely regulated by the Greek Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, though, the land acres will be granted for usage only to satisfy the needs of a worshipping place.
By his own point of view, Mr. Georgiadis said “you are building a Mosque and you will harvest blizzard” paraphrashing the Greek expression of “sow winds and harvest blizzards” He referred as well to the recent statement of the Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, of failure of Germany’s multicultural model, as well as to the banishment of the hijab in France, though he argued, that in Greece the ownership of the land acres is handed over with “obvious dangers for the National Security.”
Additionally, he pointed out that in one hand the allocation of land acres to the Monastery of Vatopedion is characterised as scandal, though for the government it is not considered a scandal that land acres of the Hellenic Navy are donated for the needs of the Muslims.
Mr. Mpeglitis answered that Athens is the only European capital that a Mosque is inexistent and this constitutes a serious deficit of democracy, a fact that does not in any case serve the interests of the Greek State.
The Minister pointed out that a greater danger is constituted by the uncontrollably spread Mosques throughout the whole area of Attica, attributing to the deputy “a false approach of the issue with the creation of an extreme and xenophobe ambiance due to the elections period”, considering the fact that it is a responsibility of a country’s democratic state, to defend the religious rights and secularism.
The Minister strongly highlighted that nobody is given ownership titles of the land acres, though the land in Votanicos is allocated only for use, referring as well to the law that was voted by the previous government of Nea Dimocratia.
“If Mr.Pavlopoulos had acted as Rightist, Nea Dimocratia would not be at such a condition” was the answer of the deputy, who further clarified that the right of secularism is not questioned but the disagreement is with the development of a giant Mosque with minarets that will have a monumental character, something that is not happening in other countries.
Answering, the Minister designated the notions of the deputy obsessive, underlining that due to the grave stalling of the creation of a Mosque in the past, by several public bodies and the Church of Greece, resulted in the lack of control of the Muslim worshiping places.
Finally, considering the allegations of a giant structure, he reassured that all the masonry regulations of the area will be kept, though he characterised as at least inappropriate the comparison made by the deputy with the Vatopedion issue, an issue that as he said, was indeed a true scandal.
It is pointed out that the announcement of the construction of the Mosque took place at the end of April, just a few days before the visit of Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in Greece. It is about to be built in the area of Eleonas, in Votanicos, on land acres given by the Hellenic Navy. According, to the goverment’s representative G.Petalotis it will have a capacity of 500 people.
The law imposes three major prerequisites : its construction has to be financed by the Greek State , the commanding committee will be composed by five Greek public servants and two muslims of accredited organisations in Athens, though there shall be an Imam who will be appointed by the formal approval from the Minister of Education.
Translated by: Myrto Zacharof
