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.