Greece's foreign minister has reiterated his government's call to construct a mosque in Athens, but minority representatives in the country have expressed their skepticism about the administration's sincerity. "Athens is the last European capital without a legal place of worship for its Muslim residents. The decisions have been made and we are moving ahead. We should not have delayed this long," Dimitris Avromopoulos said in a recent interview.

But İbrahim Şerif, mufti of Komotini and head of the advisory board of the Muslim minority in Western Thrace, said the regulations on the appointment of 240 religious teachers for the community would restrict their freedom of religion and rights granted by the Lausanne Treaty. The treaty bound Turkey and Greece to treat their respective minorities reciprocally.

Şerif said the Turkish minority is under pressure from Greek authorities, but added that a dialogue process with the minority would help produce a solution.

"Muslims need a mosque in Athens. They perform their prayers at squares and in a park. If Greece is a democratic country, they should acknowledge worship for Muslims. It is a 'shame of democracy' for Athens not to have a mosque," he said.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan offered Ankara's help in building a mosque in Athens after meeting with his Greek counterpart, Antonis Samaras, in Doha in late January. Xanthi Mufti Ahmet Mete also criticized the regulation. "This regulation has a religion aspect. It is unacceptable that the state appoints religious teachers without asking imams. Greek authorities should listen to the minority," he said. A deputy from the far-left main opposition SYRIZA, Rena Duru, said the issue of the construction of the mosque was a pending issue which both PASOK and New Democracy governments ignored in the past and that the negligence of authorities "pushed" Muslims toward uncontrolled prayer spaces.

The leader of the Greece Muslim Association, Naim El Gandur, said the attitude of the Greek government over the construction of a mosque was insincere. "Mr. Avramopoulos is optimistic on the issue, but we have heard the same things from every government. There has been no progress on the issue. Nothing changes in practice," he said.

Hurriyet Daily News, 13 March 2013

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Golden Dawn anti-mosque posterMark Lowen has an interesting piece at BBC News on the struggle by the Muslim population of Athens to build the first mosque in the city.

As things stand, Muslim are forced to pray in cramped underground prayer rooms, in breach of the law and facing the threat of attacks by the anti-migrant fascist party Golden Dawn.

"It is a very big tragedy for us Muslims that there is no mosque here," Syed Mohammad Jamil of the Pakistan-Hellenic Society is quoted as saying. "Greece produced democracy and civilisation and the respect of religion – but they don't respect our Muslims to provide us with a regular, legal mosque."

While the Greek Church is increasingly sympathetic to Muslims' need for a proper place of worship, Lowen interviews Bishop Seraphim of Piraeus who claims that "Greece suffered five centuries of Islamic tyranny under Turkish rule and building a mosque would offend the martyrs who freed us". Seraphim, who is notorious for his far-right views, adds that "most Muslims have come here illegally" and their aim is to "Islamise Europe".

In response to the suggestion that his position appears Islamophobic, out of touch with a multicultural EU, Seraphim says: "We are not a multicultural country. We are one Greek nation and everything else is an invention of the 'new order' and of Zionism. They are trying to corrupt our character."

On the streets of Athens, Lowen finds that opinions are mixed. One interviewee opines: "We must not have a mosque here. This is a Christian country and if they want a mosque, they can go back to their own countries and have one." Another responds: "Muslims should have their temple. Greek immigrants in other countries build their own churches and perform their own religion, so it's hypocritical."

A disused army barracks near the city centre has now been chosen as a site for a mosque that could accommodate 500 people. The government insists the state-funded project will go ahead. Stratos Simopoulos, the secretary general of the ministry for development, states: "In the past, there was a fear in some segments of Greek society about constructing a mosque but we must overcome that fear."

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