Athens rebuffs Ankara on new law on Thrace muftis
Greece rejected claims by Turkey that a new legal framework on the election of Muslim clerics (muftis) in Thrace, northeastern Greece, denies the community the right to elect their own muftis, saying it is “fully compatible with the constitution of Greece and the country’s international obligations.”
The new law, approved by Parliament on July 29, allows the Muslim minority to form an advisory board of 33 people, selected from among scholars of Islamic sciences and imams. The panel will assess candidates and submit a list to the Education Ministry which will pick one for the post.
On Thursday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry described the provisions of the law as “unacceptable” and urged Greece to “respect international law and fulfil its obligations” under the Treaty of Lausanne.
Greece’s Foreign Ministry said the law was drawn up after a long consultation with representatives of the minority and that it “creates a modern and integrated institutional framework for muftis in Thrace.”
“Our Muslim fellow citizens in Thrace live in a European country. They enjoy everything that a democratic and well-governed state provides to all its citizens, without exceptions,” the Greek ministry said, while questioning Turkey’s compliance with the articles of the Lausanne Treaty.
There are some 120,000 Muslims living in Greek Thrace.
