“We need ten mosques not just one!”

At least ten mosques are necessary for the Muslim community according to their spokespersons. In a press conference this Monday at the offices of the Union of Muslims of Greece, twenty three proposals were given concerning immigration policies,which will be sent to the European Committee, the European Parliament, Ministries, Political Parties, Independent Parliament Members and the Church of Greece.

Especially when it comes to the issue of them having a mosque, the President of the Cultural Affiliation of Greece and Pakistan, Mr. Syed Mohammad Jamil, referred to their ongoing struggle to build one in Athens. The government has already given money and a space (in Votanikos area) for the construction of the mosque and many legal immigrants wil contribute financially to its realisation, whilst a 12 member committee will be introduced to ensure everything runs legally and smoothly. The Union of Immigrants of Greece however, is asking for permission for ten more mosques to be built -if not in Athens, at least in the Attica area surrounding Athens.

Mr. Mehmet Imam, President of the Panhellenic Union of Support for the Muslims said “Under the current legistlation there cannot be a mosque, since they are referring to it as a cultural centre. We don’t need a cultural centre, but a mosque. We don’t care about Mr. Karamanlis’s previous promises, or Mr. Papandreou’s current ones. All the money gathered for the mosque is from Muslims. We don’t want greek money. If the government wants to help fine, if not… If it is not going to be done as we want, there is no point for it to be done at all”.

All 23 proposals refer to the main issues that concern all immigrants in Greece -insurance legislation, family re-unification, learning the mother tongue and education, work and business, crime, religion, health legislation and political asylum.

The President of the Union of Immigrants of Greece, Jan Daniel Colombani, stated that there is sensitivity, understanding and good will from all the responsible authorities and Greek society in its total, so there is hope for a solution.

However, tension arose when questions were posed in reference to the Mosque and the riots that recently took place between greek inhabitants of Ayios Panteleimonas area and the illegal immigrants that live in the area. According to a letter sent by the greek locals at Ayios Panteleimon to the Parliament, to political parties and their leaders, the percentage of illegal immigrants living there has now reached 85%. This is a very large number of immigrants that has caused rifts in the social structure.

Last Friday, there was a meeting of both sides, immigrants and greek locals. After a two hour discussion, both sides reached an informal “pact” saying the immigrants would form a committee that will patrol the area, check shops, check that all housing contracts are legal and that the number of tenants is in accordance to what the contract states. Greek locals underlined that they co-exist harmoniously with legal immigrants and have no issues whatsoever; on the contrary they are helping one another with all the difficulties that exist in the area.