Responsibility for issue lies with the state, Church brass says
The Church of Greece is in favor of a Muslim mosque being established somewhere in Athens but it disagrees with the proposal for an Islamic studies center «because it may turn into a political propaganda center.» And it stands by the Paeania residents who objected to the state’s decision to establish the mosque in their neighborhood on the grounds that «the first thing tourists see when they set foot in Greece will be a minaret.» The Church of Greece opposes the reactivation of the Ottoman mosque in Monastiraki. As for the Elaionas, the church administration has avoided stating an opinion, leaving it to the state to handle the thorny problem. But the Ongoing Holy Synod decided two months ago to hand over a piece of land it owns in Schisto so that a Muslim cemetery can be founded. «Nobody can prohibit believers of a known religion such as Islam from freely exercising their religious duties. Besides, freedom of worship is a specific aspect of the freedom of religion guaranteed by the Constitution,» the synod noted in a statement issued early this month. «We live in a democratic country, which must and does show respect and tolerance for differences. If and when the state raises the issue of siting the mosque, the Church will offer its opinion. But the entire issue is the exclusive responsibility of the state,» the statement concluded. Prior to this, the news had circulated that Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis had supported the reactivation of the mosque in Monastiraki, incurring the intense displeasure of many senior clerics. The Archbishopric chose to adopt a low-key approach, while letting its objection to the proposal be known to all. «It is not the first time Mrs Bakoyannis has made this proposal. She knows that we are not in agreement,» said colleagues of Christodoulos, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece. And it is not the first time the church hierarchy has objected to the government’s handling of the mosque issue. Following Parliament’s decision in 2000 to hand over a 3.4 hectare site in Paeania for a mosque and Islamic studies center, the Church of Greece took every opportunity to voice its objections. «We have expressed our surprise at the Parliament’s voting for a bill concerning handing over public property in the area of Paeania for the construction, not only of a Muslim mosque but also a Center of Islamic Studies, and indeed, in a place reclassified as a forest area,» Christodoulos pointed out in a letter he sent in July 2003 to then-foreign minister George Papandreou. «Though at bottom it is a religious issue, this is mainly a national, cultural and historic issue. There is no problem for Orthodoxy. Almost everywhere it lives and develops in a non-Orthodox world. Greece was the happy exception,» Nikolaos, Archbishop of Magnesia and Lavrio told Kathimerini. «In spite of that,» he added, «Paeania is the worst solution, both for practical reasons – the site is not suitable – and for reasons of image and impressions. There must be a mosque but it must be set up on terms that respect particularities, the environment and our historical and cultural tradition.»
