Turks living in Thessaloniki demand the solution of the mosque and cemetery problem

The Turkish community living in Thessaloniki, the second and most important city of Greece, where different cultures, religions and nations have lived together throughout history, demands that the problems they face regarding their religious needs such as mosques and cemeteries be solved.

Among the most important problems of the Turkish community living in Thessaloniki, which was home to Muslims, Christians and Jews during the Ottoman Empire, is the lack of mosques and cemeteries.

Mosques are used for other purposes

Many mosques from the Ottoman period in the city are being used for different purposes such as museums, causing Turks to have difficulty in meeting their worship needs.

Thessaloniki, which hosts thousands of Turkish tourists who come to visit Atatürk's House every year, the mosques that can survive from the Ottoman period in Thessaloniki are kept closed to worship by the Greek state.

Mehmet Süleymanoğlu, President of the Macedonia-Thrace Muslims Education and Culture Association, who made statements to AA correspondent, reminded that although there are approximately 6 thousand cognates living in Thessaloniki, there is still no mosque and cemetery open for worship.

"We will not stand behind the imam appointed by the Greek state"

Speaking about the announcement of the General Secretariat of Religious Affairs of Greece that the New Mosque in Thessaloniki will be allocated for Eid prayers on 10 April, Süleymanoğlu used the following statements:

"This year, the Greek state has allocated the New Mosque, one of the Ottoman monuments in the city, for Eid prayers. However, there is a problem. We will not stand behind the imam appointed by the Greek state as we did in 2013 and 2014. As in 2018, we want the imam of our choice to lead the Eid prayer."

The deceased are buried in Western Thrace, the nearest 200 kilometres away

Kıymet İsmailoğlu, the Vice President of the association, drew attention to the problems experienced due to the lack of a cemetery for Turks in the city.

İsmailoğlu said that the deceased were taken to Xanthi, 200 kilometres away, or Komotini, 274 kilometres away, and buried in the cemeteries there.

İsmailoğlu stated that the most important aim of the association, which was founded in 2005 by Western Thracian compatriots living in Thessaloniki, was to find a solution to the mosque and cemetery problem and that there was no development regarding the cemetery issue.

İsmailoğlu noted that the compatriots living in Thessaloniki wanted to stand behind the imam of their choice in the New Mosque allocated by the Greek state for Eid prayers.

The New Mosque was also allocated for Eid prayers in 2013 and 2014, but the mufti elected by the Western Thracian cognates was not allowed to appoint an imam.

The compatriots living in Thessaloniki also protested against this situation by not taking sides behind the imam appointed by the Greek government.

In 2018, 200 people performed the Eid prayer at the Yeni Mosque for the first time with the imam and muezzin appointed by the elected muftiate in Western Thrace.

Yeni (New) Mosque is used as an exhibition hall

The New Mosque in Thessaloniki, built in 1902 during the Ottoman period by the Italian architect Vitalyano Poselli, was used as a museum between 1925 and 1963.

The mosque, which was restored by the Greek Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 1986, is still used as an exhibition hall by the Municipality of Thessaloniki.

AA