Report on International Religious Freedom published for Greece

The United States of America (USA) Department of State published the 2022 International Religious Freedom Report. The report, which analyses the state of religious freedoms in 199 countries around the world, uses the definition of "Muslim minority in Thrace" in the section on Greece, and the problems experienced by the Turkish community in Western Thrace in the religious field are incomplete and superficial.

WESTERN THRACE TURKISH COMMUNITY IN THE REPORT
The report states that the total population of Greece is estimated to be 10.5 million, while the population of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, which is recognised as an official minority according to the 1923 Lausanne Treaty, is approximately 140 thousand.

According to the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, the Turkish community in Western Thrace has the right to manage and maintain its own mosques and social and charitable institutions (foundations). The report states that with the law adopted by the Greek Parliament in August 2022, the government changed the process of appointing muftis in (Western) Thrace. In the report, it is noted that according to the new law, a board of 33 people under the chairmanship of the Mufti Regent will decide on the suitability of the mufti candidates and determine the names of those who have the qualifications to serve as a mufti in alphabetical order, then the Minister of Religious Affairs and Education will choose one of the candidates and the final appointment will be made by Presidential Decree as in the case of Greek Orthodox metropolitans.

The report reminds that members of the Turkish community in Western Thrace continue to oppose the government's practice of appointing muftis and demand that muftis be elected directly by the community without government interference. It is noted that in (Western) Thrace there are two unofficial muftis elected by the Turkish community in Western Thrace in parallel with the three government-appointed deputy muftis and that the government does not recognise the elected muftis and their religious services.

With the 2018 law, the government-appointed muftis in (Western) Thrace demand notarised consent from all parties in family matters such as marriage, divorce, child custody, alimony or inheritance according to traditional Islamic law, and the decision of the muftis on the aforementioned issues is subject to the approval of the courts of first instance.

The report also draws attention to the fact that the Turkish community in Western Thrace opposes the appointment of the members of the administrative boards of the foundations belonging to it by the government and states that in accordance with the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, it should elect these people itself.

ABTTF PRESIDENT HABİPOĞLU
Halit Habipoğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF), said: "In the Greece section of the US 2022 International Religious Freedom Report, as in previous years, the problems experienced by our community in the religious sphere are again superficially addressed and mainly statements supporting the official view of the Greek state are included. As ABTTF, in the report that we will prepare as a response to the US report and that we will forward to the relevant authorities of the United States, we will present the following statements