'We reject and condemn the regulation on muftis that ignore the minority'

Advisory Board: “The regulation regarding the Mufti offices accepted in the Parliament, is against the Athens Agreement of 1913 determining the principles regarding the institution of the mufti in Western Thrace, the law numbered 2345/1920 adopted in 1920 and the Peace Treaty of  Lausanne signed in 1923 which  guarantees  the religious autonomy of the Muslim Turkish Minority of Western Thrace.

The Western Thrace Turkish Minority Advisory Board issued a statement regarding the new mufti law.

The Advisory Board said, “We reject the new regulation that ignores the will and expectations of the minority. As the Western Thrace Turkish Minority Advisory Board, we strongly condemn this anti-democratic and anti-human rights approach.” made the statement.

Emphasizing that the law on muftis in Western Thrace was brought to the parliament immediately after the death of the late Xanthi mufti Ahmet Mete, the Advisory Board noted that the will of the minority was ignored once again as insincerity and opportunism.

In the statement, it was emphasized that the new law adopted in the parliament regarding the muftis was accepted by ignoring the 1913 Athens Agreement, which determined the principles regarding the institution of the mufti, the law numbered 2345/1920 adopted in 1920 and the Lausanne Peace Agreement signed in 1923.

The following statements were included in the statement of the Advisory Board:

“Western Thrace Turkish Minority Advisory Board evaluated the new legal arrangement regarding the muftis in Western Thrace, which was newly accepted in the parliament at the meeting held on Tuesday, August 2nd.

The institution of the Mufti is one of the most important institutional structures of the Western Thrace Muslim Turkish Minority, and the prerequisite for any change in this institution to be successful is to consider the will of the minority community.

Unfortunately, this new law was prepared and written without any dialogue with our Minority.

In fact, the fact that Prime Minister Mitsotakis did not mention such a law and preparation even during his visit to Komotini on July 8, 2022 - that is, 3 weeks ago - suggests that he was not even aware of the law.

Likewise, the fact that the law was brought to the Parliament right after the death of our late Mufti of Xanthi has taken its place in our collective memory as an example of insincerity and opportunism.

When all these developments are written one after the other, it reveals the fact that the will of our Minority is almost ignored, and that a regulation that will meet their expectations has been carefully avoided.

On the other hand, the regulation on the Muftis approved in the Parliament are not in line with the Athens Agreement of 1913 determining the principles regarding the institution of the mufti in Western Thrace, the law numbered 2345/1920 of 1920 and the 1923 Peace Treaty of Lausanne which guarantees the religious autonomy of the Muslim Turkish Minority of Western Thrace.

With this new law, the reshaping of the Mufti institution and transforming it into an ordinary State Office cannot be accepted by the Western Thrace Muslim Turkish community.

All these clearly show that the current government, like many previous governments, does not have the will and intention to solve the Mufti problem that has been going on for 37 years.

Due to the reasons explained above, we reject this new regulation, which ignores international agreements regarding the Mufti and the will and expectations of the minority for the solution of the problem.

In addition, as the Western Thrace Turkish Minority Advisory Board, we strongly condemn this anti-democratic and anti-human rights approach.”

In a statement published by the Western Thrace Turkish Minority Advisory Board, the Western Thrace Turkish Community was determined to use the rights granted to it by international law regarding the mufti.

In the statement, it was also stated that any regulation that ignores the will of the minority is doomed not to be implemented.

In the statement of the Advisory Board, it was stated:

“We would like to remind you once again that; Any regulation that ignores the democratic demands, sincere expectations and the rights of the Western Thrace Muslim Turkish Community, which is guaranteed by international documents, is illegitimate and doomed not to be implemented.

We emphasize that the Western Thrace Turkish Community is determined to use the rights granted to it by international law regarding the mufti, and we express that this determination stems from the legitimate and democratic expectations of our minority.

On this occasion, we emphasize that we expect all our political representatives to take a clear and determined stance against this regulation, which ignores the will and expectations of the minority.

It is announced with respect to all the public.”