For the first time in 200 years, Muslims in Greece will now have a place where they can worship. The group has been fighting for a house of worship for over ten years, and the opening of a mosque in Athens was an important step for the Muslim community. While many are praising the opening, there are some still concerned with the country’s treatment towards the Muslim community, and other religious communities are pushing back against the opening.
Long Awaited Mosque Opens in Athens
After 14 years of waiting, the Muslim community will finally have a place to worship in Athens, Greece. There had been plans to build a mosque in Athens since 1890, but years of opposition from the Christian Orthodox community, political groups, as well as a major financial crisis have blocked progress. These hurdles have finally been overcome and now Athen’s has the first government-funded mosque since 1833. A mosque is described as a house of prayer, it is similar to a church or synagogue. The mosque which opened in limited capacity in November 2020, was only allowing a small number of worshipers, who must wear masks and social distance, because of an increase in the amount of COVID-19 cases in the country. With the rise in cases, Greece has gone into a lockdown that prohibits large gatherings for formal worship. As soon as the lockdown is lifted, worshipers hope to be back inside the mosque worshiping safely.
“It is a historic moment for the Muslim community living in Athens, we have been waiting for this mosque for so long,” stated Heider Ashir, a member of the mosque’s governing council. “Thanks to God, finally, we have a mosque which is open and we can pray here freely.” While some in Athen’s Muslim community are excited to have a place to worship freely in their community, there are some in the community that are not happy with the efforts that were made in designing and building the mosque. They feel that the building itself does not represent what a true mosque should embody. Naim El Ghandour, the head of the Muslim Association of Greece stated “it does not at all look like a place of worship, it is a small, square, miserable building. We thank them very much for the offer, but we will fight to reach it to the level that we deserve.”
Muslims in Greece
There are around 1.9 billion Muslims living across the globe and Islam is the second biggest religion in the world next to Christianity at number one. As of 2020, Muslims made up only about five percent of the total population of Greece. About 300,000 Muslims call the city of Athens home. Many in the community come from several countries including Syria, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and many others. Despite their presence, the Muslim community in Greece has largely been underrepresented. Before this new mosque opened in November 2020, Athens was the only major capital of a European country without a mosque. Even getting the Athens mosque open took years of struggle by the Muslim community to make the opening a reality.
Historically in Greece, the Muslim communty has not always been treated fairly. Greece was under the control of the Ottoman Empire, an empire founded in modern day Turkey, for hundreds of years. It wasn’t until 1829 when the Greeks were able to get their independence. During the reign of the Ottoman Empire, there were numerous mosques for the Muslim commuity to worship in. After their independence, all the mosques and any structures reminding citizens of Ottoman rule were destroyed or heavily damaged, so over time this left no mosque for the Muslim community to worship in.
While the Muslim community today is protected by minority rights laws, even these have been violated. For many Greek cities, it is pretty normal to not have a mosque. In fact, in Greece, the only official sanctioned mosques were located in the northern part of the country that borders Turkey, where over 100,000 members of the Muslim community live. While the mosque in Athens was opened in 2020, another request for a mosque by the Muslim community in Greece’s second larget city, Thessaloniki, has been rejected. The Muslims Education Culture Foundation which submitted the application stated “Greece, which does not open the existing mosques, also does not show Muslims another place for their worship.” The foundation believes that the Greek government is not doing enough to provide them with places to worship and pray.
The opening of the mosque in Athens is critical and hopeful in creating an environment where the Muslim community in Greece is able to practice their religion freely. That being said, a lot of progress must still be made for Muslims in Greece.
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According to the article, which of the following is a reason WHY the mosque in Athens took many years to be built?
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.3
Read the following sentences from “Muslims in Greece“:
“During the reign of the Ottoman Empire, there were numerous mosques for the Muslim commuity to worship in. After their independence, all the mosques and any structures reminding citizens of Ottoman rule were destroyed or heavily damaged, so over time this left no mosque for the Muslim community to worship in. “
How do these sentences support the MAIN idea of the article?
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.2
Read the following main ideas of the article.
For the first time in 200 years, Muslims in Greece will now have a place where they can worship. The group has been fighting for a house of worship for over ten years, and the opening of a mosque in Athens was an important step for the Muslim community. Historically in Greece, the Muslim community has not always been treated fairly. While the Muslim community today is protected by minority rights laws, even these have been violated.
Which answer would BEST complete the summary?
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.2
Read the following sentence from the section “Long Awaited Mosque Opens in Athens”:
“‘It is a historic moment for the Muslim community living in Athens, we have been waiting for this mosque for so long,’ stated Heider Ashir, a member of the mosque’s governing council.”
Which answer uses the word “council” in the SAME way as the sentence above?
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.4
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