Islamophobia in Athens

Alert DateMay 20, 2009 Country: Greece Address: Aghios Panteleimonas, Athens Racism and discrimination phenomena: Islamophobia
General Type: Racist violence Groups affected / Interested in: Migrants, Muslims Strands: Racism Key Areas: Policing - Law Enforcement - Justice, Racist violence - Hate Speech Statistics

Timeline

  • Tearing apart of a Koran by a police officer

    The mutilation of the Koran by a police officer in a ‘ghetto-area’ in Athens – caused tensions and protests, as well as arson attack to an informal mosque. On 20.05.2009, during a police check in a cafe in central Athens, an officer took a customer's Koran, ripped it apart, threw it on the ground and stomped on it. Hundreds of immigrants protested following the incident, some of whom smashing shop windows and destroying parked cars in the streets near the central Omonia Square. T...

  • ‘Manual of correct conduct towards Muslims’ for police officers

    Following the incident of the tearing apart of the Koran by a police officer during a control after stopping a Muslim migrant, the Ministry of Public Order announced that it will distribute to police officers a ‘manual of correct conduct towards Muslims’. The Koran incident was followed by Muslims’ protests and low intensity vandalism in Athens and by public discourse about cultural conflict and incompatibility of Islam and Muslim migrants with the Greek culture.   Sou...

  • Greek government spokesperson announces the building of a mosque in Athens

    The Greek Government spokesperson has announced that the mosque of Athens will be finally built in application of the law n. 3512/2006, in the centre of Athens (Votanikos area) and will be financed exclusively by the state budget and no other source of funding will be accepted. The mosque much needed for Muslim residents of the Greek capital will be run by a 7 member committee, two of which will be individuals proposed by recognised Muslim associations in Greece and five will be state officials. The o...

  • Racist violence against immigrants and their families in Athens

    Far right extremists hunting down and beating dark-skinned migrants in Athens - Families with children hidden by locals.   ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Gangs of far-right youths attacked dark-skinned immigrants in central Athens and clashed with riot police Thursday, leaving at least 25 people injured, in a show of force by extremist groups. The attacks, which lasted several hours, occurred following a downtown protest against a deadly mugging that had happened earlier in the week. ...

  • Major sport venues and squares available to Muslims until a proper mosque is built in Athens

    Until a proper mosque is built the Greek government and local authorities dispose of major sport venues, such as the Athens Olympic Stadium facilities and the Peace & Friendhsip Stadium for closed events to the Muslim communities so that they are able to exercise their religious freedoms celebrating the end of Ramadan (Id al Fitr). Accordingly the Mayor of Athens has disposed in the past of the Kotzia squure in fron of the Municipality of Athens for this purpose, not without tensions from far-righ...

  • Greek parliament big majority vote in favour of the building of a mosque in Athens

    The building of a mosque in Athens was approved by the Greek parliament by an overwhelming majority (198 in favour and 16 against). The measure was included in the relevant bill of the Ministry of Environment and caused the reaction of the President of the far right-wing party "LAOS", George Karatzaferis, who requested a roll call vote, a request that was accepted. In favour of the mosque building in Athens were the deputies of the governing party PASOK, New Democracy Communist Party (KK...

The mutilation of the Koran by a police officer in a ‘ghetto-area’ in Athens – caused tensions and protests, as well as arson attack to an informal mosque. On 20.05.2009, during a police check in a cafe in central Athens, an officer took a customer's Koran, ripped it apart, threw it on the ground and stomped on it. Hundreds of immigrants protested following the incident, some of whom smashing shop windows and destroying parked cars in the streets near the central Omonia Square. This is the first time an Islamophobic incident of this kind is reported and the first intense and in some cases violent protest by Muslim migrants in Greece.

The incident and the reactions were highlighted by the media and fed a public discussion about cultural conflict and incompatibility of Islam and Muslim migrants with the Greek culture.This contributed to an already widespread intolerance and xenophobia around a presumably overburdening high numbers of Muslim migrants, and provided an additional argument in favour of the reactions and of the presumed consequent need to remove them violently from the Athens areas they reside in. In the occasion of the ‘Koran incident’ march, Muslim migrants protested against increasing police brutality and against the fact that Athens is still the only European capital without a mosque.

Following the incident, the Ministry of Public Order announced that it will distribute  a "manual of correct conduct towards Muslims" to police officers. 

Furhermore, the Greek Government spokesperson has announced that the mosque of Athens will be finally built in application of the law n. 3512/2006, in the centre of Athens (Votanikos area) and will be financed exclusively by the state budget and no other source of funding will be accepted. The mosque much needed for Muslim residents of the Greek capital will be run by a 7 member committee, two of which will be individuals proposed by recognised Muslim associations in Greece and five will be state officials. The only Athens mosque has been promised for long but never reached the implementation phase. The Prime Minister appointed a Commission which will implement the project, composed by the Vice-Prime Minister, and the Ministers of Education, Interior Affairs and Protection of the Citizen (ex Public Order).

Source:

Eleftherotipia, 22.05.2009, http://www.enet.gr/?i=news.el.article&id=47004

Kathimerini, 26.05.2009, http://news.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_columns_2_26/05/2009_316054

CityPress, Christopoulos S.,Συλλαλητήριο μουσουλμάνων στην Αθήνα, 29.05.2009, http://www.citypress.gr/index.html?action=article&article=67033

Kathimerini, Souliotis J.,Η πρώτη ανοιχτή σύγκρουση ΕΛ.ΑΣ. – μεταναστών, 24.05.2009, http://news.kathimerini.gr/4dcgi/_w_articles_ell_2_24/05/2009_315919

CityPress, Christopoulos S.,Ένταση με μετανάστες στο κέντρο, 22.05.2009, http://www.citypress.gr/index.html?action=article&article=66832

CityPress, Chrysikopoulos D.,Εκρηκτικό σκηνικό στο κέντρο της Αθήνας, 25.05.2009, http://www.citypress.gr/index.html?action=article&article=66872

CityPress, Christopoulos S.,Άναψε φωτιές το Κοράνι, 25.05.2009, http://www.citypress.gr/index.html?action=article&article=66868

CityPress, Chrysikopoulos D.,Εκρηκτικό σκηνικό στο κέντρο της Αθήνας, 25.05.2009, http://www.citypress.gr/index.html?action=article&article=66872

CityPress, Kirtsos G.,Ανάπλαση ιστορικού κέντρου και απομάκρυνση λαθρομεταναστών, 12.05.2009, http://www.citypress.gr/index.html?action=article&article=66501

CityPress, Chrysikopoulos D.,Γιάννης Σγουρός, Νομάρχης Αθηνών: Φοβάμαι ότι τα χειρότερα έρχονται, 20.05.2009, http://www.citypress.gr/index.html?action=article&article=66768

To Vima, 02.06.2009, http://www.tovima.gr/society/article/?aid=271144

Citypress, Christopoulos S., Άναψε φωτιές το Κοράνι, 25.05.2009, http://www.citypress.gr/index.html?action=article&article=66868

Citypress, Chrysikopoulos D., Εκρηκτικό σκηνικό στο κέντρο της Αθήνας, 25.05.2009, http://www.citypress.gr/index.html?action=article&article=66872

Eleftherotipia, Στο Βοτανικό θα κατασκευαστεί το τέμενος, 28.04.2010, http://www.enet.gr/?i=news.el.ellada&id=156641