Western Thrace Turkish Minority Members in Germany want to use their voting right in the Mufti’s election

After the decease of elected Mufti of Iskece (Xanthi) Halit Habipoglu, chairman of Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe, revealed the will of Western Thrace Turkish Minority in Germany to vote at the coming Mufti elections.

Preparations for the coming Mufti elections have already begun in Western Thrace after the decease of Mehmet Emin Aga, the former elected Mufti of Iskece (Xanthi). The election date will be announced in a short time. Discussions on election method and the candidates have been the hottest debate on agenda nowadays.

Halit Habipoglu said that they had been working to make it possible for the Western Thrace Turkish Minority of Iskece (Xanthi) origin to use vote in the election and if they could achieve to realize the offers presented to Western Thrace Turkish Minority Advisory Council then they would establish voting boxes at Western Thrace Turkish Minority Associations, total of 28 throughout Germany.

Muftis are the experts who are empowered to give rules on the religious laws and in Western Thrace, they have the rights to solemnize marriages and in other areas of daily life. They are important balancing actors in the daily lives of Turkish Minority in Greece when we consider the fact that Greece is established on theocratic grounds and Ortodoks Church’s effect on social life is very strong.

Muftis have an important role for Western Thrace Turkish Minority’s struggle in seeking remedy and Greece prevents minority members to express their will and elect Muftis, religious and social leaders. As always, Greece infringes its obligations defined by Athens Treaty signed in 1913 and appoints the Muftis although Muftis were to be elected by Western Thrace Turkish Minority members. Halit Habipoglu revealed that „Our minority members in Iskece (Xanthi) and Gümülcine (Komotini) did not embrace the appointed Muftis by Greece and chose to elect their own religious leaders. Our country, Greece, did not recognize the elected Muftis of Western Thrace Turkish Minority and initiated criminal prosecutions aganist them. Although European Council of Human Rights stopped those criminal prosecutions, Greece has notrecognized the legal status of our Muftis. We hope that during these 20 years, some understading in Greece has changed and they will legally recognize our Muftis. He concluded that if the Western Thrace Turkish Minority members living in other European Union countries could use their right of voting in Muftis election then the legitimation ground of Muftis will strength.

Nearly 85% of all Western Thrace Turkish minority population living out of Greece live in Germany and 28 minority associations out of 29 were established in Germany as well. It has not been clarified yet by the Minority Advisory Council whether the election (if possible) would be held in one headquarter or in associations concentrated in North-Rhine Westphalian, Bayern and Hessen provinces.