Imam of Rhodes İlter Meço arrested

ABTTF President Halit Habipoğlu: What actually contrary to law concerning the situation in Rhodes, Greece is the appointment of Imam Hasan Karaali to the island by the Office of Mufti in Dimetoka although it has no legal power to do so

İlter Meço, who has been charged as imam and teacher of the Koran course of the Rhodes Muslims Culture and Brotherhood Association and conducting duties of imam in the İbrahim Pasha Mosque in Rhodes for three years, was arrested yesterday evening. He was taken into custody upon the denunciation made by Imam Hasan Karaali who was appointed to the İbrahim Pasha Mosque and sent to the Rhodes by the assigned Mufti of Dimetoka although he enjoys no legal power to do so.

According to the daily Trakya’nın Sesi, Imam Hasan Karaali went yesterday to the İbrahim Pasha Mosque, and wanted to lead the prayer. However, the community in the mosque denied him as its imam, and did now allow him to lead the prayer. Upon this, Hasan Karaali complaint to the police on the grounds that was roughed up by Sunusi Mısıroğlu, and alleged İlter Meço provoked the mosque community against him. The police arrested then Mısıroğlu und Meço whose case today could not be tried due to the strikes of lawyers in Rhodes and was postponed to tomorrow. Imam İlter Meço talked to the daily Birlik while he was under custody, and said despite all the pressures on him, he will not give up struggling, adding that he came to Rhodes to serve the Muslim Turkish community, and will continue doing this

Imam tension in Rhodes broke out during the holy month Ramadan in last July

Since about 3,000 ethnic Turks with Greek citizenship, who live in the Dodecanese Islands including Rhodes and Kos, are not subject to the 1923 Lausanne Peace Treaty signed and therefore do not legally fall under the authority of the assigned Muftis in Western Thrace, Greece, they have the right to choose any person they wish as imam. Accordingly, they charged three years ago Imam İlter Meço to serve in the Ibrahim Pasha Mosque which is the only open mosque in Rhodes for religious services.

At the beginning of the holy month Ramadan last July, Hasan Karaali was appointed by the assigned Mufti of Dimetoka as the new imam to the İbrahim Pasha Mosque in Rhodes although there had been no request of the Muslim Turkish community for a new imam at all. The community objected to the concerning appointment, and supported Imam İlter Meço it charged three years ago.

President Habipoğlu: Imam İlter Meço, who has been conducting the duties allocated by the community, must be released at once

“It is unbelievable that Imam İlter Meço serving in Rhodes was taken into custody, and brought before the court. When the assigned Mufti of Dimetoka appointed an imam to the İbrahim Pasha Mosque in Rhodes although it has no legal power to do so, the Muslim Turkish community having the right to choose and charge its own religious functionaries requested Imam İlter Meço shall continue conducting his duties. Here the actual illegal action is the appointment of Imam Hasan Karaali to this mosque. Therefore, we request for the immediate release of Imam İlter Meço and putting an end to the imam tension in Rhodes.” said Halit Habipoğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).