A new law passed by the Greek Parliament and which entered into force on August 2, has led to a wave of protests among part of the country’s Muslim minority, reports the Islamo-nationalist daily. New Dawn. In Western Thrace, near the border with Turkey, the Muslim population is estimated at 120,000 people, in total there are 650,000 Muslims in the whole country.
Under a series of international treaties, including the Treaty of Lausanne (signed in 1923 after the Turkish War of Independence), Muslims in this region of Greece can, if they wish, have recourse to Islamic law rather than to Greek common law in civil lawsuits. Decisions inspired by Sharia, Islamic law, are therefore made by religious dignitaries, the muftis.
However, for many years, the muftis appointed by the Greek state had been rejected by part of the local Muslim population and by Turkey, which appointed alternative muftis in their place, regularly prosecuted by the Greek state.