EFA brings religious discrimination against Muslim students in Western Thrace to the attention of the European Commission

The President of the European Free Alliance, Ms Lorena López de Lacalle, asks the European Commission about the steps they will take to ensure that religious minorities can exercise their right to education without compromising their religious duties

This week, the European Free Alliance has brought a case of religious discrimination against Muslim students in Western Thrace schools to the attention of the European Commission. The president of EFA, Ms Lorena López de Lacalle, has sent a letter to the Commissioner for Equality, Ms Helena Dalli. In the document, Ms López de Lacalle expresses her deep concerns about the recent decree banning minority primary schools in East Macedonia and Thrace from closing early on Fridays to allow their students to attend prayers, issued by the Education Director of that region. The president of EFA asks the Commission about the steps they will take to ensure that religious minorities can exercise their right to education without compromising their religious duties. “Will the Commission open an investigation to establish whether the actions of the Greek authorities in this case constitute a violation of their obligations under European law?”, adds Ms López de Lacalle.

Will the Commission open an investigation to establish whether the actions of the Greek authorities in this case constitute a violation of their obligations under European law?

Lorena López de Lacalle || President of EFA

The Greek state does recognise the Muslim community as a religious minority, even though the Turkish minority in Western Trace is not recognised as such. The president of EFA argues that, even in the limited understanding of Greek authorities, preventing school children from attending Friday prayers constitutes discrimination against the Muslim community and fears that the goal of such a decision is “assimilation”. Ms López de Lacalle also denounces the latest updates to the rule: the latest circular allows for children to attend Friday prayers only if their parents come to school every Friday and sign a document. “This effectively amounts to requiring members of a religious minority to identify themselves as such in order to access their right to worship”, states the President of EFA.

Finally, the letter also brings attention to the current situation of minority schools in Western Thrace. In the last 20 years, there has been a precipitous decline in the number of schools offering curricula in both Turkish and Greek. Of 230 such schools operating at the start of the new millennium, only 103 still remain. A further 12 were closed just last September. “Taken together, these measures suggest a deliberate campaign to undermine the community’s rights both to practice their religion freely and to receive education in their native language” expresses Ms López de Lacalle.