RETHINKING LIMITS OF ANTI-MUSLIM HATRED AND DISCRIMINATION IN CONTEMPORARY GREECE

Abstract

There has been a growing academic literature about Islam in the West since 9/11 while Islam per se is actually an old phenomenon in the continent of Europe. Even if Muslims enjoy a variety of religious rights, Islamophobia is on rise all over Europe. Regardless of states’ respect and inclusiveness towards Muslims, their sacred places such as mosques or cemeteries cannot escape from getting targeted by hate-motivated physical-discursive attacks and harassments. Generally speaking, any kind of anti-Muslim action is usually vehemently condemned by governmental officials. Nevertheless, many of those perpetrators of Islamophobic actions remain unidentified and are seldom persecuted effectively, which will assist in discouraging anti-Muslim bigotry and behavior in societies of Europe. In this respect, this study takes Greece as a case study and analyzes to what extent Islam has been incorporated in Greece. While doing so, it dwells both on historical and new Muslim groups so as to find answers to two primary questions. First, to what extent does Greece respect rights of Muslims residing in different parts of the country? Second, what does Islamophobia mean in the context of Greece? Doing so, this study argues that Greece has never allowed enjoyment of Muslims’ freedoms in full terms since its establishment as of this day. Rather, it has chosen to penetrate in their internal affairs via different ways, limit their religious liberties and finally have the ultimate control over fundamental issues of Islam and Muslims living across the country. Moreover, Greece has never applied for an establishment of an effective mechanism aiming to fight against anti-Muslim behavior depicted overtly or covertly by those belonging to different segments of the Greek society. Henceforth, it is predicted that a variety of issues centering around Islam and anti-Muslim practices in Greece will continue to be one of the hottest topics of discussion throughout the third decade of the new millennium in respect to the integration of Muslims with the predominantly Orthodox-Christian majority.