Golden Dawn Holds Massive Rally Against Construction of Athens Mosque

The supporters of the ultra-right Golden Dawn party held a protest at the weekend against plans by the Greek government to build a mosque in the capital Athens. Carrying Greek flags and banners with anti-mosque slogans, the supporters chanted "Greece belongs to Greeks. Victory or death" as they listened to a feverish speech by party spokesman and lawmaker Ilia Kassidiaris.

     "This very moment, Golden Dawn with this massive and dynamic demonstration expresses the great, pan-Hellenic demand. Not one illegal mosque in the Greek territory," said Kassidiaris.

Last month, the government announced the consortium that had won a tender to build the mosque, a project that is going to unfortunately be paid by Greek taxpayers.

It is true that the Greek capital does not have a formal mosque since winning independence from the occupying Ottoman empire in 1832, and although this has been criticized by human rights groups such as Amnesty International and other Soros foundations, the center of the city is indeed not suitable for this religious center and it is certainly insulting if not shocking that Greek taxpayers are going to be forced to pay for this.

The issue has been repeatedly stalled due to opposition by Greek orthodox clerics and Greek residents for obvious reasons, but on the one hand they are right. If those of Muslim faith want a religious center then why not pay for it themselves? Why force the Greek taxpayers to pay for this? Have you ever seen any Muslim nations building churches for those of Christian faith? We think not. In fact Christians are being persecuted in countries such as Syria because of their faith!

How much will it cost Greek taxpayers? Well, a consortium of four firms won the tender to build the mosque, that is set to cost about 946,000 Euros and is expected to take six months to be completed.

Golden Dawn party has said that it is going to block these plans and one local bishop, Seraphim of Piraeus, has even taken the issue to Greece's top administrative court, the Council of State.

Unfortunately Greek Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos does not have the same intentions. He wants this project to progress, and quickly. Following a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu last Friday, and in a ploy to impress his Ottoman friend, he said that the plans for the construction of the mosque are going to move. And let us not even touch the subject of Agia Sofia turning into a Mosque... for some odd reason Venizelos forgot this as well.

     "Athens is to have a mosque for all Muslims who want to carry out their religious obligations with dignity whether they live in Athens or they are visiting Athens, as we are very happy when our citizens visit Turkey, or other countries, and they find Greek Orthodox churches open in the centre of the city," he said.

Naturally, Davutoglou welcomed the plans, forgetting all along that in Cyprus, as well as in Turkey many Greek Orthodox churches have been vandalized, ransacked, burned down and/or looted.

     "I think as time goes by it is suitable for Athens to show its multiculturalism and I think that the Greek government has contributed in creating this climate," said Davutoglu.

Greece and Turkey have been trying to resolve contentious issues over religious properties in both countries, but as always Greece cannot pull its head out of the water as far as Ankara is concerned.