Continuity and Change : religious diversity among indigenous and immigrant

Muslims in Greece

Venetia Evergeti &

Panos Hatziprokopiou

16th International Metropolis Conference, Migration Futures: Perspectives on Global Changes 12-16 September 2011 Azores Islands, Ponta Delgada

‘Islam in Greece’ AHRC Research Program

AHRC funded study exploring: Negotiations of religious identities and practices Politics of recognition of religious rights The role of religion as an identification marker Focus on Pakistani migrants and indigenous Muslims in

Athens Qualitative methodology including interviews and

ethnographic fieldwork in Athens 50 open ended interviews 4 group discussions Non-participant observations in informal mosques, public prayers,

neighbourhoods etc.

http://www.fahs.surrey.ac.uk/islamingreece/index.htm

Continuity and Change in relation to the perception of

Islam Greece Official portrayals of Greek national identity and its connection to the official religion (Christian Orthodox) The connection between citizenship, national identity and

Orthodox religion Established perceptions of Islam linked to the

Ottoman/Turkish ‘tradition’ Exclusion of internal and external ‘others’:

indigenous Muslim minority in Northern Greece Newly arriving (and older) Muslim migrants

Public discourse changing? Focus shifting: From the minority to the migrants From Turkey to global geopolitics

Indigenous and Immigrant MuslimsIndigenous:

Established by Treaty of Lausanne (1923) and located in Thrace (N. Greece)–approximately 120,000

Recognised as a ‘Muslim minority’ But including three ethnic groups:

Turks, Pomaks and Roma Greek citizens with constitutional

and religious rights (Sharia) but subjected to discrimination &

exclusion Internal migration to Athens in

70s and 80s due to state initiatives and lack of jobs in Thrace Loss of access to Muslim

institutions once in Athens

Migrants: Recent but accelerating migration

from Middle East, South Asia, Africa.

Diversity of experiences: years in Greece, legal status,

social conditions Organisation:

National/ethnic origins vs. religion Mainly concentrated in Athens

but dispersed across the city From private to public presence

in recent years

Thracian Muslims and Pakistanis in Athens

Thracians Internal migration of poorer strata due

to: State initiatives but also Further migration through family and kin

networks Community Organisations:

Differences between the elite and the rest of the community

A politicised issue: ‘ethnicisation’ of the minority resisting the ‘Muslim’ categorisation

Negotiating multiple identities within and outside the minority community: Seen as ‘Gypsy’, Muslims, Pomaks,

Turks The importance of localised identities Religious organisation through informal

prayer sites Becoming invisible in Athens

Pakistanis The largest (Muslim) migrant group

Predominantly male workers Precarious legal status Not-settled in Greece

Community organisations Differences between the organised elite

and the rest of the community Differences in relation to modes of

mobilisation Relations with the Greek State

Negotiating multiple identities and the role of religion Religious identities and everyday practices Varying religious practices and rituals Invisibility of informal prayer sites and

visibility in public spaces

Visible and invisible Religious Pluralism History / present:

historical monuments vs current informal prayer sites

The mosque and cemetery debate

Differences between the everyday reality and the institutional/official provisions

Important issue for both (practicing) Muslim Thracians and immigrants

Thracian Muslims and the Mosque debate

“Leaving here in Athens I would like tohave a proper mosque to visit. …I still haven’t understood what the problem is and why Greek governments don’t want tomake this mosque since there are officialmosques in all European capitals. It wouldbe good for the Muslims here…Now wehave to use basements of buildings to pray.” (Thracian in Athens)

“Here we have created a meeting placewhere we meet our own people(meaning people from Thrace andspecifically the same village) and wewouldn’t want to loose that.” (Thracian inAthens)

Pakistanis (and other migrants) and the Mosque debate

“What I see is that this is in theConstitution, every religion should have one… [But] Until this is built, it is only wordsto me, because there have been at least 10years… that they say there will be a mosquebuilt here in Athens… But we have not seenanything… I believe in a few years therewill be a Mosque…I believe that we need atleast one very big mosque, so as to showthe world: here is Greek democracy, here is respect, we are civilized…”(Pakistani migrant)

“Here Muslims are fragmented by ethnicity,by language, everyone has his ownmosque…(Pakistani migrant)

Religious pluralism and the issue of citizenship

New citizenship law (2010) ‘…no bishop assumes a public stance against the law, [but] in private talk

they do not deny fears about the strengthening of the Islamic element… They estimate that the overwhelming majority of migrants living in our country come from Muslim countries… these people were born and have been brought up in fanatically Muslim societies, where sharia rules… they, as Greek Muslim citizens now, will then demand the building of mosques at least in the country’s large cities, the construction of cemeteries, etc… Orthodox Greek children will start getting familiar with Bairam and Ramadan…(to Vima, 31/01/2010)

“I was born here, went to school here, got married here, had my own baby here… for me Greece is my country but my country sees me as a stranger… I’ve been born here and every year I have to go and queue together with the Pakistanis, Albanians, Romanians that have just come into the country in order to get my residence permit…” (2nd generation Egyptian)

Concluding remarks Religious pluralism:

Continuity and change in terms of historical and current developments Multiple layers

in relation to the changing status of the indigenous minority and in relation to socio-political developments re: new Muslim migrants

Visibility vs. invisibility Various degrees depending on ethnic groups within the minority and

within the migrants Religion remains important but other everyday difficulties connected to the

migratory experience take priority. Perception vs. experiences of Muslims in Greece

Perception to homogenise them in the context of the national identity discourse, i.e ‘Turkish Islam’ Whereas religious (Muslim) organisations tend to homogenise them in the context of

‘Global Islam’ Experiences marginalised on the whole but different according to

different ethnicities, social circumstances, practices.