Muslim organisations in Greece have lodged a request for the creation of an Islamic cemetery in Attica in a space in the Schistos cemetery that had been granted for this purpose by the Permanent Holy Synod 2005.

The demand was filed by the Muslim Union of Greece, the Pakistani Community of Greece “The Unity” and the Afghan Community in Greece.

The request comes after the parents of a 5-year-old refugee child from Afghanistan, who was killed on January 8, 2021, in a traffic accident outside a refugee accommodation structure, were forced to bury him in the cemetery of Schistos.

His parents are demanding that justice be served for the death of their child, but also that his body be transferred to a Muslim cemetery “so that we can fulfill the religious duty of burying our child,” his father said in a news conference. They also called for the creation of an Islamic cemetery in Attica and not to have to travel far to the Muslim cemetery in Thrace.

According to the president of the Muslim Union of Greece, Naim Elgantour, the Greek Church has granted an area of ​​30 acres since 2005 at Schistos for the creation of a Muslim cemetery and even paid 30,000 euros for relevant studies for the construction of the cemetery. However, he pointed out that the file is still in the drawers of the Ministry of Education.

The lawyer of the victim in the case, Nikolaos Papadatos, reminded that according to article 13 of the Constitution, the matters related to the worship of any known religion should be unhindered, emphasising that the creation of a Muslim cemetery “is a matter of culture”. “It is no coincidence that the Church of Greece took the first step with generosity, love, gave these people the right,” he added.

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