Since Rhodes, with a population of approximately 140,000, was under Italian rule at the time the Treaty of Lausanne was signed, around 4,000 of Rhodes Turks, who could not obtain minority status, are also deprived of many constitutional rights such as religion, worship and education in their mother tongue.
Rhodes stanky and Dodecanese Turks Culture and Solidarity Association Minister Prof. Dr. Theology-preacher Abdurrahim Kuru, who was appointed as a religious officer to Rhodes in 2020 by Mustafa Kaymak and Gmlcine Elected Council, evaluated the difficulties of the Rhodes Turks regarding religion, freedom of worship and foundations to the AA correspondent.
prof. Dr. Kaymak stated that Greece’s law was “Catalipsis”, which was introduced in 1970 and that “unrecognizable properties and properties that are not notified to the land registry office in 10 years are transferred to the treasury” and said, “By showing this provision, foundation properties belonging to Turks are seized on the islands and the problem of foundations has been kept until today. “My monitoring continues as a problem. Although it is legally forbidden to sell foundation properties, many foundation properties were bought by foundation administrators appointed by the Greek authorities or sold at lower prices than their values. Our descendants were also prohibited from participating in tenders for the sale of foundation goods.” said.
– “THE THINGS ARE PROHIBITED TO KNOW THE MSLMANNESS OF THE RHODES TRKS DEFINED AS ‘MSLMAN GREEK'”
Noting that the Turks of Rhodes have many rights that are guaranteed by international treaties and agreements, including the western Greek constitution, Kaymak said that the main problems of the Turks on the island are “the usurpation of citizenship, learning, religious worship, the environment of hatred and oppression, the destruction of the cultural heritage left by the Ottoman Turks.” and the matter of foundations,” he summarized.
Kaymak noted that instead of solving these problems like an island state, Greece applied various methods to assimilate the Dodecanese Turks from the cultural island, and said:
“Schools that provide Turkish education on the basis of bilingualism in Rhodes and Stanky have been closed since 1972. Our descendants, who go to Greek public schools, cannot use their right to Islamic religious education, although they are exempted from Orthodox religion classes. They recognize themselves as ‘Muslim’, not with their ‘Turkish’ identity. The dilemma that arises with this is that Rhodes Turks, defined as ‘Muslim Greek’, are forbidden to learn about their Islamism.”
Noting that the Dodecanese Turks in Greece have activities to break ties with other Turkish ancestry and to destroy Turkish architectural monuments, Kaymak said, “Greek governments make the Foundation Office sell their lands and properties by making constant expenses, and the Foundation Office is deprived of this practice. Greek governments sometimes do not impose this practice on themselves. “The gradual expropriation of Turkish-Islamic foundations on the islands by the Greek governments or the sale of the foundation’s properties harms the sense of belonging of the Turks on the islands, which is directly linked to their spatial identity.” used the phrase
– “ADADAK MSLMAN TRKS HAVE THE NEED OF REPRESENTATION”
Kaymak stated that the problems related to the foundation’s properties cause serious problems regarding religious life and cultural identity, and said, “The problems with the foundation properties create results that will prevent the freedom of education and worship of the Rhodes Turks. Solving the problem of foundations will not only ensure the restricted civil and social freedom of the Turks on the islands, but also contribute to the protection of Turkish identity and the strengthening of their sense of place and homeland.” he residence.
Kaymak stated that the Muslim Turks in the islands are not represented in a religious sense and that they do not have equal opportunities with the citizens of Greek origin.
“The absence of a leader who can protect the rights of the community or promote religion poses a great danger to the identity of the island Turks. There is no mufti institution in Rhodes. It is clear that a strong authority that will keep the Turks together should fill the void. Despite all this, the religion of the island Turks is not present. “We observe that their sensitivity towards religion is maintained through many actions such as celebrating days and holidays, visiting cemeteries. The answers to the questions asked about religion show that religion is an important phenomenon that strengthens the sense of belonging for Turks living on the islands.”
– “THE AMOUNT OF FOUNDATION GOODS, INCOME-EXPENSE GOVERNMENT ISSUES NO ONE KNOWS”
Abdurrahim Kuru stated that the main problem in the Greek Islands stems from the fact that the Muslim Turks do not have “minority status” and said, “The Turks of Rhodes Island are not legally in minority status. They are in the status of normal Greek citizens, regardless of language, religion or race. Conquered by Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent in 1520. Rhodes came under the sovereignty of Italy during the Balkan War of 1912, Germany dominated the island in 1943. After two years, it was under the sovereignty of England in 1945 and left to Greece in 1947. said.
Noting that only one of the 14 mosques in Rhodes is open for worship today, Kuru noted:
“The only mosque in Rhodes that is open for worship is Pargal İbrahim Paa. This mosque is open for prayers other than morning prayers and Friday prayers during the tourist season. It is unclear when it will be open for evening prayers and at other times in the remaining months. There is also the Süleyman Paa Mosque. Eid prayers are allowed to be performed in this mosque because it is great. There is a person appointed to the Pargal İbrahim Paa Mosque as a religious officer by the Greek state. He is originally from Mehrikoz village, who is from Gmlcine. Of course, this person was not accepted by the people. “Although it was not accepted by the Turks, it did not carry out any work on this. When it is added that religious education is not given to this, the religious sensitivities of the people have weakened considerably. The rate of going to mosques on the island is very low at the moment.”
Explaining that “unqualified” people were appointed to Turkish foundations in Rhodes by the Greek authorities and that these institutions were not managed transparently, Kuru said, “The Minister of Rhodes Foundations Administration is a primary school graduate. The General Secretary of the five-person foundation committee is a Greek woman. Actually, she is the manager of the foundation. The amount of foundation goods. “Nobody knows about matters such as income and expenditure. No one is given any account or clear information. According to the statements of our descendants, some foundation goods are sold with false documents and false covenants.” used the phrase
Kuru also noted that the marriages between Turks and Greeks are increasing day by day, “Turkish and Greek marriages are also increasing day by day. The interesting thing is that if a Muslim Turk marries a Christian, a “civil marriage” will take place and children born to a Muslim Turkish marriage will be baptized. he gets the contract signed.” said.