The odyssey of a dying Muslim in Athens

In the past few days, Marina Satti shared in an interview (LIFO) a personal odyssey on the occasion of the burial of her father, whom – in the absence of a Muslim cemetery in Attica – she was forced to bury far from her place of residence, specifically in Komotini. Her story brought the long-standing issue of the absence of an Islamic burial ground in Athens back to the fore, at a time when around 300,000 Muslims live and work in the wider capital region.

The Church of Greece has since 2005 allocated an area in Schistos, next to the Intermunicipal Cemetery, while in 2016 the Holy Archdiocese of Athens had again allocated 20 acres for their burial. And while the project of creating a Muslim sector in the Schistos Cemetery seemed to be entering the final stretch in 2022, the Muslim residents of Attica – among them many Greek citizens – continue to be denied the possibility of burying their dead close to their place of residence and according to the dictates of Islam, so that they are allowed to visit the burial ground. In fact, the issue of the delay has also taken on political dimensions, as 12 SYRIZA MPs submitted a relevant question to the relevant ministers. The questions that arise are why there is this long delay and how, where are the burials of Muslims in Greece still taking place.

The present regime

Cemeteries are owned by the municipalities, managed by the municipalities and by law they are obliged to allow the burial of all, regardless of religion, which is the case. The particular burial customs of Muslims, however, make it impossible to use the existing cemeteries: the dead must be buried within 24 hours, without a coffin, wrapped in a shroud, with the body on its side facing Mecca. The main thing, however, is that the remains of the dead are not exhumed, they remain in the soil, while in the cemeteries of the country – due to the need to manage the space to be used – the practice of exhuming the dead after three years is applied. “The problem is very intense in Attica, because we don’t have places where only Muslims can be buried, while there is no procedure for not exhuming, unless someone has a family grave. And the question of exhumation is not something that can be solved in the logic of maintaining different regimes (s.b.: because the Christian will not have this right while being buried in the same place) without this being provided for by the law”, he explains in “NEW” the general secretary of Religious Affairs Giorgos Kalantzis.

Thus, when the time comes for exhumation (usually three years after burial), many Muslim families choose to send their dead back to their country of origin. In fact, “there are states that fully cover the cost of transportation and repatriation”, clarifies Giorgos Kalantzis. But what happens if someone does not wish to bury their dead relative or wants to remain in their country of residence, i.e. in Greece? In this case, he will either have to buy a family grave at a not inconsiderable price, or transfer the body to Komotini or Xanthi where there are cemeteries that are vakuf properties (similar ones exist in Rhodes and Kos), an option that also costs money. “In Attica one can keep the body in the ground only if one has money. Whoever wants to be buried according to Islamic law brings the dead to either Komotini or Xanthi. The cost from Athens to Komotini just for the transport is around 700 euros. The funeral has an additional cost of 800 euros. For the transport, we cooperate with funeral homes in Athens”, explains Erhan Imamoglou, owner of a funeral home in Komotini.

What is happening in Schistos?

And while the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs took the initiative to create a Muslim sector in Schistos, the project has not even started, as the process has been stuck due to years of legal disputes with the construction company. “The Church of Greece by decision has granted it space and the central government is willing to support the project. From then on, unfortunately, for reasons that do not concern the central government, i.e. the competent ministries of Education and the Interior, the project has not progressed, despite the consent of the Church. In fact, the Archbishop made this move with the consent of the metropolitans of Piraeus and Nicaea. The reasons concern exclusively the administration of the cemetery and the legal disputes it has in progress with certain companies”, emphasizes the general secretary of Religions.

For his part, Michalis Lonas, chairman of the board of the Intermunicipal Cemetery of Schistos, lists the reasons behind the delay: “There is a big legal dispute between the construction company of Prodromos Emfietzoglou, the state and us. The issue is between the state and Mr. Emfietzoglou, we as the Board of Directors are ready to proceed at any time. We have an area of ​​120 acres available to form the Muslim sector and if the court case ends, the proceedings will be completed immediately. However, the project must go ahead because Athens is a modern European city.”