From mosque to mosque: past and present images of Islamic space in Greece

Abstract

This essay is an attempt to chart recent developments in the field of Modern Greek Studies, focusing on shifting perceptions regarding Islam and Muslims. To do so, the essay positions the relevant literature in its historical context, touching upon both accomplishments and limitations. Its main proposition is that the Greek case is distinct yet connected to contemporary global contingencies and broader long-term regional dynamics. Athens remains the only European capital without a mosque. Moreover, despite recent academic endeavors, there exists today no coherent Greek field of Islamic Studies. That these absences have been brought recently under political and academic scrutiny constitutes, however, a noteworthy change. Most important, the traditional exclusion of Islam from the field of Modern Greek Studies does not suggest lack of relevance between the two but, quite to the contrary, reveals a set of loaded and complex socieconomic, geopolitical, and historical links that deserve to be studied in their own right.

Keywords:

• Greece
• Muslims
• Ottoman
• minorities
• migrants
• refugees

Notes

1. I would like to thank Asli Igsiz for sharing with me her very insightful forthcoming work on similar issues.

2. One of the most celebrated such figures is the novelist Kaplani Gasmed. His story of crossing the Greek borders on foot in 1991; learning the Greek language skillfully enough to get a Ph.D. from Padios University; and becoming a sensation in literary circles was elevated to the ultimate (by Greek standards always) “success story.” Notwithstanding Kaplani’s indisputable talent, and nuanced introspection; and regardless of the fact that his recognition as a novelist was not enough for the authorities to give him the Greek citizenship, it could be argued that Kaplani’s story has been used as a superficial self-image, reflecting how a more “plural” Greece envisions herself. Indicative of the limitations still haunting this process is the novelist’s interview published by Athens Voice (2012) and the following comments by anonymous readers (for both the interview transcript and the comments section, see http://www.athensvoice.gr/the-paper/article/410/γκασμέντ-καπλάνιθα-ήθελα-να-ακούω-λιγότερα-συνθήματα).

3. The project’s inherent contradictions are reflected very well in relevant publications. For instance, in a volume entitled “Greek Treasurers,” and published in 2005 through a collaboration between Benaki and the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney, the editors aim to present the “panorama” of Greek culture through specific artifacts. What is interesting is that the sections on the Ottoman period remain divided between “Post-Byzantine” (fifteenth to nineteenth centuries) and “Neo-Hellenic” (the nineteenth-century-Greek revolution). Similarly, the introduction to the first section is entitled “Between East and West: Greek Church and Community Life under Foreign Rule;” and the second “Reorientations and Conflicts: Intellectual Awakening and the Struggle for the Formation of the Greek Nation,” see Balian and Synodinou (2005) and Arvanitakis (2005). On the Islamic collection, see what its architect, Aggelos Delivorias, states in the museum’s official guide. See, also, Photopoulos (1997) and http://www.benaki.gr/index.asp?lang=en&id=10101.

4. For example, as Benaki labors to reconcile its traditional narratives of Greek-ness with Islam, it is tormented by an economic crisis so severe that threatens to destabilize the institution as a whole. See the relevant interview with Aggelos Delivorias in January 2012 at http://www.culturenow.gr/14252/aggelos-deliborias-ta-mouseia-einai-ta-prwta-thumata-tis-oikonomikis-krisews.