More Than an Introduction: Old and New Islam in Greece

Muslims in Greece do not form a homogenous group, neither on the so­cial or economic level, nor regarding language, national or ethnic identity or legal status. First of all, Muslims of Greek citizenship belonging to the minor­ity of Thrace (and the Dodecanese islands) constitute a separate group with a minimum degree of internal coherence (Old Islam), despite ethnic and lin­guistic differences within the community. Special legal status attributed by the Treaty of Lausanne and implemented by a series of legal acts have contrib­uted to this cohesion. Other Muslim groups of traditional settlement, such as the Muslims of the Dodecanese islands, do not have real social bonds with Muslims of Thrace. The second category of Muslims, the immigrants (New Islam), who settled mostly in urban areas and especially in Athens, create a network of Islamic society apart, segregated through the national affiliation of each community. Recently arrived asylum seekers are forming a new branch of New Islam in Greece. Alongside these categories, Islam creates a common de­nominator, ideological, legal and political, which renders all Muslims a distinct ‘minoritised’ group.

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