It is an unfortunate approach that a mayor candidate for the capital of Greece has proposed a referendum, regarding a construction of a mosque in Greece a country of the European Union for 33 years and one which is currently serving EU presidency. This proposal is ill-fated in the name of democracy, human rights and for freedom of religion and conscience.

We condemn this insult to the hundreds of thousands of Muslims living in Athens, the only capital in the European Union without a mosque. This needs to be rectified as soon as possible. The construction of a mosque has been delayed for strange reasons for many years, which has opened a deep wound in terms of freedom of religion. Now, proposing a referendum for a place of worship has created great disappointment. We expect politicians to leave such a mentality, to avoid putting our country Greece in a difficult position within the international arena.

As the Friendship Equality and Peace Party we strongly condemn this proposal and emphasize that a person of any religion has a right to their own place of worship and thus Muslim in Athens should be given their right at once.