Just as surely as these child brides are bought, most are probably abused terribly. Yet, the Greeks tiptoe around their Muslim citizens and practices, while, in contrast, it is open season on Christians and Jews next door in Muslim Turkey. No tiptoes there, only bombs and murders to non-Muslims in the name of Allah. The Kosovo Muslims have been carrying on ethnic cleansing of the Roma in Kosovo too..with little or no protests from the NATO forces there. There are groups of Roma throughout the Middle East, living on the edge of larger societies. Although most are nominally Muslim, they are treated as third class citizens, more proof that Muslims don't play well with the other children in the neighborhood.

Posted by: maryrose at March 8, 2007 10:58 AM

Thracistan, a terrible embarrassment to an otherwise heroic Greek spirit of fighting Jihad and Sharia fearlessly.

Posted by: NicephorusPhocas at March 8, 2007 11:17 AM

"There are groups of Roma throughout the Middle East, living on the edge of larger societies"

this is generally their choice of lifestyle. the roma people are particulary insular, choosing to live off the resources of other people rather than work for a living, (begging isnt work). they generally treat their children as cash cows, expoliting them and prostituting them. go to london, rome anywhere in europe and see little roma kids on the underground begging whilst their parents are no where to be seen. they also drug their babies to stop them from crying (this is fact).
i recently saw a group of roma in atlanta georgia, up to their old tricks, carrying their little cardboard signs telling people that they are refugees from romania. i explained to this old man that he is treating his host country like shit and he should please f**k off back to romania, oh and romania is not at war or in civil strife and you cannot claim refugee status from an EU nation.

these roma people are leeches. you be around them even a little bit and you begin to see why everyone hates them. when i lived in plumstead, south east london, we had a roma family live or given a 3 story home, 4 bedrooms, bathrooms, free health care, welfare benefits, travel to and from welfare agency and "refugee" status? well guess what? that family and their kids were on the plumstead to charing cross train every morning begging aggressively for money, holding up their pathethic cardboard signs and using their little kids to run around collecting the money.

Posted by: leonthepigfarmer at March 8, 2007 11:19 AM

Hi from Greece,

well things are not so simple, firstly there is the treaty of lausagne. TUrks have violated the rights of greeks in constantinople but whenever greece tries to change something then turks and NGO are coming and protest.

There is a thin line there,most of Greeks do not know what is going on on those isolated communities living on mountains totally cut from the rest of the world. Officialy there are advisors, women get funds to make their own businesses and study and etc. but society is close and doos not give much space to helps us learn what is going on there.,

I guess if greece tries to change it then ICO will recognised turkish occupied cyprus or will put more pressure on the greek orthodox communities in palestine, lebanon, egypt and syria.

A friend has worked with a NGO, when she tried to approach them they attacked her with a rifle, it is not easy, they have their own culture and values and greece is not helped from EU.

It is good for ST.DPT that recognise this and put some pressure but the consequences of changing lausagne treaty will be to change also the treatment on greeks living in the muslim world.

The solution is ot have a EU sponsored move like a decision from court of human rights in order to be used from greece as an excuse for changes. in this area that is so militarised and close to turkey there is not space for making games. when you have a large muslim country next door you cant do much without help

Posted by: chris at March 8, 2007 11:58 AM

ONce again the silence from the many womens rights organizations and human rights oranizations, and the MSM, deafening.....like the roar of the clouds in the sky...

Posted by: exsgtbrown at March 8, 2007 12:56 PM

I can't help but agree with Chris' assessment above.

We all know Greece has to tip toe around any issues regarding Muslims, as the western superpowers are only one step away from ensuring Greece suffers the same fate as Yugoslavia.

This is a very frustrating scenario as the majority of Greeks are without a doubt the most anti Islamic people in Europe.

I hope that one day the powers that be wake up and support Greece in her struggle with her aggressive neighbor.

Chris nice to hear from someone in the homeland, my heart and soul are in Greece daily.

From a proud Greek.

Posted by: The fanatic at March 8, 2007 3:29 PM

the acceptance of sharia is “an indication of a sensitivity of the Greek state to certain social realities of Muslim Greek citizens”.

Sensitivity which should be switched to concern about the needs of these girls. Social realities which urgently need to become historic realities. Multiculturalism can be death to individual rights.

Posted by: Lili at March 8, 2007 4:22 PM

I thought Roma people (who orginally came from India) are all Catholics. I've never heard of Roma Muslims. Is this a result of conversion, or have they always been a distinct group?

And people, please let's not turn this into a forum for ethnic-group-bashing. Say what you like about the Roma, esp. their well-documented lack of a work ethic, but at least they've never aimed as a group to enforce their way of life on others, and they've given us some great music...

Posted by: angloirishslav at March 8, 2007 8:16 PM

Greece should be ashamed o itself for bowing to Islamism since it was ruled by the Ottoman Turks during most of its modern history! Those Greeks who fought and died for their country's independence from Ottoman rule must be turning over in their graves!

Posted by: Christian at March 8, 2007 9:29 PM

When Koumoutsakos says “certain social realities,” he means sexual slavery. When he says “Greek Muslims,” he means Muslims. Of course the official Greek delegation, much more afraid of Muslims than a UN committee, says it isn’t so. Meanwhile, horror visits a young girl.

To be continued…

Posted by: butterfly at March 8, 2007 9:34 PM

angloirishslav,

Roma take on the religion of whoever is dominant in the area. If the ruling class wants them to be Muslims they'll be Muslims, same thing with Christianity. However they'll still continue practicing their little belief systems and rituals. This isn't even a 'Muslim' thing they force their kids to marry way too young anyway.

As for great music I don't know, there was that old Cher song...

"I was born in the wagon of a travellin' show
My mama used to dance for the money they'd throw"

;-)

Posted by: JadeDragoness at March 8, 2007 11:43 PM

Hello again from greece,

i am glad that we are many greeks in this forum, it is not only robert but other ppl who live or have origins from greece.

listen...frankly speaking those 'greek muslims' are not so greek. they are greeks in the sense of citizenship. To be fair, they are pomaks or turks or gypsies protected from lausagne treaty. For years the focus was on the northern communist countries and not on muslims who were making children like rabbits while the extermination of greeks in turkey was ignored from NATO.

Things surely have changed, i spent my military serice there, most of the girls live like their christian friends but still there are villages living in the middle age. Though they do not pay taxes, they enter universities without exams and women entrepreneurship is funded from EU and Greece their culture stops them.

An example was the socialist candidate in this region Gul Karahasan, she denied to wear a headscarf, she left home at the age of 15, she studied hard and entered first (having 20/20) in the lawschool of athens and she became a lawyer. when she went back to the village the covillagers and her parents did not allow her to return back, she was a 'kafir'. she went to komotini, the major town in this region and did a law firm protecting the women's rights and educating them, when she run as a candidate the turkish establishment and their puppets opposed her hardly. A liberal woman would destroy their work. However, despite the war against her, gul karahasan managed to get the 35% of the votes in a very difficult area for the socialist party

Evil is also the role of the church, it seems that it suits fine with the orthodox 'talebans' to have this state, the englighment was always a threat for the christian orthodox talibans. This tension is in favour of the muftis and of the orthodox priests.

Finally just for the record, people have the choice to follow sharia or the greek law, but often the social environment gives them only on choice, which is the sharia.

In order to study this phenomenon we shall examine the culture of those peopel and lausagne treaty. If we change lausagne treaty then turkey will have the right to say "lest change now the status of few islands or lets change the status of christians in turkey"

Posted by: chris at March 9, 2007 3:07 AM

Dear chris, Greece should find someone like Father Boyan Saruev, a former Bulgarian Muslim who had become an Orthodox priest and had baptized thousands of his community (see http://www.b-info.com/places/Bulgaria/news/98-08/aug24a.bt a, or www.hri.org/news/balkans/bta/1995/95-03-02.bta).

Posted by: highbg at March 9, 2007 5:42 AM

"The Kosovo Muslims have been carrying on ethnic cleansing of the Roma in Kosovo too..."

and

"I thought Roma people (who orginally came from India) are all Catholics"

from two posts above.

The Roma (Gypsies) are a distinct ethnic group originating in India. The Roma of Kosovo are almost all Christians as most of the Roma in Europe are baptized Catholic or Orthodox but retain much of their original Hindu practices.

Those in the Middle East are officially Muslim but like their Christian counterparts maintian their Hindu originated culture. This makes them all guilty of "shirk" in the eyes of official Islam. Being heretics they are subject to the most extreme persecutions throughout the Islamic world such as the kidnapping and rape of their children like in the article above.

Roma have been persecuted almost everywhere. The one exception is Serbia where the Sebs have always accepted the Roma living among them and usually treated them with dignity. Roma musicians are highly valued in Serbia and it is commonly said that no Serb wedding is complete without Roma present. Of course a people whose culture is so musical and funloving as the Roma will be hated by Islamists.

Posted by: Provoslavni at March 9, 2007 11:18 AM

are some romas muslims

Posted by: Greek Gurl at March 9, 2007 1:55 PM

The gipsies have lived in Spain since many centuries, it´s an special collective, and the relationships with the muslims is problematical, because both, have great families, a lot of subsidies and social profits. In Spain there are some catholics and some protestants.

Posted by: Franze at March 9, 2007 5:03 PM

The Islamic believers will never regard Greek Orthodox believers as equals. The Islamic child brides will reproduce six to one the Greek families. How long will it be before Greece is an Islamic state, Chris? I will never get to see the land of my fathers and mothers. My papou was right to get out of Greece and away from the threat of Islam, but it may not do my grandchildren any good.

Posted by: thelittlegreekwoman at March 9, 2007 9:31 PM