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Revision as of 20:49, 13 July 2006 by Greier (talk | contribs) (that is a pathetic argument for reverting)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Greece is a largely ethnically homogenous country. This is largely due to the population exchanges between Greece and neighbouring Turkey (Treaty of Lausanne) and Bulgaria (Treaty of Neuilly), which removed most Muslims (with the exception of the Muslims of Thrace) and non-Greek identifying Christian Slavs from Greek territory, and the resettlement of ethnic Greeks from those countries, later to be followed by refugees (see Pontian Greek Genocide, Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922) and Istanbul Pogrom). The 2001 census reported a population of 10,964,020 people. Of these, 2% are from ethnic minority groups. The main officially recognized "minority" (μειονότητα) is the Muslim minority (Μουσουλμανική μειονότητα) in Thrace, which amounts to approximately 1,3% of the total population and consists of mainly Turks, Pomaks and Roma. Other recognized minority groups - referred to as "nationalities" (εθνότητες) - are the Armenians numbering approximately 35,000, and the Jews (Sephardim and Romaniotes) numbering approximately 5,500.
However, there has been some controversy about the status of other minority groups. Due to common history, religion and to a governmental policy of hellenisation and non-recognition of certain ethnic groups, or simply by personal choice, most of the members of these groups now self-identify as Greek.
Religious minorities
- See also: Roman Catholicism in Greece
The Greek constitution defines the Greek Orthodox Church as the "prevailing religion" in Greece, and over 95% of the population of Greece claim membership of it. Any other religion not explicitly defined by law (e.g. unlike Islam which is explicitly recognized) may acquire the status of a "known religion", a status which allows the religion's adherents to worship freely, and to have constitutional recognition. After a court ruling, the criteria for acquiring the status of a "known religion", were defined as being a "religion or a dogma whose doctrine is open and not secret, is taught publicly and its rites of worship are also open to the public, irrespective of whether its adherents have religious authorities; such a religion or dogma needs not to be recognized or approved by an act of the State or Church". This covers most religious minorities such as Roman Catholics, Evangelicals, Seventh-day Adventists, Methodists, and Christian Jehovah's Witnesses. All known religions to be considered by the Greek state legal entities under private law must establish an association, or foundation, or charitable fund-raising committee pursuant to the Civil Code. The Roman Catholic Church refuses to be considered a legal person under private or public law and has requested recognition by its own Canon law. In July 1999 following a parliamentary amendment the legal entity status of all institutions of the Roman Catholic Church established before 1946 was reconfirmed. There is no formal mechanism that exists to gain recognition as a "known religion".
Linguistic and cultural minorities
Slavic-speaking
In the 6th and 7th centuries AD Slavic-speaking populations overturned Macedonia's Greek ethnic composition , and Slavic languages have been spoken in the area alongside Greek in the region ever since. In parts of northern Greece, in the regions of Macedonia (Μακεδονία) and Thrace (Θράκη), Slavonic languages continue to be spoken by people with a wide range of self-identifications. The actual linguistic classification of these dialects is unclear, although most linguists will classify them as either Bulgarian or Macedonian Slavic taking into account numerous factors, including the resemblance and mutual intelligibility of each dialect to the standard languages (abstand), and the self-identification of the speakers themselves. As however the vast majority of these people don't have a Bulgarian or Macedonian Slav national identity, linguists will make their decisions based on abstand alone. For a fuller treatment of this subject, see Slavic language (Greece). The Slavic-speaking minority of northern Greece can be divided in to two main groups: Christians and Muslims.
Christian Orthodox Slavophones
- See also: Bulgarians, Macedonian Slavs
The Christian portion of Greece's Slavic-speaking minority are commonly referred to as Slavophones (from the Greek Σλαβόφωνοι Slavophōnoi - lit. Slavic-speakers) or Dopii, which means "locals" in Greek. The vast majority of them espouse a Greek national identity and are bilingual in Greek. They live mostly in the Periphery of Western Macedonia and belong to the Greek Orthodox Church, which in conjunction with the millet system of the Ottoman Empire which occupied the region until 1913, may explain their self-identification as Greeks. The fact that the majority of these people self-identify as Greeks makes their numbers uncertain. Until and including the 1951 census the question of mother tongue was asked throughout Greece, so this gives a rough idea as to the size of this group, and later estimates are usually based on this figure.
In the 1951 census, 41,017 people claimed to speak the Slavic language. As stated earlier linguistic classification of the dialects spoken by these people oscillates from Bulgarian to Macedonian Slavic depending on abstand from the standard languages.
This group has received some attention in recent years due to claims from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia that these people form an ethnic Macedonian minority in Greece. A political party promoting this line and claiming rights of what they describe as the "Macedonian minority in Greece" - the Rainbow (Виножито) - was founded in September 1998; it received 2,955 votes in the region of Macedonia in the latest elections (2004). A pro-Bulgarian political party, known as Bulgarian Human Rights in Macedonia (Български Човешки Права в Македония) was established in June 2000, promoting the concept and rights of what they describe as the "Bulgarian minority in Greece". This party has not yet participated in elections. The official position of the Greek government is that there is no "ethnic Macedonian" or Bulgarian minority in Greece.
Muslim Slavophones
- See also: Pomaks
The Muslim Slavic-speakers are known as Pomaks (Πομάκοι), and reside mainly in villages in the Rhodope Mountains in Thrace. Their dialects are usually classified as dialects of Bulgarian, although most Pomaks themselves self-identify as Turks . This Turkification has a number of reasons, including the fact that Turks and Pomaks were part of the same millet during the years when their homeland was part of the Ottoman Empire. It is believed though that the main reason for the Pomaks' Turkification is that they would no longer be a minority within a minority (the Muslim minority), or have no one to defend their rights (the Turkish government actively promotes the welfare of the Turkish minority).
Under Greek law, the Muslim minority (of which Pomaks are a part) has a right to education in its own language. In practice however, only Turkish is used . This is due to the Turkish self-identification of the Pomaks, and the fact that this trend was promoted until recently by the Greek authorities (who from 1968 until the 1980s even officially recognized the Pomaks as Turks ) in order to distance them from the Bulgarians . It has been reported though, that Pomak dialects may be used by teachers to explain some things orally to kindergarten and primary school pupils . Additionally, the minority languages can be used by local authorities and in courts, and under Greek law, interpreters will be provided. Nevertheless, most Pomaks will speak Turkish on such occasions .
Most Pomaks are fluent in their Pomak dialects (spoken amongst themselves), Turkish (their language of education, and the main language of the Muslim minority), Greek (the official language of the Greek state), and may know some Arabic (the language of the Koran) . The latest official estimate on the number of Pomaks in Greece was given by the Coordinating Office of Minority Schools (Συντονιστικό Γραφείο Μειονοτικών Σχολείων) in 1994, and was 35,000.
Albanian-speaking
- See also: Albanians in Greece, Arvanites, Chams
After the opening of the Albanian borders in 1991, a huge influx of Albanian immigrants came to Greece to find work. They are currently estimated at about 500,000, but an accurate calculation is very difficult because of the large percentage of illegal immigrants.
Most of them retain their Albanian citizenship, therefore they do not constitute an ethnic minority. The situation is becoming more complex with their children, the second generation of immigrants, who were born in Greece after 1991.
They are not to be confused with the Arvanites, a group speaking a dialect of Albanian but with a very strong sense of Greek identity and significant contributions to the Greek Independence and Greek culture in general.
The Chams, were an ethnic Albanian minority who lived in the area of Chameria, part of the Greek Epirus prefecture. They were ousted to Albania by the Greek authorities after World War II and several of their properties were destroyed, because they actively collaborated with the Germans. Very strong sentiments against them by the Greeks, had made impossible any co-habitation. Recently, this issue has brought some controversy because some elderly representatives of the Chams and their descendants are claiming their properties back from the Greek state.
Aromanian-speaking
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In Greece, the Aromanians are called "Vlachs" (Greek: Βλάχοι, pron."Vlahi"). There are numerous festivals celebrating Aromanian culture all over Greece. The Aromanian culture is considered as an integral part of Greek culture. Active efforts are made to preserve the Aromanian language, which is in danger of extinction and mostly spoken by the elderly.
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Roma
- See also: Roma people
The history of Roma in Greece is lost back in the centuries. Due to their nomadic nature, they are not concentrated in a specific geographical area, but are dispersed all over the country. Roma largely maintain their own customs and traditions. Although a large number of Roma has adopted the urban way of living, there are still settlements in some areas. The nomads at the settlements often differentiate themselves from the rest of the population, but this differentiation is not ethnic, but rather in terms of lifestyle .
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Turkish
- See also Muslim minority (Greece)
There is a Turkish minority living in Thrace, concentrated in the Rhodope and Xanthi Prefectures. Many of them descend from Turkish populations living in the area during the Ottoman period. Like the Greeks of Istanbul, Imbros and Tenedos, they were exempted from the 1923 population exchange. The Greek government continues to deliver Turkish language and there are two Islamic two theological seminaries, one in Komotini and one in Ehinos. From the 1991 census, the official position of the Greek government is that there are 98,000 Muslims in western Thrace, and that 50% are of Turkish ethnic origin, the rest being mainly Pomaks and Roma . The numbers of the ethnic Turks in Greek Thrace are estimated by INTEREG (1994) at 90,000 (quoted by Eurominority).
Apart from Thrace, a small minority of Turks exists in the Dodecanese islands of Rhodes and Kos. They were not included in the 1923 population exchange as the Dodecanese were annexed from Italy in 1947 after World War II. After annexation of islands, their Muslim inhabitants, Greek and Turkish speakers, were granted Greek citizenship. Today, about 4,000 Muslims live in the Dodecanese islands of Rhodes and Kos and use Turkish in every day life. In Rhodes and Kos, the teaching of the Turkish language was de facto abolished in the early 1970s .
See also
Notes
- Macedonia. (2006). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved June 16, 2006, from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service:
- ^ Report on the Pomaks, by the Greek Helsinki Monitor
- Religious Freedom in Greece, by the Greek Helsinki Monitor, September 2002
- University of Leiden page
- Greek Helsinki Monitor: Religious freedom in Greece
- Mercator Education
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