Pervin Hayrullah, a prominent activist from Greece’s Western Thrace Turkish community, explained to the Sabah newspaper how the community suffers in the hands of the state of Greece amid a far-reaching assimilation policy.

Greece's Western Thrace region is home to around 150,000 Muslim Turks. The community often complains about double standards, although they have played a historic part in Greek society.

Hayrullah told the Sabah newspaper on Wednesday that the community does not have a separatist ambition and merely aimed to safeguard its religion, language and identity. She said Türkiye always stood with them.

She noted that their identity was partially recognized until the 1990s, when they were allowed to use "Turkish” in certain fields, but starting in 1991, the governments pursued so-called reforms towards the minority.

"They classified the identity of the minority, assigning it multiple ethnic identities as Turks, Pomaks and (Roma). They took it further and started identifying the Muslim minority as ‘Alevis and Sunnis.’ We are, whereas, a Turkish minority, a united community,” she said.

Hayrullah pointed out that minority schools also faced closure. "Records show there were 306 schools of the minority in 1923. In the eight decades following this year, some 100 schools were closed. In the past 15 years alone, 104 schools were shut down. This goes against the Lausanne Treaty, which prevents the state from shutting down schools even if they do not have students,” she told the Sabah newspaper.

Another challenge for the minority is the election of muftis or Muslim clerics. Hayrullah noted that a 1913 treaty granted them the right to elect their own mufti, and in 1990s, the state started appointing its own muftis. She added that their rights to elect muftis were repeatedly violated while the state filed lawsuits against their muftis, claiming they "hijacked” their posts.

She noted that a 2007 law also dealt another blow to the minority’s religious rights as it stipulated the assignment of imams to the minority’s mosques. "They also do not allow renovation work at the mosques, and they even intervene in the size of minarets. In some cases, they order the removal of crescents and stars on minarets,” she lamented.