The Idiosyncrasy of Greek Islam and the Mosque of Votanikos as a Reconciliation Initiative

Abstract

This article aims to demonstrate how the mosque of Votanikos has emerged as a reconciliation initiative with a wider reconciling dynamic within Greek reality and history. It places the initiative of the construction of the mosque in its wider context, while also considering the idiosyncrasy of Greek Islam, historical conditions, tensions from within, and pressures from without. The mosque of Votanikos can and should be perceived as initiating the healing of wounded memories and as a high-impact symbolic reconciliation initiative reaching out to the grassroots level of society. The paper employs critical discourse analysis, examining the foreign and Greek media coverage of the issue.