A/51/542/Add.1 English Page 22 Religious activities and places of worship 100. Each religious community includes a rabbi proposed by his community and appointed by presidential decree. There is also a council of rabbis which acts as a religious tribunal. The Civil Code (1946) revoked its civil jurisdiction but the council continues to exercise competence over Jews who are not Greek citizens and to pronounce the spiritual dissolution of marriages for which the civil court has granted a divorce. 101. The representatives of the Jewish community have declared that they have freedom of action in religious matters without interference by the State and that they have sufficient places of worship and Hebrew schools. They mentioned some minor problems which, in their view, are linked to the intolerance of certain poorly educated Orthodox priests. It seems, however, that these incidents are resolved through interfaith dialogue. (ii) Education 102. The representatives of the Jewish community have cited both sporadic cases of intolerance by teachers and the occasional anti-Semitic content of school textbooks. However, political leaders have apparently assured the Jewish community that the school textbooks will be corrected. (iii) Other spheres 103. The main problem facing the Jewish community is the fact that religion must be mentioned on identity cards, which is perceived as a potential source of discrimination as borne out by the Jewish experience throughout history. The legislation concerning identity cards is considered contrary to the Greek Constitution and to international instruments. 104. Unlike that of the Catholic and Protestant minorities and the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the situation of the Jewish community seems to be eminently satisfactory. 3. 105. The Muslim but is probably origin but also three groups is (i) Muslim minority minority of Thrace, whose population could not be ascertained around 120,000 persons, is composed largely of people of Turkish of Pomaks and Tziganes. The common denominator among these the Muslim religion and Greek citizenship. Religion Religious activities 106. The division within the Muslim minority over the procedure for the selection of the muftis (see chap. I) seems to have a serious impact on the smooth conduct of religious affairs. /...

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