Athens, Feb 24 (IANS) Javed Aslam, the highly controversial leader of the Pakistani community in Greece, is among those whose asylum is being revoked under a directive from the Greek Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Thanos Plevris, to reassess international protection cases.
Aslam has been severely criticised in Greece for his alleged involvement in operating illegal mosques in the country and demanding legalisation of marriage between cousins.
The Ministry published an update on February 16 outlining the number of asylum revocations initiated in recent years and their escalation, particularly after instructions from Plevris, a report said on Tuesday.
According to a report in the ‘Greek City Times’, during the procedure, the Ministry’s Asylum Service sent summons to Aslam, notifying him of the revocation of his refugee status and inviting him to submit any objection within 15 working days as stipulated by law. If he chooses to challenge the decision, it said, then his case will be reviewed in the second instance.
“The revocation of Javed Aslam’s international protection is part of the line that the ministry has been following recently under Plevris, including the revocation of the asylum status of a Palestinian who was seen celebrating the massacres of Hamas and taking a photo next to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh,” the report mentioned.
Speaking as a representative of Pakistanis living in Greece, Aslam has appeared on several television shows and made controversial statements on political choices and social issues, triggering massive backlash.
The report highlighted that on several occasions, he has provoked controversy, even warning that “immigrants also have hands and can raise them at some point to respond to the threats they receive.”
In a recent video, he discussed – with reference to a religious context – topics such as marriage between cousins and application of Sharia in Greece.
Writing for digital news website ‘Brussels Signal’, Konstantinos Bogdanos, a Greek politician and journalist, said Aslam argued Greek law is “discriminatory” because it prevents his community from practising a tradition – marriage between cousins – that forms a cornerstone of Pakistan’s social structure. The expert described Aslam’s argument as absurd.
“This is not the time to mince words: This is not a request for ‘inclusion’. It is a rally for the dismantling of European secular law to accommodate a medieval, theocratic social structure. It is the latest attempt by an Islamist lobby to assert that the ‘rights’ of the migrants supersede the laws, the biological science, and the sanity of the host nations,” Bogdanos stressed.
He further said, “We do not owe these invaders a single concession. If Javed Aslam finds the Greek Civil Code too restrictive, the solution is simple: Our borders remain open in both directions. In Europe, we look forward to the future of our children, not backward to the tribalism of the 7th century Middle East. Our kind of family is the sacred cornerstone of the Western consciousness — and it does not include marrying your cousins.”
–IANS
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