Elsa Barron, a junior biology and peace studies major at the University of Notre Dame and two-time grant recipient from the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, studies the political and religious dynamics surrounding the construction of the first official mosque in Athens, Greece since the Ottoman Empire. Drawing on communal memories of the Ottoman Empire and its colonizing forces, many Greeks, who comprise the 95% Greek Orthodox majority, view present-day migrants through the same lens. This shared history is held up as a reason why the growing Muslim community in Athens is not more widely received by prevailing religious and government officials, despite their increased numbers and, in turn, opportunities for interreligious dialogue.
