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It is impossible for such a large number of migrants to be in the country and for the Greek government to tolerate the criticism that it is not treating them well. Its budget cannot bear the burden of taking care of tens of thousands of migrants without any assistance and support from anyone, neither in terms of border protection nor in connection with the finances required for this.

Surely, the government that was elected at the beginning of the year is responsible, especially in the face of indescribable former Minister for Migration Tasia Christodoulopoulou who created the impression that Greece could be freely entered and that the state would take care of those who arrived there, without being concerned over who entered the country and what would happen to those people later. It was outrageous behaviour.

However, the problem is more general. Greece needs a migration policy to specify who is actually a refugee and who is persecuted. For me, this term implies nothing negative. This is a migrant who enters the country without legal documents. These people are crossing the sea, losing their documents and we do know either who they are or where they are coming from. At some point, this issue must be resolved.

What measures should Europe take to deal with the problem?

The first measure should be to make clear who of those people are political migrants and who are persecuted. It should grant a residence permit to such a person, supervise where he is living and what he is doing, the prospect being for him to return to his country at some point and to be integrated into the community to which he belongs. All others should be extradited. And if they hide their country of origin, they have to be returned to the country from which they have entered. I.e. the people who come to Greece from Turkey should be returned there and the authorities in Turkey should address them. The third thing is that all these people have to understand that they cannot impose their values ​​and habits on the society in which they have arrived. My position is firm in this respect. Nobody has invited them to come. The moment the Muslims arrive here, they have to stop looking at society through the prism of Islam. If they want to come, they must comply with the laws and values ​​of the societies of the receiving countries.

Some analysts argue that Syrians are more moderate as the Sunni majority in the country have peacefully coexisted with both Muslim Shiites and Christians, and therefore they could integrate more easily into European societies for the time they stay in Europe. What is your comment?

Do the people who have said this know Islam and read the Quran? I doubt it.

For me it is an indicative fact that publications by Muslims appeared in the Bavarian media last week, Muslims who are already integrated into German society and who plead an end to the Oktoberfest, the famous beer festival, arguing that it violates the Islamic values. Some publications even state that it violates not only them but also the values ​​of migrants and refugees.

What does it mean? Do we need to change our values ​​and principles in accordance with those of the people who are coming?

Furthermore, the Quran describes Mohammed’s departure from Mecca and relocation to Medina. Having conquered it, he returned to Mecca to conquer it too. The Quran requires believers to follow his example. Therefore, the people who do not know Islam and have not read the Quran cannot understand. What we do is that we judge Muslims based on Christian beliefs and values. This is a mistake in my opinion.

Do you think that the arrival of so many migrants may cause conflicts and even clashes in Europe?

I think that is quite possible. We have a serious problem. If Europe is full of populations with different values ​​and different views and does not require them to abandon them and adopt the values ​​of those societies that have received them, we will inevitably have twists and clashes after some time.

It is logical. These things are already happening in Western countries such as Denmark, the UK and largely Germany where the percentage of Muslim population is high. These people want their values to be respected ​​and change the values ​​of the local societies in which assumingly they have come to live. This phenomenon will grow and conflicts will be serious.