The Greek
Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement regarding the controversial
reading of the Koran in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.
“We condemn as regressive the Turkish
authorities’ announcement of the scheduling of a Koran reading in Hagia Sophia
in Istanbul, on the occasion of Ramadan.
Obsessions,
verging on bigotry, with Muslim rituals in a monument of world cultural
heritage are incomprehensible and reveal a lack of respect for and connection
with reality. Moreover, such actions are not compatible with modern, democratic
and secular societies”.
The spokesperson
for Turkey’s Foreign Affairs Ministry responded that the Greek statement was ‘unacceptable’
and urged Greek authorities to be rational, while referring to the trouble
construction of a mosque in Athens and ‘interventions’ in the religious freedom
of minorities in the north of Greece.
