Greece condemns provocative reading of Koran in Hagia Sophia

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.