Leaders urge action after arson attack on mosque
POLITICAL and religious leaders joined forces this week to condemn a petrol bomb attack on a Turkish mosque in Limassol.
Petrol bombs were thrown at the Köprülü Hacı İbrahim Ağa Mosque in the Cami Cedid neighbourhood of Limassol last Sunday night, with graffiti scrawled on the perimeter wall saying: “Immigrants, Islam not Welcome”.
President Mustafa Akıncı called for the “perpetrators to be caught.” He said the Greek Cypriot leadership should take speedy action to investigate.
“Tolerance cannot be shown to such actions. Respect must be shown to whatever religious affiliation a structure belongs to,” he said.
Speaking to Cyprus Today, the Turkish Cypriot head of the bi-communal Technical Committee on heritage, Ali Tuncay, said he “condemned” the “attempted arson attack and Islamophobic and xenophobic writing on the mosque”.
“The mosque was used by Arabian residents. An imam used to go to the mosque for Friday prayers once a week from the North, prior to the Covid-19 lockdown and closure of the checkpoints.”
Mr Tuncay explained that Köprülü was one of the three mosques inside what is known as the Turkish quarter of Limassol — the other two being Ulu (Grand or Cami Kebir) and Arnavut mosques.
Mr Tuncay said they had been in consultation with the Greek Cypriot side — who will finance the repairs.
“Three fire bombs show evidence of an intention to cause maximum damage which has saddened us, even though thankfully, the damage to the wall, ceiling and floor was limited.”
Parliamentary speaker,
Teberrüken Uluçay, said that “whilst calling for calm against the ugly attack against Turkish Cypriots, I invite Greek Cypriot people not to close a blind eye to these perpetrators. They should be found quickly and punished.”
Prime Minister Ersin Tatar, calling the attack “unacceptable,” said there was an “attempt to burn the mosque down”.
“There are sections in the Greek Cypriot side that cannot tolerate foreigners and especially Muslims, and attacked the place of worship. The Greek Cypriot people and administration should know that there is no benefit to acting in a racist manner, and by displaying such animosity and hatred towards Islam.”
Deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Kudret Özersay, called it a “backward and uncivilised” act.
Religious Affairs department head and Grand Müftü, Talip Atalay, claimed the same mosque had been attacked before. “This monstrous attack has been carried out because they have the courage to do so.The graffiti means that Islam is not wanted. It should be known that Islam is Cypriot for 1,400 years. It is much older and rooted on this island then this perverted mentality of hatred.”
The religious leaders of the five main faiths of Cyprus — Muslim, Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Maronite and Latin Catholic issued a joint statement condemning the attack.
The Association of Turkish Cypriots Abroad (Atca), said: “This attack is designed to sow the seeds of hatred and animosity between the two peoples of the island. At intervals, Turkish Cypriots are attacked in South Cyprus. We are saddened to see a new such attack on the cultural heritage site by fascists.
“The attack comes at a time when the people and states of the world have joined to cooperate against the Covid-19 pandemic. The refusal of the Greek Cypriot leadership to find a solution based on sovereign equality, the chauvinistic education system and the extremist approach of the church unfortunately has not surprised us.”
Greek Cypriot administration spokesman, Kiriakos Kuşos, issued a statement: “The Cypriot government strongly condemns the vandalism at the Köprülü Mosque in Limassol. Such actions against places of worship are unacceptable, wherever they come from.President Anastasiadis, from the very first moment, has given strict instructions to investigate the incident and find the criminals. ”