"We condemn as regressive the Turkish authorities' announcement of the scheduling of a Quran reading in Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, on the occasion of Ramadan," a June 6 statement from the Greek Foreign Ministry said.
In a response to the statement, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the Greek Foreign Ministry's statements regarding the "sahur" (pre-dawn meal) program, "Time for Blessings Hagia Sophia," aired on TRT Dinayet TV throughout the month of Ramadan in Hagia Sophia, is unacceptable.
We call on Greece, which has not allowed the establishment of a mosque in its capital for years and continuously interferes with the religious freedoms of the Turkish minority in Western Thrace and mixes anti-Islamism with modernity, for common sense in its statements and stance," the Foreign Ministry said on June 8, adding in the statement that modern, democratic, secular societies' values also include respect of other religions and practices.
Daily Sabah