'The only European Union member without a mosque in its capital is Greece'
Turkey's ruling party spokesman for the Justice and Development (AK) Party Omer Celik on Wednesday said that "The only European Union member without a mosque in its capital is Greece"
Rejecting criticism by the Greek Foreign Ministry’s on the event that Turkey organized to mark the 567th anniversary of the Ottoman conquest of the former Byzantine capital, Celik said such a celebration was held by respecting a world heritage without insulting anyone.
Celik said having an enmity on the basis of religion is not even a matter of discussion in Turkey, adding: "But the only state in Europe that prohibits the call to prayer (adhan) from their minarets is Greece."
”The only European Union member without a mosque in its capital is Greece,” he said.
On Friday, Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism organized Conquest Feast at Hagia Sophia in coordination with the Turkish Presidency’s Directorate of Communications as part of celebrations throughout the day of the conquest of Istanbul.
The program was followed with the recitation of the 48th chapter of the Quran, Surah Al-Fath, meaning Victory or Triumph, which Erdogan viewed via video.
Turkey on Saturday shot back at an objection from Greece on the reading of passages from the Muslim holy book, the Quran, at the Hagia Sophia, a landmark mosque-converted museum in Istanbul.
Turkey held these ceremonies not to challenge anyone, but to remember its history, memory, and to commemorate a day, Celik stressed.
