Ayhan Mehmet, the representative of Turkish Cypriots residing in Limassol and the official of the Jedit Mosque, has dismissed claims that recent vandalism at the mosque was a religiously motivated attack.
Speaking to philenews, Mehmet clarified that the graffiti in question is “sports-related slogans” written on the surrounding walls, not specifically targeting the mosque itself.
He explained that the vandalism also affected a nearby Turkish Cypriot cemetery.
“We want to clear up the whole situation. We don’t know who wrote these slogans, but the issue should not be politicised,” he said, suggesting that inaccurate information may have reached the occupied areas, leading to accusations of racism and xenophobia against the Greek Cypriot community.
Political exploitation
Mehmet expressed concern that the incident was being “exploited” to create tension.
“They are trying to exploit the situation and create tensions around other issues,” he said.
He also noted that similar slogans have been written on nearby establishments. “If you go to the wider area, you will see that such slogans are almost everywhere,” he said, stressing that Turkish Cypriot journalists who visited the mosque yesterday were unaware of the true meaning of the slogans.
He also refuted statements made by the ‘ministry of foreign affairs’ in the occupied north which accused the Greek Cypriots of xenophobia and having a racist mentality towards the Turkish and Islamic communities of Cyprus.
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graffiti. vandalism, religiously motivated attack, sports-related slogans