Bar in Cyprus mosque infuriates Muslims
October 27, 2009 by ImanK
Source: IslamOnline.net (Other coverage in Turkish news)
CAIRO – The building of a bar in the garden of a historic mosque in South Cyprus has infuriated local Muslims who warn the provocative action could foment ethnic tensions in the disputed island.
“What they are trying to construct in the garden of the mosque is not in accordance with the values [of Islam],” Hala Mosque Imam ?akir Alemdar told Zaman daily on Monday, October 26.
Greek authorities in South Cyprus announced the construction of a bar in the garden of the historic Hala Mosque to allegedly serve tourists visiting the site. The decision stirred a wave of criticism from local Muslims offended by the provocative action.
“The Greeks know in their territory there are some traces left from the Ottoman Empire,” said Mehmet Dere, the Head of the Religious Worker’s Union. “They should stop the construction.”
Hala Mosque is the most revered Muslim shrine in Cyprus and an important holy site for the entire Muslim world. It reportedly houses the tomb of Umm Haram, the aunt of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him). Most accounts establish a connection between the site and the death of Umm Haram during the first Arab attempts to conquer Cyprus under Caliph Muawiyah between 647 and 649.
According to these accounts, Umm Haram, being of very old age, had fallen from her mule and had died during a siege of Larnaca in south Cyprus. She was buried near the salt lake and her grave became a sacred shrine. The shrine, and later the mosque and the whole complex, was named after her.
Harmful
Muslim leaders warn the construction of a bar would be hurtful to the relations between Turkish Muslims and Greek non-Muslims on the island.
“Religious values should be respected in order for relations between the two sides to remain positive,” said Yusuf Suiçmez, Director of Religious Affairs Directorate in the Turkish Republic or Northern Cyprus (KKTC).
Cyprus, the Mediterranean’s third largest island, is partitioned into two main parts. The area under the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus comprises about 59 percent of the island’s area and is a European Union member. The Turkish-held area in the north covers about 37 percent of the island’s area and recognized only by Turkey as an independent state.
Suiçmez said his directorate has recently filed a complaint at the state offices in Greek Cyprus, but has so far received no response. Imam Alemdar said the provocation move is offending to Muslims all over the world not just in Cyprus.
“If the construction goes on and officials do not intervene to stop it, we would make this incident more public to the world,” he said. “It is not an issue related to the KKTC but to the entire Muslim world. Every Muslim should be paying attention to this.”
Lets put things in perspective, Turkey invades Northern Cyprus in 1974, the Greeks were driven out, Churches were converted, people lost their land, you call yourself Greeks yet condemn the Greek Cypriot state?!? You also fail to inform readers of the autrocities that befell fellow Greeks in Cyprus.
Here’s a little article from a Christian perspective to what happen to our Greek churches in Northern Cyprus.
The Last Church Standing in North Cyprus
^^ source The Christian Post Apr. 28 2008
[MOD EDIT: Please add the link to the article because it was too long to post here.]
Down below is an excerpt from the Christan Post concerning the plight of Greek Orthodox churches in Northern Cyprus with a link below. By the way, does not Northern Cyprus cater to tourist as a fun in the sun place to visit and sell wine them wine as well? Why the heck should Greeks even care of hurtful relations with the Cypriot Turks after they took away land with the aid of Turkey and occupy the northern half of the island? Perhaps rather than bashing beer and wine gardens in Cyprus you should remind readers and those who are not Greek how this island is still occupied for nearly 40 years!!!
“About 133 churches, chapels and monasteries have been converted to military storage facilities, stables and night-clubs. Seventy-eight churches have been converted to mosques, and dozens more are used as military facilities, medical storage facilities, or stockyards or hay barns, according to statistics from The Republic of Cyprus.”
^^ http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080428/the-last-church-standing-in-north-cyprus/index.html
Στη Βόρεια Κύπρο πολλές εκκλησίες έγιναν στάβλοι και πορνεία. Τί λέτε γι’ αυτό?
Astaqfirullah !!!!!
This is the most typical behaviour of the greek goverment. I think this terrible and action must happen to stop this bar from being built….
[MOD EDIT] thsi is terrible and will only make things worse for the turkish and cypriots living in cyprus.
Action must be taken to stop this despicable building from going up near the mosque .
Αλή you wrote:
Στη Βόρεια Κύπρο πολλές εκκλησίες έγιναν στάβλοι και πορνεία. Τί λέτε γι’ αυτό?
^^ To answer your question this indicates that the Churches in Northern Cyprus have been subjected to a great disrespect much more than Mosues in the republic of Cyprus, turned into barns for live stock, converted into night-clubs, Mosques etc. This proves that the Turkish Cypriots have absolutely no respect for the Greek Orthodox religion. Also the Mosque in Cyprus is NOT being converted, all they are doing is allowing tourist to go to a bar in the garden, how can anyone compare that to what the Turks have done to the churches in Northen Cyprus or at Constantinople. That is HYPOCRISY.
I like to ask Sotiris Kirtsides how is it as a Greek you are soo upset at “behaviour of the greek goverment” (actually it’s the Cypriot governments decision) and you fail to be upset at the fact that half the island has been occupied by Turks for nearly 40 years? All I keep reading is how ‘peaceful Islam is yet all I see is Muslim Turks converting our churches for centuries up until the present day, and taking our land.
By now SOS you that you mingle with the Muslims you must already know that it is unacceptable in Islam to harm any church or monastery or monks according to our Prophet (saaws).
It is sad to see smart educated people like you to try to use wrong political actions of a state in order to blame Islam once again.
Turkey was very wrong Islamically when was not paying respect to the orthodox symbols but you do not seem to care that everywhere else that other 1.5 muslims live out of Turkey they respect those.
It is the same story, you are stuck with the Turks. I think you can never understand that Islam is not Turkish religion but Global.
SonofSparta, the issue at hand at this moment (sticking to the article above) is not who turned the most churches or mosques of the others into whatever, but the fact that people keep putting money and pleasure before God. At least we should agree, in all ways, that temples of any kind, since built for the worship of God, should be respected even if they belong to another culture or another people or whatever. In that sense, both the Cypriot Turks and Greeks have gone wrong and should be ashamed of themselves, especially the Turks from my perspective, since they do not in any way hold up to the Islamic standards. If they had done that, no churches would have been converted to anything, most likely they wouldn’t even invade Cyprus, so anyway, this website is not to talk that much about nationalities, and who did what to whom, but religion, and how that can resolve many problems that are created by not keeping up to it (religion).
Amir Abdullah I agree with you that we should all at the very least respect other peoples places of worship and allow each individual and minority group to freely pray in their religious sites and never ‘convert’ such sites.
Turkish people from Cyprus are not Cypriots but conquerors.
Ali, I am not much into the stuff happening there, forgive me for my ignorance, but this was not my point anyway. Anyhow, thanks for correcting me.
zw sthn kipro ke den exo proseksei tipota to idiaitero sto sigekrimeno tzami, opws kapio vandalismo i kati na ktizete… to tzami afto prostatevete apo tin ounesco ke den dikaioute kaneis na dinei tetiou idous adies! pistevo einai ka8ara turkiki propaganda! otan dume kati toso af8ereto na ktizete prepei na enimero8oun oi armodies ipiresies tou ipurgeiou politismou opos ke diplomates apo diafores xwres opos ti livi tin egipto ta aravika emirata to iran gia na to dief8etisun allios o kosmos apo monos tu 8a adidrasi an ma8eftei kati tetio(musulmanoi ke mi logo tis istorias ke tis arxitektonikis tou arxaiologikou xwrou)… an ma8ete perisoteres plirofories oste na boresume na eksakrivosume tin af8endikotita twn proanafer8endw pigwn 8a itane poli xrisimo.
Greek authorities should respect the mosque and must not do what is trying to do. It will have very serious long term effects on relations between local muslims and non muslims.