Deputy PM slams attack on Shiite Mosque in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

A man walks past burnt religious pictures at the Shiite Muhammediye Mosque on July 8. AFP Photo / Ozan Köse

A senior member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has slammed the recent attacks on a Shiite Mosque in Istanbul.

Deputy Prime Minister Emrullah İşler has criticized the fire on a mosque, which is mostly attended by Shiite Caferis in Istanbul’s Esenyurt district, earlier this week.

“Mosques are the most sacred places in our religion and we cannot accept even the smallest of attacks on them,” he wrote on microblogging website, Twitter.

 “Those who are responsible for the attack on the mosque, where our Caferi brothers worship, will be immediately found and will face the court.”

A fire erupted at the Muhammediye Mosque early July 8, after the community received repeated threats over the last week. The fire has led to considerable material damage, but left no one injured.

The imam of the mosque also claimed the fire was ignited at his library and then spread inside the building. “I can’t tell whether it’s a Molotov cocktail or not. A week ago, they came and threatened me. I filed a complaint to the police,” said İmam Hamza Aydın.