Europe saw 65 racist attacks on mosques, Islamic centres – Turkish official

Turkey's governing Justice and Development (AK) Party's spokesman, Omer Celik has condemned mosque attacks in the Greek-administered side of Cyprus.

"There have been 65 racist and Islamophobic attacks to mosques and Islamic centers in Europe. Thirty-eight of those attacks were carried out against Turkish mosques and Islamic centers," he said. 

"It’s impossible to track down the perpetrators of these attacks as the Greek Cypriot Administration is the authority on that part of the island. A responsible administration could easily find those responsible.

As long as the Greek Cypriot Administration doesn’t identify the perpetrators, we will treat it as the usual suspects and the political organisation behind these attacks. Whatever goal the Greek administration has, these racist attacks will not help.” Omer Celik said.

Last week, the Koprulu Haci Ibrahim Aga Mosque in Limassol city was attacked with petrol bombs by unidentified people.

Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersin Tatar called the Greek Cypriot administration to "come up with a policy to stop anti-Islamic activities."