A Turkish cultural association said on Aug. 5 that almost all mosques and graveyards on Greece’s Kos (Istankoy) island were “ruined” and closed to worship.
The Rhodes, Kos and the Dodecanese Turks Culture and Solidarity Association urged Greece to respect the freedom of religion of the Kos Turkish community prior to the Eid-al Adha (Muslim feast of sacrifice) festival.
The organization’s president, Mustafa Kaymakçı, said in a written statement that the Algerian Gazi Hasan Pasha (Lonca) Mosque has yet to be repaired following a 2017 earthquake that damaged the structure.
Founded by Turks who migrated from Rhodes and Kos to Turkey, the association is based in the western province of Izmir on the Turkish Aegean coast.
Kaymakçı said that shops under the mosque – which were owned by the Kos Muslim Foundation Properties Management – were also damaged.
He underlined that another mosque in Germe (Platini) village on the island was damaged due to the earthquake. However, the restoration of the mosque was not permitted with local Muslims forced to use its courtyard for their daily prayers.
“Masjids, tombs and graveyards of Kos are neglected and almost all are ruined,” he stressed.
Kaymakçı said that places for worship and other pious endowments on Kos are normally run by the Kos Muslim Foundation Properties Management.
“However, Greece makes the foundations bankrupt,” he said, adding that Athens forced the foundations sell their properties despite international agreements.
Source: HD
