There has been a radical increase in the number of attacks on mosques in the Greek-run south of Cyprus, an official of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) claimed.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Ibrahim Benter, general manager of the Cyprus Foundations Administration (EVKAF), evaluated recent attacks against mosques on the divided island.

"Attacks have increased in recent years and pose a danger," Benter said, describing an incident last Saturday as "very serious" because the attacker attempted to burn down the mosque.

Noting that a great tragedy was avoided because the mosque was empty then, Benter called on the authorities to take measures against attacks on mosques and Turkish-Islamic artifacts in cities in the Greek Cypriot administration.

There are many churches in the TRNC and the 452 years since the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus, there have been no attacks on them throughout the island, including by Turks, according to Benter.

Greek Cypriot toleration

Referring to the numerous attacks against mosques and historical monuments in the Greek Cypriot administration in recent years, Benter said, "We have not been informed of the arrest or punishment of the attackers to date."

"The administration in the south tolerates the attacks. This tolerance encourages the attackers and indicates that there is no risk in attacking the holy shrines.

"If the attackers know they will be severely punished, it would be prohibitive if they (the authorities) imposed severe penalties for such attacks," he added.

Benter emphasized that attacks on places of worship and historical monuments are crimes, and these attacks, often carried out with incendiary substances, pose a great danger to the people in those places and damage inter-communal peace.

Over 20 attacks in a decade

According to EVKAF and the Foreign Ministry of TRNC’s records, more than 20 mosque attacks were carried out in the last 10 years in cities controlled by the Greek Cypriot administration.

From 2012 to 2023, there were five attacks, including arson, on the Köprülü Hacı Ibrahim Ağa Mosque in Limassol, where Molotov cocktails were thrown last Saturday. Both TRNC leaders and Türkiye condemned the arson attempt as "another addition to the past acts against various mosques in the Greek Cypriot administration" and "the latest example of growing Islamophobia across Europe."

Three more attacks were carried out in the last three years.

There have been two attacks and arson attempts on a mosque located in the village of Denya in the Greek Cypriot administration in the last 10 years. The Denya Mosque was attacked in 2013 while it was being restored with U.N. Development Program funding. The same mosque was targeted in 2016 when three Molotov cocktails were thrown at it.

Tombstones were also destroyed and trash was thrown in the Ottoman/Turkish cemetery in the city of Larnaca.

Attackers hurled Molotov cocktails into the courtyard of the Tuzla Mosque in Larnaca in 2020, hung a Byzantine flag on the mosque wall, and wrote anti-Islamic slogans.

In 2021, an attempt was made to burn down the Great Mosque of Larnaca. Anti-Islamic slogans were written on the mosque’s walls, located in the village of Yalova, and the Greek flag was painted.

Earlier this year, Greek Cypriot authorities granted a license for building a tavern in the garden of the Hala Sultan Tekke mosque. Due to the TRNC Presidency stepping in and the reactions of the people, the Greeks gave up on this initiative and turned the tavern license into a cafe license.

Ankara condemns Limassol attack

Türkiye once again condemned the attack on the mosque in Limassol on Thursday.

Defense Ministry spokesperson Col. Zeki Aktürk said, "These acts of hate, which recur and threaten the Muslim world and all shared values of humanity, have demonstrated once again how justified and realistic the quest for a two-state solution in Cyprus is."

Reiterating Ankara’s commitment to protecting Turkish Cypriote rights in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as to the ongoing efforts to sustain the recent thaw in relations with Greece, Aktürk assured Türkiye will continue "being the assurance of peace and stability in Cyprus in line with its legitimate rights as per international agreements."

Cyprus crisis

Cyprus has been mired in a decadeslong dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement. Such attacks only exacerbate tensions and disrupt good faith to resume peace talks.

Since Türkiye’s 1974 military intervention to protect Turkish Cypriots from Greek Cypriot persecution and violence led to the foundation of the TRNC in 1983, the sides have argued over a solution to the crisis.

Today, the Turkish side supports a system that would allow equal sovereignty of the two states, while the Greek side wants a federal solution based on the hegemony of the Greeks.

The Greek Cypriot administration entered the European Union in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted the U.N. Annan Plan to end the longstanding dispute. The TRNC is still facing an international embargo in several areas that allow access to international communications, postal services and transport only through Türkiye.

Since mid-August, a Turkish Cypriot project to expand a village road crossing through the U.N.-controlled buffer zone has caused a flare-up in tensions with both the world body and Greek Cyprus.