Muslim scholars condemn Greek archbishop's remarks

ISTANBUL

A group of global Muslim scholars on Tuesday condemned recent Islamophobic remarks by the archbishop of Greece.

The remarks “do not serve humanity,” said the International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS) in a statement, adding that they stem “from hidden grudges and a policy of double standards.”

“The archbishop of Greece is in complete ignorance of Islam,” it said.

With the Constitution of Medina in the year 622, Islam is the first religion that laid the foundations for Muslims and members of other faiths to live together, the group stressed.

The group called on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to do its part to defend the religion of Islam and urged Muslim countries to condemn such provocative statements.

In a televised speech on Saturday, Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and Greece said Islam is not a religion but a political party and its followers are people of war.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz