We strongly condemn the presumptuous statements of Ieronimos, the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, against Islam during a television interview.

Our divine religion Islam is a religion of peace based on an understanding of tolerance and compassion that ensures the coexistence of different religions and civilizations.

Under the conditions of pandemic that has encompassed the whole world, while everyone should strive for developing an environment of mutual respect and tolerance, defamation of our sacred religion is regrettable.

It is exemplary for the religious leaders, who should serve peace, to poison societies with such groundless statements.

These provocative expressions of Archbishop Ieronimos, which incite the society to hostility and violence against Islam, also show the frightening level Islamophobia has reached.

Such malign ideas are also responsible for the increase of racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia in Europe.

The fact that such a statement was made at a time when preliminary preparations are being made for exploratory talks is also meaningful and is an unfortunate step towards undermining the process.