Foreign Ministry brushes off Turkish criticism over Sharia law legislation

The Foreign Ministry has brushed off criticism from Turkey after Parliament voted legislation curbing the influence of Islamic Sharia law courts in the region of Thrace in northeastern Greece, which is home to some 100,000 Greek Muslims.

In a statement earlier on Thursday, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry voiced its “concern” over the legislation, saying that Greek authorities had not consulted with the Islamic jurists, known as muftis.

“The legislation regarding the Muslim minority in Thrace is an internal affair of Greece,” the Foreign Ministry in Athens said in a statement, adding that “outside interventions are unacceptable.”

It added that Turkey should rather focus on its own serious domestic affairs.