The Italian Matteo Salvini led a demonstration of his party Lega outside the Turkish consulate in Milan against the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque on Monday.

The central slogan of the rally was the phrase “hands off Hagia Sophia”.

“We can not allow Islamic fanaticism and the Turkish regime to erase centuries of history, freedom and rights. We hope that the international community and the European Union, which is filled with millions in Turkey, will react”, Salvini said.

“By constantly bowing our heads, we run the risk of suddenly finding a mosque in Duomo in Milan. Hands off Hagia Sophia”.

This is the second time that Salvini has publicly expressed his strong disagreement with Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision, as he wrote on Twitter on Saturday saying: “Turkey, which some would like to include in Europe, is turning Hagia Sophia into a mosque. It is confirmed that the bullying of Islam is incompatible with the values of democracy, freedom and tolerance of the West”.

La stessa Turchia che qualcuno vorrebbe far entrare in Europa, trasforma Santa Sofia in una moschea. La prepotenza di un certo islam si conferma incompatibile con i valori di democrazia, libertà e tolleranza dell’Occidente.

— Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) July 11, 2020

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