He had claimed 'IMM does not provide cleaning services': İmamoğlu responds to Nedim Şener's 'Hagia Sophia' allegation

Hürriyet columnist Nedim Şener, known for his proximity to the government, targeted IMM Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu during a live broadcast, claiming, "The IMM is the only one that does not provide cleaning and security services to Hagia Sophia. Because İmamoğlu is suffering because of the opening of Hagia Sophia."

İmamoğlu's response to Şener's words was not delayed.

"They are going to stir things up again, the election is here; the election is here and they have started again with religion, faith, the book, and the country," said İmamoğlu, adding, "So they are the ones who love their country. They are the ones who love the flag. They are the ones who love these lands. Let me tell you something? Their love for these things only comes to mind from election to election. As for us, our love for the country, our love for the nation, our love for the flag is always there. A lunatic has come out on a television program last night and says, 'Well, İmamoğlu is the only one who does not provide cleaning and security services to Hagia Sophia Mosque.' Because what is it, sir? I am suffering because it is a mosque."

"HE IS PUTTING FORWARD THE HAGIA SOPHIA LIE BECAUSE HE IS A BAD PERSON"

İmamoğlu continued as follows:

"He is even reading my mind, my conscience, my heart! He is putting forward this Hagia Sophia lie not because of ignorance, but because he is a bad person, because he is a lunatic. I have never said this until today. Even when Hagia Sophia Mosque was not just a place of worship, even when it was a museum, an imam would recite the adhan in one part of the mosque, and prayers would be performed in another. Should I tell the people how many times I have been there now? These are bad people."

Stating regarding Nedim Şener, "That lunatic's words might go somewhere," İmamoğlu continued;

"Let me tell you the truth: Selatin mosques are the property of the General Directorate of Foundations. They are under the responsibility of the Presidency of Religious Affairs. When these two institutions request cleaning and security services from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, we immediately bring a protocol to our municipal council and begin the service. When we took office, this service was being provided to 39 selatin mosques. Now, it has become 42. During our term, a request came, and we increased it by 3. One of them is even the Yıldız Hamidiye Mosque, where the President frequently performs Friday prayers. They requested it. And we provided it. It is a very natural process."

"NO REQUEST CAME FOR HAGIA SOPHIA"

"Look; no one is guilty. As for Hagia Sophia, no such request came. In fact, my friends acted sensitively, called the Foundations via phone and asked, 'If there is a need, let us put this on our agenda too.' They said, 'There is no need. We are handling it.' The matter is that simple. If a request does not come from the two institutions that have responsibility for Hagia Sophia, I do not have the right to provide those services. We cannot enter through that door. Just think about it; these people who even argue about 'whether Ekrem İmamoğlu was invited to an opening or not'... I mean, could anything be more natural than a person, a mayor, being invited to an opening? There is an invitation in the middle. The invitation has turned into a hot potato. Everyone is running away from it. Everyone is running away. Okay, that place will burn your hand; ouch! God forbid from these. May God protect us. Therefore, such people, unfortunately, are lunatic people, people who have made immorality a habit. I leave them all to my God. I leave them to my Creator."

NEDİM ŞENER'S RESPONSE TO İMAMOĞLU

Following İmamoğlu's statements, Nedim Şener made a statement on his social media account.

Stating, "İmamoğlu, whose invitation lie exploded in his hands, has become ill-mannered," Şener used the following expressions;

"Let me answer without descending to the level of İmamoğlu, who calls the state's governor a 'dog' and YSK members 'fools'.... Instead of answering why he has not gone to Hagia Sophia for 3.5 years since it was opened for worship, IMM Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who said in Greece that 'there is no need for Hagia Sophia to be opened for worship,' has become ill-mannered. Instead of explaining why he has not gone to Hagia Sophia for 3.5 years as IMM Mayor and why he left the cleaning and maintenance of only Hagia Sophia to the Fatih Municipality, he has immorally insulted. I return the word 'lunatic' to him."