Turkish Cypriot left wing media outlets on Friday offered harsh criticism for opposition political party CTP leader Tufan Erhurman over his attendance of Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the new courthouse which is set to be built on the north’s new ‘government’ complex in Ayios Dhometios.

Erhurman received an invite to official ceremonies in the north on account of being the leader of the north’s largest opposition party, and the point of contention was the fact that a prayer was performed during the ceremony, with many believing that religion and the judiciary should not mix.

At Thursday’s ceremony, ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel personally requested that Erhurman be present on the stage for the ceremony, including when the prayer was read.

In light of the north’s current political climate regarding the influence of religion, against the backdrop of the ruling coalition’s decision to legalise the wearing of hijabs at public schools, there was fierce criticism of the ceremony overnight, with much of it being aimed at Erhurman, who some believe should have declined the invite to the ceremony, given its nature.

Newspaper Avrupa’s front page on Friday read that “the outcry of tens of thousands of people who took to the streets against the fanatical imposition of Islam and the headscarf in schools was overshadowed by the prayer that Tufan Erhurman read accompanied by the Imam at the complex”.

Meanwhile, Ozgur Gazete’s front page also highlighted Erhurman’s presence at the event, while its editor in chief Pinar Barut penned an opinion piece calling on the newspaper’s readers to speak out against Erhurman’s presence.

Erhurman defended himself in a post on social media, saying that while he also believes that it was wrong for a prayer to have been recited at the ceremony, but that he did not believe that it would have been correct to not partake in the prayer once he was at the ceremony.

Of the prayer, he said, “there is no such practice or tradition in our country, and therefore, the practice which was carried out at the groundbreaking ceremony is wrong for this country”.

“It is also wrong in terms of the principle of secularity in our constitution to carry out such a practice, especially at the opening of an institution such as the supreme court,” he said.

“I find the practice of what was done after I got on stage. However, as I have come across other practices and speeches that I have thought were wrong in such ceremonies, I did not find it right to engage in any behaviour which would disrupt the order of the ceremony. Nor do I now,” he said.

Outside of criticism of Erhurman’s presence at the ceremony, the Cyprus Turkish bar association also criticised the ceremony at large.

“Apart from the fact that the format in question was not in accordance with the culture and traditions of the Turkish Cypriot community, an image emerged which strained the principles of secularism, impartiality, and judicial independence to the fullest,” the association said.

It added, “the inclusion of religious rituals in the ceremony unfortunately damaged impartiality and constitutional legitimacy”.