A Brief History of Muslims and Chiristians Relations in Cyprus

To understand Cyprus problem and founding out a sustainable solution we need to analyze and understand the role of religion on Cyprus issues in past and today. As it is known both Christian and Muslim cultures left their signs on island and have a strong impact on today's relationships. As a result of this differ-ent effects in The Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus, referred to the Orthodox Christianity and Islam as constituent elements.After division of Christianity, the conflicts between Catholic and Orthodox Churches, Ottomans and Cyprus Orthodox Church be-came allies. The Ottomans, while trying to reduce Latin's influ-ence, treated the Orthodox Cypriots with the consideration and gained their good will. In 1821 with the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence, the Greeks of Cyprus attempted to follow in the footsteps of those of Greece; such was the accusation, which Kuchuk Mehmed brought against the bishops and the leading Greek laymen of Cyprus. As a result of this the Archbishop and his archdeacon were hanged, the three Bishops beheaded and the notables dispatched by the Janissaries. This was the break point and beginning of political separation between Ottoman adminis-tration and Cyprus Orthodox Church. In this article, I have tried to analyze the developments of relationships between Muslims and Christians under lights of history and give a right perspective to the future relationships.