On October 1, 2010 a Muslim prayer was performed at the cathedral by members and supporters of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). The formal occasion was to commemorate the 1064 Seljuk conquest of Ani, but it was widely seen as a nationalist retaliation for the Christian mass—the first since the Armenian Genocide of 1915—at the Cathedral of Aghtamar at Lake Van on September 19. Some two thousand people, including senior members of the MHP, such as party leader Devlet Bahçeli, participated in the prayer. The crowd waved Turkish flags and chanted "Allahu Akbar" before saying prayers in and around the cathedral. They were accompanied by an Ottoman-style military marching band. The prayer was authorized by the Turkish Ministry of Culture, and was attended by believers from Azerbaijan and broadcast live by three Azerbaijani TV channels.