ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkey's Islamic-rooted government has ordered a 500-year old Latin inscription believed to have been carved by the Knights of St. John erased from an old castle, newspaper reports said Tuesday.

In the written order, the Culture Minister told museum officials to scrape away the inscription "Inde deus abest," or "Where God does not exist," carved at the entrance to the dungeon of the Castle of St. Peter in the Aegean resort of Bodrum, Hurriyet, Sabah and Milliyet newspapers reported Tuesday.

The ministry claimed the inscription had no historical value, the papers said.

The move comes at a time when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government is under criticism for alleged attempts to raise Islam's profile in predominantly Muslim but secular Turkey. The government denies it has an Islamic agenda.

The sign could be considered offensive to devout Muslims who believe in God's omnipresence.