Turkish president denounces attacks against Islam

Turkey’s president has denounced attacks on the Muslim world during his visit in Djibouti.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comments came during a joint press conference Saturday with Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh.

“There are serious games being played with the Islamic world and one of them is Islamophobia,” said Erdogan.

Another was the “clash of civilisations,” he said.

He gave as proof “the hundreds and thousands” of deaths in Iraq, deaths in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Syria and Egypt.

“It doesn’t matter what faith a terrorist is, a terrorist is a murderer,” added Erdogan. “If he is a Muslim he is still a killer, if Christian still a killer or if he is a Jew then he is still a killer.”

“Because, after all, innocent people are dying,” he said.

Meanwhile, Erdogan said Turkey was engaging Europe to see if it could tolerate a Muslim-populated country, referring to its EU membership bid.

“There is a theory that ‘the European Union is a Christian entity,'” said Erdogan, adding that should Turkey be accepted in the EU, that theory would have to go.

“Turkey is in NATO, Turkey is in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), Turkey is a member of many organizations,” he said. “Why aren’t you accepting Turkey into the European Union? This means there is a different problem.”

Erdogan added that Turkey was now a powerful country that will not “beg to come to your doors.” “If accepted, it will enter the EU, if not, it will draw its own path,” he said.