4 yıl önce

Erdogan: Macron’s remarks on Islam 'clear provocation'

At Mosques and Religious Workers' Week programme in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said French president’s remarks claiming "Islam is in crisis" go beyond disrespect.

AA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech during the Mosques and Religious Workers' Week programme at the Bestepe People's Convention Center in Ankara, Turkey on October 06, 2020.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that the French president’s recent claims about Islam amount to a dangerous provocation.

“[Emmanuel] Macron's statement on ‘Islam is in crisis’ in a city where Muslims are the majority go beyond disrespect and are a clear provocation,” Erdogan told a gathering of mosque and religious workers in the Turkish capital Ankara on Tuesday.

A French president making statements urging the restructuring of Islam is "rude,” Erdogan added.

Last Friday, Macron announced a controversial plan against so-called "Islamist separatism" in the country.

In a speech in the western Paris suburb of Les Mureaux – an area with a large Muslim population – Macron claimed that Islam is "experiencing a crisis across the world".

The statement sparked criticism among Muslims worldwide.

Tools to hide failures

"Attacking Muslims has become one of the most important tools for European politicians to hide their failure," Erdogan stressed.

Erdogan urged Macron to act like a responsible statesman, rather than pretending to be a colonial governor.

In many Western countries, racism and Islamophobia are safeguarded by the state itself, he added.