Xenophobia, Islamophobia reached intolerable levels: President Erdogan

Levels of racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia have all climbed to a dangerous breaking point, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned.

"Racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia, which spread like a virus especially in developed countries, have reached intolerable levels," Erdogan said in his address at the annual UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.

Signs of xenophobia, racism, and Islamophobia spiraling into a new crisis have reached alarming proportions in the last year, he said.

Stating that hate speech, polarisation, and discrimination against innocent people hurt the public conscience in all corners of the world, the Turkish leader lamented that populist politicians in many countries continue to play with fire by encouraging these dangerous trends.

"The mentality which encourages heinous attacks against the holy Quran in Europe by allowing them under the guise of freedom of expression is in fact darkening its own future," said the president.

He stressed that Türkiye will continue to support initiatives to combat Islamophobia on all platforms, in particular the UN, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The president also called on world leaders who he said reject such attacks on sacred values to instead support Türkiye's struggle.

Erdogan’s speech followed a rash of attacks on the Quran such as burnings and other desecrations, particularly in northern European countries, and often committed with police protection.

The attacks have drawn widespread outrage and condemnation.

EU's long-neglected obligations

Türkiye expects EU to fulfil “its long-neglected obligations towards our country,” the country’s president has said.

“The increasingly complex nature of regional and global challenges indicates that there is a need, now more than ever, to advance Turkish-European Union relations on a healthy basis,” said Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addressing the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.

“We expect the European Union to swiftly start fulfilling its long-neglected obligations towards our country,” said the president.

“Especially the ambivalent attitudes towards Türkiye have to come to an end,” he added.

Türkiye applied for EU membership in 1987 and has been a candidate country since 1999.

Negotiations for full membership started in October 2005 but have stalled in recent years due to political hurdles erected by some countries.