News / Turkey

Erdogan inaugurates Turkey funded mosque in US

Saturday, 02 April 2016 9:02 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 02 April 2016 11:28 PM ]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the opening ceremony of a mosque in Maryland, USA on April 2, 2016. (Anadolu Agency)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the “level of terrorism” in the country surpasses that of Europe.

"There is terrorism in Brussels and Paris now, but let's not forget it is incomparable with the level of terrorism in Turkey," he said during an inauguration of a mosque and religious center close to Washington, DC, on Saturday.

Erdogan said that Diyanet Center of America, located in Maryland, would play a key role in dealing with intolerance and prejudice against Muslims in the United States.

“In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, prejudice was orchestrated against Muslims in the West, including in US,” he said.

“It went as far as to consider every Muslim a terrorist,” he said, adding, “We are watching with concern and surprise how some American presidential candidates are defending this prejudice.”

In November 2015, attacks in and around the French capital killed some 130 people. Thirty-two people were also killed during attacks at a metro station and an airport in the Belgian capital earlier this month.

Turkey has also been hit by a number of bombings in recent months, mostly blamed on Daesh or Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Ankara deems as a terrorist organization.

US President Barack Obama was not present at the event despite being invited by Erdogan. He would also not take part in a one-on-one formal meeting with the Turkish president.

On Thursday, Erdogan took part in a major nuclear security summit hosted by Obama, and gave a speech at the Brookings Institution.

Ahead of the speech, Erdogan’s security staff clashed with protesters who had gathered outside the think tank, calling him a “terrorist” and “baby killer.”

*An anti-Erdogan protester is pushed back by a police officer after tussling with a Turkish security official outside of the Brookings Institution, March 31, 2016 in Washington, DC. (AFP)*

Ankara has been engaged in a large-scale campaign against the PKK in its southern border region in the past few months. The Turkish military has also been conducting offensives against the positions of the group in northern Iraq and Syria.

Turkey, along with other regional countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, has been implicated in support for Daesh.

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