Turkish president rejects reference to 'Islamic terror'

A Muslim cannot be a terrorist and Islam does not produce terrorists, the Turkish president said on Thursday, once again rejecting the term “Islamic terrorism”.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan said racism, discrimination and Islamophobia have spread like poison ivy in countries once seen as cradles of democracy.

Erdogan’s remarks came at the inauguration ceremony of the Cambridge Central Mosque which he attended with first lady Emine Erdogan and a group of high-level Turkish officials.

He traveled to Cambridgeshire to attend the ceremony from London, where he had arrived earlier this week to attend the NATO leaders’ summit.

Erdogan said workplaces, homes and places of worships of Muslims and foreigners are targeted by racists and fascist almost every day.

“Muslim women are abused only because they are wearing headscarves” in Islamophobic attacks, Erdogan said, adding Jewish, black people and whoever looks different are targeted in similar attacks.