Turkish PM: ‘Islamophobia’ is a Crime Against Humanity
Charles Johnson
Thu Jun 29, 2006 at 8:41 am PDT • Views: 413
Speaking to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, Turkey’s Prime Minister said that criticism of Islam is a crime against humanity: Islamophobia Is a Crime Against Humanity: Erdogan.
STRASBOURG, 29 June 2006 — The incitement to hatred of Islam should be considered a crime against humanity, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech before the Council of Europe in Strasbourg yesterday.
“Just as anti-Semitism is a crime against humanity, so should Islamophobia be regarded,” Erdogan said. Erdogan warned against the growing phobia against Islam and foreigners in the world in which “we Muslims feel increasingly under siege.”
Referring to the row over blasphemous cartoons that were originally printed in a Danish newspaper, he said freedom of expression should not be confused with the freedom to insult.
The row showed not only a “lack of respect for religious convictions,” but was also a sign of a “growing and dangerous polarization between the Western and Islamic world.” The Turkish prime minister called on Western countries to integrate the Muslims living among them to a much greater degree.
Frank says: