By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Though Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu attended the memorial led by numerous heads of state in a parade rally, a significant step backwards occurred when President Erdoğan later proclaimed that Muslims have never taken part in terrorist massacres.
We previously reported a few of these strange utterances, such as: Muslims discovered the Americas before Columbus; those using birth control are “traitors”; and declaring that Turkey had the greatest level of press freedom.
His latest is not just inaccurate, but a sure sign of how he views, or at least declares he views, a reality that exists certainly not within a realm one would expect of a secular leader or a rational individual for that matter.
“As Muslims, we’ve never taken part in terrorist massacres. Behind these lie racism, hate speech, and Islamophobia. French citizens carry out such a massacre, and Muslims pay the price. The West’s hypocrisy is obvious.
Take note that the acts of terror are not carried out in a vacuum. The acts follow a predetermined script and we should be [aware of a] a plot against the Islamic world.”
The Turkish President’s words come during a speech after having received Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a state visit. Beforehand in a move that drew much ridicule among his political opponents, Erdoğan descended a grand staircase of his new fifteen hundred room palace. He was flanked by several men donning medieval Ottoman armor and bearing swords.
By Darren Smith
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