Erdogan Says That Islamophobia Should Be Characterized As Crime Against Humanity

Cover of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying by the Turkish Zaman daily that his country recognizes anti-semitism as a crime, while not a single Western country recognizes Islamophobia as such. Speaking to journalists in Sarajevo following a series of visits to Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the PM of Turkey commented on the 14-minute trailer for "Innocence of Muslims," the obscure mini-film that mocks the Prophet Muhammad, and which has sparked violent riots and protests all across the world from Muslim believers. Erdogan noted that he would talk about the movie that has angered Muslims on Sept. 25 at the UN General Assembly, adding that the reaction against the movie in Turkey has been restrained. “In the last past 10 years, extremes [in Turkey] have been curbed. In a way, we acted like a lightning rod.”

Erdogan said the Turkish government has made its statement on the movie, giving messages in Yalta, and later during his visit. At the same time the Premier of Turkey said reactions against the movie continued and increased, pointing to statements from Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi, who defined the movie as an “aggression on Islam,” has played a role in this.

The Turkish Premier also said that he is going to continue to give messages at the next UN General Assembly meeting about adopting international legislation against insulting religion. “I am the prime minister of a nation, of which most are Muslims and that has declared anti-semitism a crime against humanity. But the West hasn’t recognized Islamophobia as a crime against humanity -- it has encouraged it. [The film director] is saying he did this to provoke the fundamentalists among Muslims. When it is in the form of a provocation, there should be international legal regulations against attacks on what people deem sacred, on religion. As much as it is possible to adopt international regulations, it should be possible to do something in terms of domestic law.”

He further noted, “Freedom of thought and belief ends where the freedom of thought and belief of others start. You can say anything about your thoughts and beliefs, but you will have to stop when you are at the border of others’ freedoms. I was able to include Islamophobia as a hate crime in the final statement of an international meeting in Warsaw.”

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