Erdogan says Western countries attacking Islam seek to ‘relaunch the Crusades’

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the Western countries attacking Islam want to "relaunch the Crusades", amid worldwide outrage against the publication of blasphemous cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (Blessings of God upon him and his progeny).

According to Press TV, in a speech to his AK Party's lawmakers in parliament on Wednesday, Erdogan stressed that that standing against attacks on the Prophet (Blessings of God upon him and his progeny) was "an issue of honor for us".

Earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron publicly attacked Islam in defense of the publication of derogatory cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (Blessings of God upon him and his progeny).

He made the remarks at a national memorial for a French school teacher who was murdered by a teenager of Chechen origin after he showed his students much-criticized caricatures of Islam’s Prophet (Blessings of God upon him and his progeny) earlier published by the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

The president said he would not “renounce the caricatures.” He described Islam as a religion “in crisis” and declared war on “Islamist separatism,” which he claimed was taking over France’s estimated six-million-strong Muslim population.

The comments have angered not only the Muslim community in France, but all Islamic nations, leading to protests and boycott calls.

In reaction to Macron’s remarks, Erdogan said on Saturday the French leader needed “mental health treatment.”

The Turkish president on Monday also called on his people to boycott French products.

Charlie Hebdo recently published a cartoon mocking Erdogan, adding fuel to the fire in Turkey.

Turkish officials said Ankara would take legal and diplomatic actions in response to the cartoon, calling it a "disgusting effort" to "spread its cultural racism and hatred".

According to Turkish state media, Ankara prosecutors had launched an investigation into Charlie Hebdo's executives.

ME