Turkish President Erdogan (AFP Photo)
Washington (IINA) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Saturday that Islamophobia is on the rise in the United States and U.S. presidential candidates have targeted Muslims during the election campaign, news agencies reported.
Erdoğan made the remarks while speaking to mainly Muslim crowd at the inauguration of a Turkish-sponsored mosque near Washington, reportedly the largest Muslim house of worship in the United States.
"There are still people walking around calling Muslims terrorists. I am watching with bewilderment and astonishment that some candidates still defend this position in the current presidential election in America," he said.
Erdoğan underlined that Muslim communities in the US have nothing to do with terrorism and in fact are “contributing to strengthening the United States", adding that Muslim communities are “primary elements” of American society.
“It is unacceptable for the Muslims of the world to be forced to pay the price of a horror of a pain and suffering created by a handful of terrorists, infamous terrorists here in the aftermath of 9/11,” he stressed.
Republican candidates in the U.S. presidential race have sparked accusations of Islamophobia. The party's frontrunner Donald Trump has called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States, while his main Republican competitor Ted Cruz has said police should patrol Muslim neighborhoods in the country.
AB/IINA
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