And he had the audacity, in a country in which persecution of Christians has been an art form and is on the rise again, to scold the French for being intolerant. From Zaman, with thanks to Sr. Soph:
The riots in France, said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prove the importance of the project of the alliance of civilizations.
Paying a visit to Germany to attend the opening ceremony of the European Turkish Democrats Union Headquarters, Erdogan spoke with the reporters during the flight over.
“We shape our relationships with the European Union from the perspective of the cooperation of civilizations,” asserted Erdogan, during the conversation attended by Zaman correspondent Bulent Korucu.
“We explain that Turkey is very important from this point of view. We are having difficulty in explaining this to some of our friends, especially to France. We want to undertake one of the important roles in terms of the alliance of civilizations,” the prime minister said.
The headscarf ban at French public schools is one of the triggers causing the disturbances that have taken place, according to Erdogan.