LONDON: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was on an official visit of NATO Summit in UK, has officially opened the Europe’s first environment-friendly mosque which was completed in 10 years at a cost of £23 million.Speaking at the opening ceremony, President Erdogan condemned the London Bridge attack and expressed his thoughts to the victim families. “As humankind we are passing through very painful and difficult times. We see that our values which kept humanity together over ages are under threat more than ever before. In Western countries which have for long years been the cradle of democracy, racism, discrimination and Islamophobia are ever growing, like poison ivy,” he said.“Muslim shops, homes and places of worship are being targeted by racist and fascist groups almost on a daily basis. Muslim women are harassed on the streets, in markets and at workplaces only for wearing a headscarf. Such actions do not only victimise Muslims but also affect Jews, non-white people and other groups who are different in their identities, appearances and religious affiliations,” he added.The Turkish president was in emotions regarding attacks against mosques and the places of worship of other religions, saying it had reached an intensity which was hard to believe. “Recently, mosques in New Zealand, churches in Sri Lanka and synagogues in the US have been targeted by terrorists. In these acts hundreds of innocent men and women who had no intention but to fulfil their religious obligations lost their lives and many others were wounded. All of these outrages take place despite the fact that places of worship must enjoy immunity even in times of war,” he said.“Any principle which glorifies violence and kills innocent people has nothing to do with Islam. The concept of ‘Islamic terror’ is as wrong as the concept of Christian terror, Jewish terror or Buddhist terror,” he added.“In our faith, killing an innocent person is equal to killing the whole of humanity. A Muslim cannot be a terrorist and Islam does not produce terrorism. Therefore, we categorically reject the labelling of ‘Islamic terror’ which some people persistently emphasise. We also denounce any distinction between good and bad terror organisations.“All of the terrorists who brought floods of tears to our region belong to the same mentality regardless of whether they belong to Daesh, FETO, PKK-YPG and even to the Neo-Nazisas in the case of Christchurch. These are all bloodthirsty vampires and inhumane murderers regardless of their names and ideologies. For us there is no difference between those who killed civilians on London Bridge, those who attacked synagogues and those FETO terrorists who killed 251 of our citizens on the night of July 15th,” Erdogan said.He added: “We have to categorically denounce and stand against every act which targets innocent people. By leaving aside historical prejudices, we have to fight against hate crimes collectively. We are proud of the reaction of a British sister of Libyan descent against a hate crime which targeted Jews on the London underground a few weeks ago.”Erdogan said: “It is very important that political and religious leaders, especially the press, act responsibly in this process. As Turkey, we will continue to support the UK authorities who take a prudent attitude in this respect.The Turkish President also sent his greetings to all Muslim brothers and sisters “whose hearts beat with us” regardless of their origins, country, language or skin colour. “I am delighted to be with you on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the Cambridge Mosqueand Complex which is the first ever Muslim eco-sanctuaryin Europe.”He also expressed gratitude to Allah for granting such an opportunity and thanked to every one for sharing their excitement and for participating in the event. “Today we are not only opening a mosque or a complex in Cambridge,we are also giving as a gift to this city a monumental building which rejects enmity and conflict with its every single brick and every single pattern. It is my hope that the Cambridge Mosque, which is the product of a decade-long effort, will be beneficial to all Muslims living in the UK and particularly to our Turkish countrymen and nationals.” He paid gratitude to the late Mr. David Marks, the architect of the mosque, who passed away in 2017. President Erdogan offered prayers and recited Holy Quran in the mosque and distributed an articulated copy of Holy Quran to Lord Tariq and others.
12-07-2019, 10:22 AM
Erdogan opens Europe?s first environment-friendly mosque
العرض الشجري