Erdoğan warns over rising racism, fanaticism in the world

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on later Thursday warned against rising hate speech, racism and fanaticism in the world, vowing they will not allow those who intend to bring the recurring social tensions in the region to Türkiye.

“We need more than ever to preserve and strengthen this feature of ours in a period when hate speech, racism and fanaticism are on the rise all across the world. We must hold on even firmer to our tradition, which sees differences as not a cause for conflicts or polarization but a source of social richness,” Erdoğan said at an iftar dinner with representatives of religious minorities on March 27.

“We as Türkiye have the experience to allow different faiths, cultures and identities to live together in peace for centuries. Adhan, hazan and sounds of bells have co-existed in our many cities, from Istanbul to Mardin and Hatay, for hundreds of years,” he stated.

“Mosques, churches and synagogues have shared the same streets, same avenues, same cities. Muslims, Christians and Jews have lived side by side in the same country, under the same sky,” Erdoğan noted.

President Erdoğan also vowed that they will disallow those who intend to bring the recurring social tensions in the region to Türkiye.

Erdoğan meets Somali counterpart

Also on March 27, Erdoğan met Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to discuss bilateral ties and regional developments, particularly Türkiye-mediated Somalia-Ethiopia negotiations. Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and National Intelligence Organization (MİT) chief İbrahim Kalın also attended the meeting.

During the iftar dinner, which the Somali president also attended, Erdoğan emphasized the great importance Türkiye attaches to the peace, economic development and security of Somalia.

“We hope that Somalia will protect the gains, which it has achieved with the support of our country, and strengthen its social peace and stability. As a country that has suffered a lot from terror in all its forms and paid a price for it, Türkiye stands by the Somali people,” he said.