ISIL’s antidote is Istanbul’s ‘refined’ Islam, Turkish PM says

ISTANBUL

AA photo.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said the “refined” interpretation of Islam in Istanbul is the “antidote” to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) extremism.

“I never break up Islam into parts, but ultimately the refined Islam of Istanbul and the attraction of the city, which everyone sees as a reference point, are an antidote to ISIL,” Davutoğlu said during a live television interview broadcast on Kanal 7 and Ülke TV late on May 6.

He also said he assigned a “mission” to Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) to work in regional centers like Damascus, Baghdad, Jerusalem and Mecca against “the sectarian conflict that have arisen in the Middle East.”

The Turkish prime minister criticized main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) head Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş for their recent criticism of the Diyanet. 
Davutoğlu said the “reasonable voice” of Turkey’s moderate Islam had come under attack at a crucial time in the region.