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| Merkel (left) Erdogan (right) |
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and German
Chancellor Angela Merkel held a press briefing to conclude talks on the crisis in
the middle-east on February 2. All was going smoothly until Merkel, 62, made
use of the term ‘Islamist Terrorism’ which immediately changed Erdogan’s mood. Merkel’s
statement was, “We spoke in detail
about... the questions of the fight against Islamist terrorism, against every
form of terrorism, also the terrorism of the PKK. We agree we want to cooperate;
we are all affected by this. We agreed to have closer cooperation in the future.”
Erdogan waited patiently for Merkel to finish her speech with an obvious frown
on his face and then responded, “This
expression ‘Islamist terror’ seriously saddens us Muslims. Such an expression
is not correct because Islam and terror cannot be associated. The meaning of
Islam is peace. Please let's not use it. As long as it is used we need to stand
against it. As a Muslim president personally I cannot accept that.” Erdogan
who turns 63 on February 26 has been dubbed by some as the modern day Caliph
for his strong defense and support for Islam. Erdogan is a founder of the
Islam-inclined Turkish political party AKP (Justice and Development Party)
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