CHICAGO 

Turkey attaches importance to healthy and strong relations with the Muslim community in the US, the country’s presidential spokesman said on Tuesday.

Ibrahim Kalin’s remarks came at the gala dinner of the Muslim American Society and Islamic Circle of North America (MAS-ICNA) Convention, one of the largest Islamic conventions held annually in North America.

The Turkish official said faith was more than just a belief system as it was also related to matters of spirituality, justice and goodness.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for his part, sent a video-message for the event in which he called for further strengthening solidarity against cultural racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia -- which have gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"All Muslims are brothers and sisters, regardless of their origin, skin color, nation, culture, sect," Erdogan said, adding that Islam had no room for exclusion, incitement or terror.

The Turkish leader called on Muslims not to retire into their shell in the face of threats against their existence and endeavor to take their rightful place in the world.