STUTTGART, Germany
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu paid a visit Friday to the Yozgat family who suffered from racist abuse near a gas station in Stuttgart, Germany, in January.
Visiting the family in their home in Bad Cannstatt district, Cavusoglu listened to the family's problems.
Cavusoglu had a chat with the father, Ilhan Yozgat, who complained that because of the recent abuse, his family is having troubles stepping out of their house.
The foreign minister then ordered a follow-up of the incident and gave presents to the three daughters of the family.
On Jan. 31, 2015, the Yozgat family was exposed to racist abuse, as the father Ilhan Yozgat stopped by a gas station near his house. As Ilhan Yozgat was in the shop, two men got into his car and started abusing his wife and three daughters. The two men beat Ilhan Yozgat as he was trying to save his wife. The attackers allegedly said "This is our country. We don't want Turks here. Beat it!"
Germany has the second-largest Muslim population in Western Europe, after France. Among the 4 million Muslims in the country, 3 million are of Turkish origin.
The country has witnessed an increase in suspicion and negative feelings towards Muslims in recent months as far right and right-wing populist parties have sought to benefit from a growing fear of Islam, which was largely influenced by reports of murders and atrocities being committed by Daesh in the Middle East. Daesh is the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
A recent study by the Bertelsmann Foundation revealed that 57 percent of Germany’s non-Muslims perceive Islam as a threat -- a rise of four percent since 2012.
