KOLN, Germany
All religions, beliefs and cultures are intertwined, Turkey’s top cleric said Saturday in Germany, adding with “regret” that mankind is failing to manage this multiculturalism.
The head of Turkey’s Presidency of Religious Affairs, Mehmet Gormez spoke at an event held in Lanxess Arena in Koln to commemorate Prophet Mohammed’s birth. About 20 thousand people attended.
Gormez said that people’s worlds are intertwined, the distances have come close, but people’s tolerance toward each other has been reduced.
He said that the bloodshed in the Muslim world continues. “Muslims in Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo and all over the world are in difficult situations,” he said.
Gormez called on the people who profess love for the Messenger of God to help turn this love into social peace and justice.
The former German President, Christian Wulff also participated at the event, saying that “(Islamic holy scripture) Quran does not approve of violence and terror.”
Wulff called on people of different religions and cultures living in Germany to recognize each other. “The more we recognize each other, the more happily we live,” he said.
Germany, home to millions Muslim emigrants, is experiencing debates about multiculturalism. Although the country’s leaders are calling for raising the level of integration for migrant families, opponent movements are taking place.
A far-right movement Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, also known as PEGIDA, was established in Germany in 2014, holding since then many protests in Germany and other EU countries.
