ISTANBUL

The move towards a digital-centric world seeks to create a new faith by harming the Abrahamic faiths, “especially Islam,” the Turkish president warned on Tuesday.

“The digital movement is striving to create a new artificial religion by targeting and undermining all Abrahamic religions, especially Islam,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech at the 7th Religious Council in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Erdogan said it “disturbs the civilized world” when Muslims connect with their spiritual roots, asserting that Muslims have been under attack not only physically but on the spiritual and intellectual fronts as well.

He added that these attacks have intensified significantly in recent years after gaining substantial momentum over the last century.

It is clear who is trying to exterminate Muslims by committing massacres in Palestine, Gaza, Lebanon, and other Muslim lands, Erdogan underlined.

He said the "hidden and insidious enemy" attacking Muslims and Islamic values on a global scale is causing far more damage than what is being inflicted in Gaza, employing "every possible means and method but primarily waging its war through the media and, more recently, social media."

Erdogan also urged measures to protect Muslim values from falling into “digital belief systems.”

“Urgent measures must be taken and implemented to protect all Muslim values against digital belief systems,” he added.