Erdogan urges West to counter Islamophobia

ISTANBUL - Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday condemned the deadly attack on two mosques in New Zealand, saying it illustrated the growing hostility towards Islam "idly" watched by the world.

The attacks on the Christchurch mosques left at least 49 dead, with one gunman -- identified as an Australian extremist -- apparently livestreaming the assault and publishing a manifesto online.

"With this attack, hostility towards Islam, that the world has been idly watching and even encouraging for some time, has gone beyond individual harassment to reach the level of mass killing," Erdogan said at the funeral of a former Turkish minister.

Turkish media reported the manifesto contained specific references to Turkey and ridding the famed Hagia Sophia in Istanbul of its minarets. Now a museum, the building was once a church before being turned into a mosque during the Ottoman empire.

The gunman made threats to kill Turkish people "anywhere west of the Bosphorus" and referred to Turks as "roaches".

The manifesto also expressed a desire to "drive a wedge between the nations of NATO that are European" and Turkey in order to "return" Turkey to its "true position of a foreign, enemy force".

Turkey has been a member of the NATO military alliance since 1952.

"It is clear that the understanding represented by the killer that also targets our country, our people and myself, has started to take over Western societies like a cancer," Erdogan said.

The Turkish leader, who often criticises Islamophobic attitudes, called for the West to act to prevent similar attacks.

"If measures are not taken right away, news of other disasters will follow this one... I am calling on the world, in particular the West, to take quick measures," he said.

After Friday prayers, dozens of people gathered outside Istanbul's Fatih Mosque -- one of the city's main mosques -- chanting condemnation of the attack and waving signs saying "Stop global terrorism" and "Crusader Savagery in New Zealand".

Erdogan had earlier condemned the attack on Twitter: "May Allah have mercy on the victims and grant a speedy recovery to the wounded."

Speaking in Brussels, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also condemned the killing, blaming "irresponsible politicians who incite hatred against Muslims and propagate xenophobia".

"There are lessons that everybody needs to learn from this attack, especially in the EU, in the members of the EU," he said after meeting with EU officials.

"Hate language used against the Muslims should not be considered as a part of freedom of expression."

Meanwhile, Ankara opened an inquiry after it emerged that the man alleged to be the gunman made several visits to Turkey, an official said.

A visitor -- believed to be the 28-year-old Australian arrested and charged with murder in New Zealand -- "visited Turkey several times and stayed for a long period on the country," the Turkish official said without giving dates.

"We think that the suspect could have been to other countries (from Turkey) in Europe, Asia and Africa. We are investigating the suspect's movements and contacts in the countries," added the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Sofia earlier said it too was investigating after discovering that the gunman might have visited Bulgaria in November 2018.

A man believed to be him spent a week in the country supposedly to "visit historical sites and study the history of the Balkan country," Bulgaria's chief prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov said.

He said the inquiry would establish if this was "correct or if he had other objectives".

The same man also made a short visit to the Balkans in December 2016, travelling by bus across Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina.