German Foreign Ministers and Justice on Tuesday called for a stronger control of the mosques that relay the “propaganda” of the Turkish president, the latest episode of a German-Turkish crisis that has worsened for months.
Earlier, German diplomacy chief Sigmar Gabriel accused Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s supporters of harassing his wife.
“We have to be careful that the Muslim communities of Germany do not fall under the influence of President Erdogan,” foreign ministers Sigmar Gabriel and Justice Heiko Maas write in a rostrum at the Spiegel.
“In no case can we tolerate parallel societies or even counter-companies,” the two ministers added. “Nor should we underestimate the dangers that emanate from the Erdogan state organizations in Germany,” according to the two Social Democratic leaders who want Germany to “protect people who protest against cultural warfare And the propaganda of Erdogan “.
The appeal came after Erdogan urged the German Turks not to vote for three of the major parties in the 24 September parliamentary elections, including the SPD and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), “Enemies” of Turkey.
Germany is home to the largest Turkish diaspora in the world, with some 3 million people. Many of their mosques or religious communities are directly managed by the Turkish Ministry of Religious Affairs through its organization, the Ditib, which sends imams to Germany.
In particular since Turkey’s failed coup in Turkey in July 2016, Turkish associations have been accused of relaying Erdogan’s increasingly aggressive policy towards German leaders.
A case of espionage by an imam of the Ditib shook the community and pushed Berlin to harden the tone.
The head of the German diplomacy also accused Tuesday of supporters of the Turkish government for threatening his wife because they felt encouraged by aggressive prominences of Mr. Erdogan.
The Social Democratic candidate in the chancellery, Martin Schulz, accuses the Turkish leader of “using the language of a brute counter instead of that of a head of state”.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan multiplied the invective towards the German politicians, directly attacking Mr. Gabriel.
Stéphane © armenews.com