ISTANBUL, Turkey — Europe has been stripped of its mask and its real face is one of “fascism, racism and Islamophobia,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday. USA Today reports.
Erdogan, speaking at a rally in support of constitutional changes that would tighten his grip on power, expressed anger at recent bans on speeches planned by Turkish ministers in Germany and the Netherlands. The ministers have been pressing Erdogan’s case to Turkish expats in Europe ahead of a crucial April 16 referendum on the changes, and increasing pushback from European leaders have caused tensions to rise.
“The West has thrown off its mask in the past days,” Erdogan said Sunday. “What we have seen is a clear manifestation of Islamophobia. I have said that I had thought Nazism was over, but that I was wrong. Nazism is alive in the West.”