President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the funeral of Prof. Beril Dedeoğlu, who was a member of the Presidential Security and Foreign Policies Council and the Council of Higher Education, in Istanbul.

"I would like to take this occasion to vehemently condemn the attack in New Zealand against Muslims who convened to perform the Friday prayer," President Erdoğan said.

"The Islamophobia, which has long been watched and even encouraged in the world, has now, following this attack, crossed the line of individual harassment and reached the level of mass murder. It is evident that the attack is the outcome of long planning and motivation, therefore cannot be palliated by calling it an impulsive act," President Erdoğan underlined.

Pointing out that the mentality, which the murderer who also targeted Turkiye, the Turkish people and himself represents, is rapidly spreading among western societies like cancer, President Erdoğan said: "There is a true terrorist, a killer who made his own assessments by separating my country as Anatolia and the West."

"Western countries must rapidly take measures against rising Islamophobia"

Stating that unless precautions are taken immediately, new ones will inevitably be added to this tragic news, President Erdoğan said: "We call on the entire world, especially the Western countries to rapidly take measures against this perilous course of events, which threatens the entire mankind."

Also on this official twitter account, Turkish President Erdoğan said: "I strongly condemn the terror attack against the Al Noor Mosque in New Zealand and Muslim worshippers."

"May Allah have mercy on the victims and grant a speedy recovery to the wounded. On behalf of my country, I offer my condolences to the Islamic world and the people of New Zealand, who have been targeted by this deplorable act - the latest example of rising racism and Islamophobia."

ILKHA