European far right is Daesh 'sibling': Turkish minister

By Sorwar Alam

ANKARA (AA) - Far-right political movements in Europe are the “twin siblings of Daesh” terrorist organization, Turkish EU Affairs Minister and Chief Negotiator Omer Celik said Thursday.

"Daesh and far-right or racist movements feed into each other. They both threaten political values,” Celik said on his official Twitter account, referring to the rise of the far right across the European continent.

The rise of right-wing populists across Europe, many of them espousing anti-Muslim and anti-migrant rhetoric, has alarmed Turkey in recent months.

The Turkish minister said the rise of far-right movements “means that the color of democracy is fading away” from the political map of Europe.

“All of the Islamophobic and anti-semitic attitudes in Europe are conducive to Daesh,” Celik said noting that the ideological fight against terror was more important than the physical and material conflict.

He urged Europe to fight against Islamophobia and anti-semitism as “the first step to the real fight against Daesh”.

“Erecting walls in between democracies and people only brings support to Daesh,” said Celik.