Turkish union slams West over increasing racist attacks

By Mesut Zeyrek </p> <p>COLOGNE, Germany (AA) – Turkish-Islamic Union in Europe (ATIB) on Sunday criticized some Western countries, including Germany, for remaining idle in the face of increasing attacks on mosques.</p> <p>Speaking to media at the union’s headquarters in Cologne, Durmus Yildirim, head of ATIB, said that racial attacks and pressures on Turkish mosques and foundations increased in 2018.</p> <p>“I think assailants will be rounded up if it is wanted,” Yildirim said.</p> <p>“After all these incidents, it is not fair that assailants are not caught, or freed after rounding up. There are no deterrent penalties on this,” he added.</p> <p>On Dec. 30, an under-construction mosque in western Germany's Duisburg city was attacked by unidentified assailants, who defaced the building with racist slogans.</p> <p>Germany, a country of over 81 million people, has the second-largest Muslim population in Western Europe after France. Among the country’s nearly 4.7 million Muslims, 3 million are of Turkish origin. </p> <p>In recent years, the country has seen growing Islamophobia and hatred of migrants triggered by propaganda from far-right and populist parties. </p> <p> </p> <p>