ANKARA (CIHAN) - Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said on Monday that using the terms Islam and terrorism together is not right because Islam prohibits fanaticism and terror cannot be made in the name of the religion.
Delivering a speech to the 3rd Religion Council in Ankara, Sezer said that terrorism is a crime of humanity and cannot be absolved.
Sezer stated, "We see Turkish people involved the in terrorist activities abroad and using religion to justify it. These people, although few in number, are Turkish citizens and received a Turkish education. To question where we were at fault is an obligation of us, for the Turkish people and the next generation".
Sezer noted that savagery and fanaticism have no place in religion and Islam. Sezer added that, "Every person in a secular society has the right to practice his own religion. Religious beliefs occur in the private internal world of the person and secularism regulates the external world of the person".