Bekir Altaş, Secretary General of the Islamic Community Millî Görüş (IGMG), made a statement on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. “The unequal treatment of people on the basis of their origin and appearance is increasing. While some people are granted help and protection without reservation, others are rejected or deported to supposedly safe countries where war still continues,” said Altaş, and continued his statement as follows:

“On the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, people at Europe’s external borders become victims of racist selection because of their origin and appearance. While Europe is embracing and accepting refugees from Ukraine with commendable willingness, it turns back people from its borders, who are fleeing their countries for the same reasons and circumstances and deprive them of their most basic human rights.

The same applies to the people who have been waiting for many years at Europe’s external borders to be taken in. They try to survive in demonstrably inhumane conditions in refugee camps, freeze to death at EU borders due to freezing temperatures, die of diseases because they have no access to medical care or do not even make it to Europe because they drown in the Mediterranean due to the lack of a European sea rescue mission.

We witness people being divided into classes. Some are granted the right to life, others are ruthlessly denied it; some appear to be worthy of protection, others are brutally abandoned to their fate; some are accepted without reservation, others are deported to war-torn countries, where war still continues, with reference to supposedly safe areas.

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is a good opportunity to critically question this refugee policy, to put it to the test, especially according to ethical and moral principles. Otherwise, it is clear that we run the risk of losing this compass. As an Islamic community, we will continue to oppose this and repeat our demands unabated.

Our mosques and facilities, which have so far provided shelter for many people seeking protection, will continue to be open to all people in need – no matter where they come from, what they believe in or what language they speak.”