Erdoğan and Obama to open Turkish-Islamic community center in US

The presidents of Turkey and the U.S. will open the Turkish-American Culture and Civilization Center in Maryland, Turkey's foreign minister said Sunday.

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu visited the center that also has a middle-sized mosque on a three-day visit to Washington, and lunched with representatives from the American Muslim community.

"During a phone call, President Erdoğan asked Obama to accompany him in opening the center together and President Obama accepted his offer'in principle,'" Çavuşoğlu told the representatives.

If Obama's schedule allows at the time of the opening, he will accompany Erdoğan.

The complex is built on a large area and consists of a coffee house, gift shops, cultural center, amphitheater and exhibition hall, computer lab, library, Turkish bath/hamam and guest house.

Çavuşoğlu said the center has been constructed as a place where all Muslims in the U.S. could come together and worship freely.

He said Muslims have faced increased challenges across the world, particularly due to rising Islamophobia.

"Our duty is to tell the true Islam which is a religion of peace. Islam does not tolerate terrorism. But unfortunately al-Qaeda and ISIS terror groups have tarnished the image of Islam," he said.

The self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is neither Islamic nor is a state, he added.

Recalling that Turkey has contributed to the construction of the center in Maryland, the top diplomat said Turkey has contributed to development and infrastructure projects in Muslim countries, citing Somalia, Djibouti and Myanmar.





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