It all started April 21, with news of the Manifesto against the New Anti-Semitism. The declaration, written by Philippe Val, former director of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, was signed by more than 250 intellectuals, artists and politicians, including former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The manifesto — which calls on theologians to delete Quranic verses that suggest the killing and punishment of Christians, Jews and non-believers — generated strong reactions among Muslims. Although the text does not explain how, the idea was that the abrogation of these parts of the Quran would lead to “French-style Islam.” Muslims in France and around the world reacted to the request by attempting to explain the verses within their historical contexts and dismissed the idea of removing sections as unacceptable.
Turkish reaction to the declaration came May 6, when Omer Celik, minister of EU affairs and chief negotiator for Turkish accession to the EU, posted a series of tweets in Turkish and in English criticizing the manifesto. He claimed the signatories of the document have an ideological affinity with the Islamic State. Turkish presidency spokesman Ibrahim Kalin posted two tweets, the first explaining the declaration and the second stating his view that the Quran cannot be altered and that if the West wants to solve the problem of anti-Semitism, the West should look at itself because the problem originated in Europe.
