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ANKARA, TURKEY - OCTOBER 28: Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends his party's group meeting at the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara, Turkey on October 28, 2020. They want to relaunch a crusade against Islam, President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan said on Wednesday (Oct.28) regarding the latest Islamophobic moves in European countries, particularly France. Erdogan once again assailed recent insulting remarks against Islam and the Muslim Prophet Muhammad. "It is a matter of honor for us to stand sincerely against attacks on our prophet," Erdogan told his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party's parliamentary group. "Unfortunately, we are in a period when hostility to Islam, Muslims and disrespect for the prophet, is spreading like cancer, especially among leaders in Europe," he added. Erdogan noted that France, and Europe in general, deserved better than the vicious, provocative and hateful policies of French President Emmanuel Macron. "We call on prudent Europeans to take action against this dangerous trend on behalf of themselves and their children for a bright future," he said. Earlier this month, President Emmanuel Macron accused French Muslims of "separatism" and described Islam as "a religion in crisis all over the world." Tensions further escalated after Samuel Paty, a teacher at Bois-d'Aulne College in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, was beheaded on Oct. 16 by Abdullakh Anzorov, an 18-year-old of Chechen origin, in retaliation for showing controversial cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad to his students during one of his classes on freedom of expression. (Footage by Turkish Presidency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)