Daily Times

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday accused the European Union’s (EU) top court of starting a ‘crusade’ against Islam after a ruling, which allowed European companies to ban employees from wearing religious or political symbols including the ‘Islamic headscarf’.

“The European Union’s court, The European Court of Justice, my esteemed brothers, have started a crusade against the (Muslim) crescent, ”Erdogan said in a televised speech. “Where is freedom of religion?” he said, referring to the court ruling this week.

“Shame on your European Union!” Erdogan said, referring to EU law,“Shame on your values. Shame on your law and justice!Europe is swiftly rolling back to the days before World War II,”

The European Court of Justice said that it does not constitute direct discrimination if a firm has an internal rule banning the wearing of any political, philosophical or religious sign.

The response came as Turkey is locked in a mighty row with Germany, the Netherlands and other EU states over the blocking of Turkish officials from holding rallies abroad in the campaign for a referendum on expanding Erdogan’s powers.

Turkey last month said that it was lifting a historic ban on female officers, wearing the Islamic headscarf in the country’s officially secular armed forces, the last institution where the wearing of the garment was forbidden.