Rising Islamophobia, racism and xenophobia in Europe threaten the safety of approximately 5 million Turkish citizens living in European countries, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim Kıran.
Speaking during a session of Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee in Ankara on Thursday, Kıran underlined the problem and urged a diplomatic solution to address such concern, saying: "We should deal with this problem strategically."
Turkey also raised serious concern after a primary school, the European Alevi Union – a religious group – and private vehicles, belonging to Turkish migrants, were all vandalized with swastikas in Cologne, Germany.
Turkey's Consul General in Cologne Ceyhun Erciyes condemned the attacks that occurred Wednesday and said Ankara is closely following the situation.
"We requested information from the police. They confirmed the incident and said the investigation is continuing," said Erciyes. "We are concerned about the increase of racist attacks, and we expect those responsible to be caught," he added.
The European Alevi Union also called for everyone to take a stand against the racist attacks.
Last December, Germany's integration minister expressed similar concerns over Islamophobia, warning that it posed a "real danger" to social cohesion.
Presenting the annual government report on the state of integration in the capital Berlin, Annette Widmann-Mauz said: "Right-wing extremism, anti-Semitism and hostility toward Muslims are a very real danger that we have to combat in a consequent and sustainable manner."
Germany has witnessed growing anti-Muslim hate crimes in recent years sparked by hate propaganda by far-right parties. In 2018, more than 100 mosques and religious institutions were attacked by far-right extremists. Police recorded 813 hate crimes against Muslims last year, including verbal insults, threatening letters and physical attacks, which led to at least 54 Muslims being wounded.
