Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated, on Saturday, that the Turks must defend the rights of Jerusalem, even with their lives, stressing that it is an "honor of the Islamic nation," according to the Turkish Anadoul agency.

"Let us all put our differences aside, and meet at the common denominator of Islam in the face of attacks on our holy places," Erdogan said in statements reported by .Anadoul agency

"We notice the rise of ideological extremism, which has the same practices of ISIS or Gulen, but rather we see heads of state encouraging it," he added.

Erdogan described "Islamophobia" as a fast-spreading virus, saying: "Besides Corona, this year we faced the fastest spreading virus of anti-Islam."

He pointed out "everyone followed the abuses against the Prophet Muhammad recently under the pretext of freedom of expression in France," warning that "the offense to the holy places of others has nothing to do with this freedom." 

"Some people who criticized the holy places do not allow any Islami defence after the attack on the Muslims' values, and they justify this attack with the freedom of thought and the media," Erdogan added.