Shifting away from NATO's narrative - Turkey's Foreign Minister calls out secret powers behind Charlie Hebdo shooting for sowing seeds of cultural conflict

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Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu condemned the Paris terror attack as an attempt to escalate new cultural conflict that could lead to the rise of Islamophobia, the Turkish Anadolu Agency reported.

"Whatever powers are behind this assault, they have exerted an effort to sow seeds of a new cultural conflict," Davutoglu was quoted as saying by the agency Thursday.

The foreign minister added that the Turkish people have to proclaim their "Muslim-Turkish identity without any hesitation" if they face Islamophobic reaction following the terror attack in Paris.

"It is high time for us as Muslim Turks to walk with our heads held high against all radicalism and rising Islamophobic attacks," Davutoglu said speaking at the Seventh Ambassadors Conference in Ankara.

He also urged Turkish ambassadors participating in the conference to resist the rise of anti-Turkey and anti-Islam propaganda.

The Wednesday attack on the magazine Charlie Hebdo by alleged Islamic extremists claimed the lives of 12 people and injured a further 11. The magazine previously received threats from Islamists for publishing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. Charlie Hebdo also posted a caricature of the leader of the Islamic State insurgent group on its Twitter account shortly before the attack.