next Image 1 of 2

prev Image 2 of 2

Ignoring widespread criticism, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday again showed excerpts of a video taken by the attacker who killed 50 people in mosques in New Zealand, to denounce what he called rising hatred and prejudice against Islam.

Speaking at a campaign rally in the northern town of Eregli, Erdogan also criticized New Zealand and Australia for sending troops to Turkey in the World War I Gallipoli campaign, claiming their motive was anti-Islam-oriented. He called on New Zealand to amend its laws to ensure that the attacker is severely punished.

"What business did you have here? We had no issues with you, why did you come all the way over here?" Erdogan said. "The only reason: we're Muslim, and they're Christian."

Erdogan told supporters: "If New Zealand fails to hold the attacker accountable, one way or another we will hold him to account."

Since the weekend, the Turkish leader has been using clips of the Christchurch attack to denounce Islamophobia during campaign rallies, as he tries to stoke nationalist and religious sentiments ahead of March 31 local elections.

The video, which was blurred but had clear sounds of automatic gunfire, has been shown to thousands of people at the rallies and aired live on Turkish television, despite efforts by New Zealand to halt its spread.

The video prompted widespread condemnation. Facebook said it removed 1.5 million versions of the video in the first 24 hours after the attack.

Turkey's main opposition party has also criticized Erdogan for showing the clip "for the sake of (winning) three or five votes" at the elections.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Monday he told his Turkish counterpart the video doesn't represent New Zealand. Peters is due in Turkey later this week to attend a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul as an observer.

The New Zealand Embassy in Ankara also said Peters had raised the issue with a Turkish delegation in New Zealand. It said the embassy in Ankara and as well as other embassies worldwide had requested that media outlets not show the footage.

In inflammatory comments on Monday, Erdogan suggested that anyone who comes to Turkey with anti-Muslim sentiments would be sent back in coffins, "like their grandfathers were" during the Gallipoli campaign. He made the comments in Canakkale province, northwestern Turkey which is home to the historic battlefields, on the anniversary of a World War I Turkish naval victory.

Hundreds of New Zealanders and Australians travel to Canakkale each year for Anzac Day on April 25, to mark the start of the battle of Gallipoli and to commemorate the dead.