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| About 40,000 pro-Erdogan supporters turned up in Cologne on Sunday |
Tension between supporters and
opponents of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following the failed coup on
15 July has been growing in Turkish communities all over Europe.
We
take a look at how President Erdogan is regarded by some of the larger
Turkish diasporas, and at how the political conflict in Turkey is being
played out across Europe.
Germany
Sunday's protest in Cologne, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where about a third of German Turks live, had been organised as an "anti-coup" protest. |
| The "anti-coup" demonstration in Cologne showed overwhelming support for President Erdogan |
With an estimated three million people of Turkish origin, Germany is home to the largest Turkish diaspora.
Of those with Turkish nationality, 60% voted for President Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) in last November's election, a bigger share than he received in Turkey itself.
Whereas German politicians and the German media are increasingly critical of Mr Erdogan's crackdown, Germany's Turkish community has largely applauded him for defending democracy.
They identify with Mr Erdogan, who was brought up in an ordinary family from the provinces. They also see him as the driving motor behind Turkey's economic boom.
"The people want to move forward and they see Erdogan as a strong figure. If not, the people fear a civil war similar to the situation in Iraq or Syria," Talat Kamran, of the Mannheim Institute for Integration and Inter-religious Dialogue told Deutsche Welle.
But not all German Turks are Erdogan supporters.
There are reports of increasing tension between his supporters and followers of the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.
The leader of the German Greens, Cem Ozdemir, complained to German media that critics of Mr Erdogan in Germany's Turkish community were being targeted.