Erdogan criticises smart phone users in prayers in Mecca

“People are wasting their time with their phones even in Mecca, and in el-Masjid al-Nabai in Medina, instead of dealing with prayers and meditation. Unfortunately, technology, which is needed to facilitate our lives, is gradually cutting us off from life --” said Erdogan at the 4th International Congress of Technology Dependence in Istanbul, organised by Turkey's Green Moon Association.

Our “Bota also belongs to individuals who try to live a life without technology, as long as those who wait for hours to get the new model of a telephone brand... The main issue here is how we understand technology and where we will put it in our lives”, he added.

Erdogan also urged decisionmakers, families and educators “not to silence” on the risk of addiction to smartphones, reports “Hurriyet Daily News”, Periscopi broadcast.

Every day we don't act, the problem will increase. Not only our present, but our future is also threatened. Turkey is currently in a better situation on this issue compared to other countries, but the threat is approaching us as an avalanche,” he said.

The president also stressed that Turkey “is not technology” and “has no problem with innovation, science or information sources”.

“We don't see where technological and scientific developments come from. We see what purpose people are used for and how they affect people's lives,” Erdogan said.

He added that technology should be “most life against the country's nature”. As a result, he said, Muslims cannot lead the weapons of mass destruction, such as atomic bomb or nuclear missile, because this technology is “against the Muslim mentality” and the Islamic thought is focused on “justice, mercy and division”.

“What we need to oppose is the mentality that legitimises the use of such weapons against innocent people”, Erdogan said. /Periscopi/