Erdoğan meets boy behind ‘Cake Not Hate’ campaign

ISTANBUL

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on July 22 received Joshua Harris, a 12-year-old autistic boy known for his “Cake Not Hate” campaign.

Erdoğan welcomed Harris at his presidency’s Dolmabahçe office in Istanbul. Harris launched the campaign by distributing cakes at mosques in the U.K. following anti-Muslim hate incidents.

The 12-year-old boy is visiting mosques across the country and handing out cakes to promote love and solidarity amid the rise of far-right rhetoric in the U.K.

Joshua Harris, or “The Joshie-Man” as he is known to his social media fans, has handed out hundreds of his baked treats to congregations in London, Leicester, Luton, Birmingham and his home city of Peterborough.

His campaign came to life after an Islamophobic attack on a mosque in Peterborough in last October.

The perpetrator, Alexander Hooper, 57, entered Masjid Darassalaam and abused worshipers preparing for the Fajr prayer, and physically assaulted a police officer who arrived on the scene. He later pleaded guilty to aggravated harassment and assaulting an emergency worker.

Harris previously faced backlash after speaking out against groups painting St. George’s cross and Union Jack flags on zebra crossings and roundabouts across the U.K. over the last summer after anti-migrant protests.

He has been to several countries, including Mexico, the United States and Brazil, giving away computers to children who are autistic and non-speaking.