ANKARA, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Turkish president accused a European Court of Justice ruling, which allows employers to ban employees from wearing the Islamic headscarf, of starting a struggle between Christian "cross" and "crescent" of Islamic world, local media reported.

"Where is the liberty of religion? They have started a struggle between the cross and crescent," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday at a rally in Sakarya province ahead of April 16 referendum campaign for constitutional amendment.

He suggested that Europe is moving toward the days just before World War II, private NTV reported.

The controversial decision drew criticism from Turkish politicians. Turkey's EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Omer Celik stated during an interview with the A Haber news channel Wednesday that "the decision was influenced by the trend of Islamophobia (in Europe)."

Bekir Bozdag, Turkish Justice Minister, described the decision as the "apocalypse of justice."

"It is a violation of human rights," he said on Wednesday, adding that "forcing people to choose between practicing their religion and their jobs does not comply with human rights, EU values or with law and justice."

"The European Court of Justice, which is responsible for protecting the joint justice in Europe, has bombarded justice," the minister said.