Recep Tayyip Erdogan Quotes
I do not believe in a clash of civilizations in this world. As Turkey we are in an ideal position to be a bridge….We have been able to show that a Moslem country can have a strong democracy…. We have to have a common platform to fight against terrorism. All terrorists are bad no matter what religion the come from.
Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey (Welfare Party), Mayor of Istanbul, Turkey (Welfare Party), Interview PBS, Charlie Rose Show, September 27, 2007
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
In 1856 Turkey and its Ottoman Empire was struggling with new ideas and attempts to reform before they were hopelessly engulfed by modernism. A set of reform laws were passed in February of 1856 which horrified the conservatives and traditionalists. But interestingly the orthodoxy of the Greek minority were unhappy with their legal elevation if it meant that all would be equal. The Minister’s description of opposition to the reforms was somewhat self-serving in that he opposed most of the reforms and wanted to maintain the traditional Islamic state.
This problem which was so well described over a century ago in Egypt, still vexes most of the Islamic world.
Nigeria was about equally divided into Muslims who dominated the North and Christians and Animists who dominated the South. The former were intent on making Sharia—Islamic Law—the law of the nation and the latter were equally passionate to avoid it. Muslim protests got very violent including murdering innocent civilians; the Christians threatened to retaliate.
This is a particularly noteworthy quotation as Muslims are often accused of intolerance and here is a Muslim who argues that it is the responsibility of religious leaders to present religion in a tolerant manner.
The place of non-Muslims in an Islamic country, if any, has been a point of great anxiety among Christians, Jews, Bhais, and others. These have been persecuted and expelled from numerous Islamic countries while in others such as modern Turkey there is no problem. This particular cleric is seen as more “modern” and “liberal” than most. Even he has little concept of equality and freedom of religion.
Turkey under its great leader, Ataturk, underwent a major cultural revolution. Although Turkey is overwhelmingly Muslim, its constitution provides that it be a secular state with compulsory public non-sectarian education. They adopted a European style law and prohibited Sharia (Islamic law). The nation thrived as no other Muslim country has. Muslims, the world over, are divided on Turkey. For this Sheikh its secular government is an insult to Islam because there is complete separation of mosque and state. For others it is the model which all Muslim countries should emulate.
al-Mansur Abu Ali. Even though the Caliph was trying to return to Muslim Fundamentalism, there was a general tolerance that was far in advance of Christian societies at the time. It is dramatically at variance with many of the more rigorous Islamic countries today.
Half the population of Amsterdam was at the time non Western in origin including many Muslims. Cohen was one of the few major Dutch leaders who worked to make multiculturalism work. However, there were so many religious Muslim extremists already active in the Netherlands, that it was very difficult. The Dutch had elected a Muslim as a member of Parliament and whole many Muslims were very proud of this, the religious extremists were furious. She was a woman, and she did not believe or advocate that Holland adopt Sharia (Islamic) law. She was an Islamic reformer who was opposed to Sharia even in Muslim states. The most successful Islamic nation, Turkey, does not allow Sharia law, and Indonesia, the largest of the Muslim nations also does not follow it.
She is a leading American Arab who is a Syrian expatriate.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a Turkish politician serving as the current President of Turkey. He previously served as Prime Minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He founded the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2001, leading it to election victories in 2002, 2007, and 2011 before being required to stand down upon his election as President in 2014. He later returned to the AKP leadership in 2017 following the constitutional referendum that year. Coming from an Islamist political background and self-describing as a conservative democrat, he has promoted socially conservative and populist policies during his administration.
