Written by Dr. Ragheb Elsergany
The story of Erdogan
is of prominent
figure that could never be ignored as he enjoyed word-wide fame.
In point of fact, Erdogan is a very affecting
character. He was thought be many as a plain religious example out of
his
adherence to the teachings of Islam on one hand. On the other hand, many
charged
him of coarse secularism in the same point, however; it was a plain
charge of
absolute disbelief!
Many exalted his sense of nationalism
and his love for his home, Turkey. Others charged Erdogan of treason in
favor
of Zionists and subordination to the West. A third party highly
appreciated his
economic progress for Turkey, however; some accused him of doing nothing
to the
Turkish economy that the successes he achieved are nothing but illusions
misleading his people!
Erdogan is a character object to disagreement.
Habitually, Dr. Ragheb, on
comprehending the traits of one's character or examining a situation, I
have to
examine the first lines of his story.
The story of Erdogan is a profound
one through the years as its roots extend to the Ottoman caliphate,
while it
experiences many variant stages, that’s is it contains situations of
happiness
and others of sorrow, success and failure, victory and defeat.
Erdogan; a birth of leader
Recep Tayyip Erdogan was born in Istanbul, the Turkish capital on
February 26, 1954. His family was poor[1].
He spent his early childhood in Rize Province[2]
on the Black Sea border. His father was coast guard. When Erdogan
reached the
age of 13, his father decided to settle in Istanbul to improve his
standard of
living and secure a better future to his five children[3].
In Istanbul, Erdogan was enrolled to Hatip
Lisesi Schools. He was nicknamed Sheikh Recep out of his religious sense
and
pity. Therefore, he took part in the classes of sheikh Asa`d Joshqun,
head of
the Naqshbandi order in Istanbul[4].
At the high school, Erdogan
moved to Ayoub school where he practiced his concerns related to Turkey
impressed by Islamic background consisted of his study for the sciences
of Shari`ah.
During secondary education,
Erdogan acted as pioneer in the various branches of the Turkish National
Student Union[5].
Erdogan then moved to the
university, where he joined the Faculty of Commerce and Economics at the
University of Marmara in Istanbul. He continued his political activists
where he became the head
of the youth branch affiliated to the Islamic National Safety Party[6].
Erdogan Was characterized by
strong and impressive character made him unique among his peers, along
with
his constant concern to the problems of the daily life of Turks,
especially
since Erdogan himself was forced to work in some humble activities such
as
selling lemonade and cookies[7]
in order to make money to help his father and to provide education
expenses[8].
As well, Erdogan was known for his
interest in sports since his early youth where he uses to practice
football regularly
during Undergraduate[9]
this phase in the life of Erdogan was the beginning of the fame of
Erdogan and
the appearance of his abilities and leadership skills among the cadres
of the
Islamic movement of Turkey.
Erdogan moved from the playgrounds of
football to the fields of politics, and moved from the National Union of
the
Turkish Students to where he headed the youth department in the branch
of the Party
in Istanbul as he caught the attention of the Islamic leader Najm Ad-Din
Erbakan who was in charge of Safety Party at that time.
Najm Ad-Din Erbakan and Erdogan met
together where the latter won the confidence of the former. Meetings
regularly
joined them till the time when the Turkish military to stage a coup
d'etat
against in 1980. This in turn made Erdogan to witness closely the first
confrontation between the Islamists and the military[10].
Three years after the
military coup on April 24, 1983, most restrictions on political activity
were cleared,
and then the political parties were allowed to be reformed again. "The
Islamic Welfare Party" was one of the parties that formed in this
period.
Erdogan in "The
Islamic Welfare Party";
As
soon as "The Islamic Welfare Party" was publicly to light Erdogan
joined it and very soon he became a leading figure in the party and the
most
powerful leader in Istanbul.
Just
two years after, Erdogan headed a branch in the "Welfare Party" in
Istanbul[11].
Uniquely,
Erdogan managed the affairs of the "Welfare Party" branch in a way
deemed
a momentum for the party in Istanbul by the time[12].
Also,
during this period, Erdogan became a member of the Central Council for
the
Welfare Party that matter allowed him to participate in decision-making.
In the
meantime, Erdogan was not isolated from for the care of leader Erbakan
that he declared
it that he holds Erdogan his successor; due to faith, resolve and
sacrifice
Erdogan characterized with. Moreover, strikingly, at this time, Erbakan
was
describing himself as realistic, while Erdogan is seen as inflexible and
overenthusiastic[13].
Erdogan
then became one of the prominent leaders of the Welfare Party, hence,
the party
nominated for the membership of the Turkish Parliament in 1991, but he
could
not win the seat[14].
Yet, this failure did not discourage him from his reformatory course
which
crossed off the municipal boundaries of Beyoglu to spread in other
districts of
Istanbul.
Over
days, Erdogan became very famous and known of hard work and concern for
the
demands of the public besides honesty.
This
condition of Erdogan worked out through heading the office of
municipality of Istanbul in 1994 under the chairmanship of mayor of
Istanbul[15],
the great historical and ancient city in the sight of Turks along with
its historical
and geographical importance in Turkey.
Erdogan; Mayor of Istanbul
Erdogan,
through his genius management for human resources and financial affairs,
provoked the potentials of people in Istanbul.
Erdogan
once again retrieved their self confidence and their ability to promote
their
city. To illustrate, Erdogan eliminated the garbage problem for its bas
impact
both psychologically and hygienically. As well, he eliminated the air
pollution
problem in Istanbul which for long time disturbed its people.
Erdogan
adopted many measures to wisely ensure the use of municipal funds.
Firmly, Erdogan
confronted corruption so that he settled the debts of Istanbul, which
exceeded
two billion dollars on holding the office Istanbul, however; he provided
a
surplus of cash invested in the favor of Istanbul amounted to four
billion
dollars[16]
Erdogan and imprisonment
Clearly
visible are the meritorious works of Erdogan to Istanbul that is
acknowledged
by all even his politician opponents[17].
This acknowledgment overreached the local level to the international one
that
Erdogan was honored by the United Nations for his meritorious works
during his
tenure for Istanbul[18]
It
is astonishing that all the meritorious works of Erdogan that locally
and
internationally acknowledged have not satisfied the secular Turks as
when
Erdogan discussed one of their fundamentals in one of his speeches, they
indifferently ousted him from his office.
In
the course of a visit Erdogan paid to Siirt Province on 12/12/1997, he
delivered a speech and chanted the following verses of poetry;
Our
mosques; our barracks
Our
mosques, barracks, our domes, helmets
Our
minarets, bayonets, our soldiers, the worshipers
This
holly army guarding our sacred religion[19]
These
verses caused Erdogan to be charged of instigation to the religious
hatred, so the
State Security Court in Dyar Bakr city sentenced him to one year
imprisonment
and deprivation of all political activities over the life[20]
Erdogan and the" Virtue Party" at odds;
On
June 18, 1997 AD, the Turkish army executed what was called "white
coup" which ended up with outlawing the Welfare Party. This stance was
not
a surprise for Islamists, however; they expected that at any moment.
Thus, they
put a project to found a party succeeds the Welfare Party in case it is
dissolved.
The new party was "The Virtue" where Rajai Kutan was elected to its
presidency in December 1998[21].
Therefore,
after Erdogan release from imprisonment that lasted four months due to
political
amnesty[22],
he embarked on declaring his political project for change in Turkey
which necessitates modification of the traditional old procedures that
the Islamists adopted
in Turkey.
The
period after Erdogan released from prison was a new political start for
him
that he reconsidered many issues differently and had many objections to
the way
his mentor Erbakan adopts.
Then,
the Turkish Constitutional Court decided in June 2001 to dissolve the
Islamic "Virtue
Party", on charges that it is a continuation of the Islamic "Welfare
Party"[23].
Erdogan,
the leader of the youth, who are known in the Islamic movements as "
Moderate Generation", inside the "Virtue Party" struggled a lot
to rectify their ideas and limit their aspirations to avoid any internal
clash
among the Islamists.
Over
time and aggravation of crises impeded Erbakan Movement, the youth of
the
movement began expressing dissatisfaction aiming at enabling them to
present
their own vision namely to change the strategy of the Movement on
dealing with
the Turkish state in all the political spectrum, especially the
military, and
that it is time to reduce the confrontational method adopted by the
majors "elders"
of the Movement on dealing with the military institution.
The
"Welfare Party" was dissolved and the "Virtue Party" was formed
adopted the approach of Erbakan after the "Moderate Generation"
failed to head it. Throughout this period, these youth made no attempts
of
dissension.
Dissolving
the "Virtue Party" made the youth more persuaded of the necessity to
reconsider affairs by the Islamists in a way suits the Turkish
circumstances,
these youth were called in Turkey "The contemporary innovators".
The establishment of the "Justice and Development" Party;
Resolutely,
Erdogan continued his attempts for reform. Erdogan was not alone that
his
veiled wife Amina, 1978 marriage consummation, who is adherent to the
teachings
of Islam joined him and his close fried `Abdullah Jaul as well.
Hence
the establishment of this new generation led by the young leader Erdogan
for a
new party and they chose a redolent name the "Justice and
Development" Party. On the other hand, the older generation established a
new party called "Happiness" which adopted the approach of Erbakan in
the same four parties that preceded it[24]
Actually,
the dissident party of Erdogan confused the many, though its impacts
overstepped
the Turkish boundaries.
Any
way and regardless of the conflict views over this point, truth be told,
the
lapsed years and the different situations made me assuredly claim that
the example
of the Turkish "Justice and Development" Party especially that of the
leader Erdogan became a source of pride and esteem for every Muslim, not
only
in Turkey, however; overseas.
Turkey's state before Erdogan assuming power
Turkey witnessed the third millennium in deterioration
affecting all sectors of the state, especially after the parliamentary
session
1999 - 2002 was just like chaos. It was a state of continuous scandals
and spread
of corruption, as well as the economic situation approaches to
bankruptcy which
led to the collapse of Turkish stock market and the occurrence of a deep
economic crisis in February 2001 as a result[25].
Aside
from the problem of unemployment as one of the manifestations of the
severe
economic crisis, the headscarf issue was one of the hottest local issues
at the
Turkish political arena for the last twenty years of the last century,
however;
this issue had not been finally settled. Above and more, the Kurdish
issue as
one of the biggest problems faced by any Turkish Government, since the
word
"Kurds" is very embarrassing in Turkey.
As
the internal conditions faced many serious challenges, there were many
of the
thorny issues of Foreign Affairs waiting for settlement; especially the
issue
of dealing and coordinating with the International Monetary Fund and the
issue
of joining the European Union, and Turkey's position towards the
Iraqi-America crisis.
Erdogan's government;
2002 elections and changing the political map of Turkey
The
Turkish Parliamentary elections were held in November 3, 2002 AD and a
big
surprise took place, namely "Justice and Development" Party led by
Recep Tayyip Erdogan - the former mayor of Istanbul, won a landslide
victory that
surpassed all optimistic expectations where it won 34.2% of the votes
equivalent
to 363 seats out of 550 in the Turkish parliament[26]!What was the stance of Erdogan over the liability?
"Justice and Development
Party led by Erdogan took the advantage thoroughly that is he avoid all
confrontations with the military and secularists, rather; he won their
confidence the matter could not be secured under the leadership of
Erbakan,
the basic element to such conflict[27].
At
the same time, Erdogan gave the priority to the relationship with Europe
and the advancement of the Turkish economy and avoidance to provoke the
conflict
over some thorny issues; such as the veil, as one of the hottest debates
between
the Islamist and the secularists sponsored by the army. Accordingly, his
first
address after winning the elections stated that his party will abide by
the
principles of secularism provided in the Turkish Constitution[28].
And
who does not understand the true state of
Turkish affairs would misunderstand Erdogan.
Erdogan
is a ware of the fact that he lives in a country full of contradictions
that is
Turkey is secular and Islamist, Ottoman and European, dictator and
democratic, self-rule
and military-rule, streets full of Islam rites and a constitution
confronting
it.
Erdogan
began his first term of the Turkish government is determined to achieve a
comprehensive renaissance in all aspects of life in Turkey. This is to
establish his government on one hand, and to regain the Turkish esteem
regionally
and internationally on the other.
As
a matter of fact, he succeeded in the first period clearly to achieve
mutation
came into view in many sectors of the Turkish state.
This
success was not the spur of the moment, however; the fruits of efforts
in the
different sectors.
The
secret of the great success achieved by Erdogan at this stage lies in
four aspects
that captured the concern of "Welfare and Justice" party;
First:
improving the economic state
Second:
political truce with all the elements of Turkish society and its
political
forces
Third:
neutralizing the external powers through satisfactory speeches
reassuring the
international community, especially the United States of America and
Europe
Fourth:
re-consideration for the Turkish-Zionist relationship.
Parliamentary elections in 2007
the "Justice and Development" Party achieved
a landslide victory in parliamentary elections that took place on July
22, 2007.
it won 47% of the votes more than that of 2002 strikingly[29].
This in turn renewed the confidence of the Turkish
people in the government of "Justice and Development" Party, its
policies
and trends, especially in light of the popularity of high participation
rate of
85%.
This has enabled the "Justice and Development"
Party to form a government alone, after holding 341 seats in the new
Turkish parliament.
The reason for the decline in the number of seats of "justice
and development" if compared to 2002 elections to the increase of the
number of the representative parties in Parliament to three parties
which are: "Republican
People's Party" led by Deniz Baikal holding 119 seats, the " National
Government" Party holding 70 seats and the "AKP" holding the
majority, in addition to 24 seats for independents[30].
Immediately, Erdogan strengthened this victory through
inciting Abdullah Gul – the close friend and Minister of Foreign Affairs
of the
first Government of Erdogan - to run for the presidency of Turkey
immediately after
the expiry of the Turkish President, scheduled for the end of August
2007[31], that is, after parliamentary
elections one month only. This was the second strike directed to Ataturk
regime
in a short time!
Abdullah Gul made the oath of office in August 28,
2007 to rank the 11th president for Turkey after winning the support
of 337 deputies from the Turkish parliament[32]
on a historic occasion for his political background in the form of
experienced
Islamist in politics whether with his teacher Erbakan, or after joining
Erdogan
to establish the ruling "Justice and Development" Party.
[1]-
The official website of the Turkish party "Freedom and
Justice" http://eng.akparti.org.tr/english/index.html
[2]-
Turkish province located in the Northeast on the borders of the Black
Sea, and its capital city of Rize, an area of 3.792 km 2, with a
population of 365,938 people.
[3]-
Who is Recep Tayyip Erdogan? The British Broadcasting Corporation,
November 4, 2002.
[4]-
Erdoganism; whiff or storm? "Middle East in London" Magazine;
June 11, 2010, Vol; 11 518.
[5]-
The official website of Erdogan
[6]-
The leaders of the world. The life story of Erdogan, American Columbia
University.
[7]-
Who is Recep Tayyip Erdogan?, The British Broadcasting Corporation.
[8]-
The official website of Erdogan.
[9]-
The official website of Erdogan.
[10]-
Who is Recep Tayyip Erdogan?, The British Broadcasting Corporation.
[11]-
The official website of the Turkish party "Freedom and
Justice" http://eng.akparti.org.tr/english/index.html
[12]-
The official website of the Turkish party "Freedom and
Justice" http://eng.akparti.org.tr/english/index.html
[13]-
Muhammad Nur-Ruddin: "Erbakan and Erdogan; the realistic and the
most realistic", The Middle
East Newspaper, July 29, 2005 m, No. 9740
[14]-
The politician Erdogan, the most popular in Turkey, moheetwebsite,
November 18,2007.
[15]-
Erdoganism; whiff or storm? "Middle East in London" Magazine;
June 11, 2010, Vol; 11 518
[16]-
The official website of the Turkish party "Freedom and
Justice" http://eng.akparti.org.tr/english/index.html
[17]-
Who is Recep Tayyip Erdogan?, The British Broadcasting Corporation
[18]-
Turkey Today Newspaper, 10/1/2011and the official website of Habitat
(http://www.unhabitat.org/) as the donor of the award.
[19]-
Erdoganism; whiff or storm? "Middle East in London" Magazine;
June 11, 2010, Vol; 11 518
[20]-
Source: Report of "Human Rights Watch" American
Organization for Human Rights 1999. The report is published on the
official
website of the organization.
[21]-
"Turkey; secular or Islamist" by Walid Radwan, p. 277.
[22]-
The official website of the Turkish party "Freedom and
Justice" http://eng.akparti.org.tr/english/index.html
[23]-
A meeting with Rajai Kutan, the chief of the Turkish party "the
Virtue" conducted by Al-Jazeera on 26/6/2001 and the wording of the
meeting is published at its website.
[24]-
Kamal Habib "Religion and State in Turkey" p. 312.
[25]-
Michael Nofal "Turkey's return to the East, the new trends for
the Turkish policies" p. 65
[26]-
The Emirate albayan newspaper, 5/11/2002.
[27]-
Rashid Al-Ghanushi " The Turkish Justice; exceeding limits or
development"? http://www.alasr.ws,
1/9/2007/
[28]-
BBC, 4/11/2002
[30]-
News/Jazeera net 23/7/2007
[31]-
The message of Ankara, the Egyptian Al-Ahram Newspaper, v, 44078
[32]-
"Middle East in London" Magazine; August 29, 2007, Vol; 10501
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