Recep Tayyip Erdogan Quotes

There is no moderate or immoderate Islam. Islam is Islam and that's it.

You cannot put women and men on an equal footing. It is against nature. They were created differently. Their nature is different. She should not laugh loudly in front of all the world and should preserve her decency at all times.

The best examples of lies can be found there. To me, social media is the worst menace to society.

According to this view, democracy is a product of western culture, and it cannot be applied to the Middle East which has a different cultural, religious, sociological and historical background.

The knife in the hand of a murderer kills, but if you give it to a doctor he will heal with it.

Our religion has defined a position for women (in society): motherhood. Some people can understand this, while others can't. You cannot explain this to feminists because they don't accept the concept of motherhood.

We will not leave this nation at the mercy of YouTube and Facebook.

My own daughters weren't able to study in Turkey because of their headscarves, so they went to the United States.

If we look at history, we will see that regimes which persecute [their people] do not remain standing.

But foremost, I do not subscribe to the view that Islamic culture and democracy cannot be reconciled.

It is impossible to preserve my friendship with people who are allegedly leaders when they are attacking their own people, shooting at them, using tanks and other forms of heavy weaponry.

As a politician who cherishes religious conviction in his personal sphere, but regards politics as a domain belonging outside religion, I believe that this view is seriously flawed.

I don't want to use the term "nuclear weapons" because those people in Iran who have authority say they are not building nuclear weapons. I make an appeal to the countries who do have nuclear weapons. They don't consider them a nuclear threat. But let's say a country that doesn't have nuclear weapons gets involved in building them, then they are told by those that already have nuclear weapons that they oppose [such a development]. Where is the justice in that?

We'll eradicate Twitter. I don't care what the international community says. Everyone will witness the power of the Turkish Republic. There is now a scourge that is called Twitter. The best examples of lies can be found there. To me, social media is the worst menace to society. They came to me with this case of Twitter ignoring case of smeared housewife. I said, let's solve this.

However, democracy cannot be defined as the existence of parliaments and elections alone.

Forsake Alcohol, eat grapes instead!

This (presidential) system will not bear any resemblance to dictatorships under the same name in Africa and Asia, (It) will be unique to Turkey, it will be like a bee making honey, taking something from every flower and giving us a taste of a truly different honey.

Even in the Western world, one cannot argue that the ideal has been achieved given the existence of issues like the integration, participation and representation of Muslim citizens, and occasional but lingering anti-Semitism.

Turkey is the gateway to the east for Europe, and the gateway to Europe for the east. We have a bridging function that Europe shouldn't underestimate.

I went back in British history. Some 204 people died there after a mine collapsed in 1838. In 1866, 361 miners died in Britain. In an explosion in 1894, 290 people died there.

Similarly, it is argued that the culture of Islam is incompatible with democracy. Basically, this conventional perspective of the Middle East thus contends that democracy in that region is neither possible nor even desirable

A lasting solution to this problem will have an exceptionally positive influence foremost on the peoples of Palestine and Israel, as well as on the region and the international community.

If some people keep saying that the press is still not free in Turkey, then I would like to say this: there has been a coup attempt in Turkey. And there are people siding with the coup plotters. And there are - there is also media outlets that have been against - that are against the coup attempt. So my question is that against the media that supported the coup, will the Turkish justice, judicial system, not take any steps? Of course it will.

We are seeing with great grief that America remains quiet as Turkey struggles against terrorism. Because there were promises given to us, and they need to be kept. If not, we can take care of our own business.

The Muslim world and its subset the countries of the Middle East have been left behind in the marathon of political, economic and human development. For that, there is a tendency to blame others as the primary cause

Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb were not and never will be Jewish sites, but Islamic sites.

If the people allow something to happen, it's the right thing.

They cry press freedom, but (the raids) have nothing to do with it. We have no concern about what the EU might say, whether the EU accepts us as members or not, we have no such concern. Please keep your wisdom to yourself.

We are against the majority tyrannizing the minority. But we are definitely against the minority tyrannizing the majority.

Similarly, gender-equality, supremacy of law, political participation, civil society, and transparency are among the indispensable elements that are the imperatives of democratization.

There is an attempt to tarnish Turkey by using press freedom when it is in fact measures taken against terrorism, i dispute this. Nowhere in Europe or in other countries is there a media that is as free as the press in Turkey.

I should like to repeat what I stated recently in the Jeddah Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia: It won't be the religion, but rather the world-view of some of its followers that shall be made current.

Germany and Turkey are two countries that need each other. As political leaders we will leave our offices one day, but our people will remain and have to get along with each other. So we shouldn’t give them negative messages.

I am saying yes to criticism, but no to insults.

Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have to respect the Turkish Republic's laws

We won't allow the people to be devoured by YouTube, Facebook or others.

There are people who say that "Gül can't be my president". These people don't have good manners for and they should renounce their Turkish citizenship foremost this man will be chosen democratically by the people.

Therefore, the observation must be explicitly made: In the Middle East and in the Muslim world, suspicions linger concerning the objectives of the West and notably the US.

Paramount is the need to secure human rights. The form of rule should be such that the citizen does not have to fear the State, but gives it direction and confidently participates in its administration.

I take the debate on the method of promoting democracy seriously

Several experts on the Middle East concur that the Middle East cannot be democratized

When there is no such thing as religious culture and moral education, serious social problems such as drug addiction and racism fill the gap.

There is a trouble called Twitter, the finest lies are here. Nowadays, social media is actually the headache of societies.

I am against nuclear weapons, regardless of whether they are in the hands of Iran or Israel or any Western country. But obviously some states are allowed to have weapons of mass destruction while others are not.

It is not a process of bargaining or give-and-take. The peace process is not about giving concessions. We will not allow any step which would hurt the memories of our martyrs.

We have taken a strategic decision to gather education activities under a single roof.

In Turkey the religious minorities have more rights than they do in Europe.

Everyone should unconditionally accept that Israel is an indispensable element of the Middle Eastern mosaic.

The whole world is an open, free market. No state can exist without the others.

What should be targeted is a concept of organic, and not just mechanic, democracy that preserves the rule of law, separation of powers, and that is participatory and pluralistic.