Recep Tayyip Erdogan Quotes
My own daughters weren't able to study in Turkey because of their headscarves, so they went to the United States.
Sontag, Deborah. "The Islamic Experiment." The New York Times, 11 May 2003, p. 42.
In one of the historical ironies of the 12th century, a Christian sect preferred the rule of the Muslims than their Christian brethren—on the grounds of religious tolerance. It illustrates the changes that take place over time. By the 21st century, it was the Christians who were thought of as tolerant and the Muslims as the opposite.
The Bible and the Church have been the greatest stumbling blocks in the way of women’s emancipation.
The most important documents and doctrine of most churches were created by men who also established the framework of the religion. The result has in almost all cases been a sexist structure with women having not only little power not typically females are banned from all church governance. See {640303} for her quote on religion in general vis a vis women.
He is a Greek Orthodox Christian, and he correctly observes that the Islamic world was considerably more tolerant than the Christian until the 18th century when Islam had become less tolerant in the Middle East while the Christians were modernizing and going through a cultural and intellectual enlightenment and societal modernization while the Muslims, became less tolerant than they were in earlier years leading to the modern situation.
Porush was one of the Haradi--ultra-orthodox Jews. In the land of the Jewish people, he argued against religious freedom for Jews unless they were Orthodox Jews, while ironically, the majority of Jews in the world and even in Israel followed the Conservative or Reform branches of Judaism or were secular. At the time the Orthodox Jewish movement was the only one that was recognized officially by the government. Porush and some of the more fanatical Haradi were determined to keep the Conservative and Reform Jewish branches unrecognized and unsupported by the government. (Israel does not have separation of church and state and economically supports the Orthodox Jewish establishment but not the other majority branches of Judaism.) The "Women of the Wall" is one of the major groups in Israel advocating equal government treatment for all citizens o0f Israel. Orthodox Judaism, like many other orthodox religions are very sexist and women were actually banned from praying at the holiest of Jewish places, the Western or Wailing Wall. Women of the Wall had won a major decision of the Israeli Supreme court that women could not be denied the right to pray at the Wall. The orthodox rabbis who the government allowed to control access to the Wall, set aside a small area for women at the "Dung Gate" where the garbage was carried out. Women of the Wall were back in court and this prompted Porush's outburst. He was cebsured by the Ethics Committee of the Israeli Knesset (Parliament).
The Kotel -- or the "Western Wall" or the "Wailing Wall" as most outside of Israel call it -- is the Holiest of Jewish places where many Jews gather and pray. But the Ultra-Orthodox Rabbis who were charged by the Israeli Government to manage the Wailing Wall and vicinity had refused to allow women to pray at the wall. After much litigation, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that women had a right to pray there or anywhere else. After much foot-dragging, a small out of the way area at the wall was designated for women, but many Jews wanted to pray as a family which also offended those Rabbis in control of the area, After more Supreme Court Litigation the Government was ordered to establish an area at the Wall that was open to all. The Israeli Government Ministerial Committee for Holy Places was charged with implementing the Supreme Court rulings. However, Regev--who had ambitions of running for Prime Minister, was a conservative whose political base included the Ultra-Orthodox. When they objected to the Supreme Court Ruling, she resigned from the Commission she chaired rather than implement the law of the land. Her official view on the dire consequences of women (or mixed gender) praying at the Wall brought her the support of her base and the strong opposition of most Israeli women and many men as well.
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.
