The claim that Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the best “Muslim” president or politician is widespread, not only in Turkey but also among people in many other countries. Many people admire him because he speaks openly about Islam and presents himself as a defender of Muslims.
But we should not judge a politician or anyone by his words or public image alone. What really matters is what he does, the decisions he makes, and whether his actions reflect the teachings of Islam. In the end, a leader should be judged by his commitment to justice, honesty, and accountability, not simply by how Islamic he appears to be.
Short intro and bio
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was born on 26 February 1954 in Istanbul, Turkey. He attended a religious school before studying business and economics at Marmara University.
In his early years, he was involved in politics and also played football. In 1994, he was “s”elected mayor of Istanbul.
In 1999, Erdoğan was sentenced to 10 months in prison, from which he served four months, after being convicted for reciting a poem containing religious and political imagery during a public speech in 1997, and was removed from his position as mayor of Istanbul.
In 2001, he co-founded the Justice and Development Party (AKP). He became prime-minister of Turkey in 2003 and served until 2014. In August 2014, he became the country’s president.
In 2017, a referendum approved constitutional changes that strengthened the powers of the presidency, and in 2018, he began serving under the new presidential system.
Hafidh Erdoğan?
Contrary to widespread belief, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is not a Hafidh. He has not memorised the entire Qur’an. He knows some Surahs and many verses by heart and loves to show off with his recitations, but he has never claimed to have memorized the Qur’an in its entirety to be called Hafidh.
And no, this has nothing to do with humility or modesty on his part. Because someone who shows off like him -even boasting about his grandson Ömer Tayyip Erdoğan becoming a Hafidh- would not hide the fact that he himself was a Hafidh, if he was one. (see here)
Things that have changed since he became Prime Minister and President
To determine whether he really is the best president or the best “Muslim” president, as many people claim, we need to look at what he has actually done since becoming Prime Minister and later President.
Rather than judging him by his speeches or public image, we will examine his actions and decisions. What has changed in Turkey during his time in power? Have there been any implementations of Islamic law under Erdoğan?
What did he do?
We will begin this examination by looking at the things he has done.
Airports
In 2002, before Erdoğan, Turkey had just 26 operational commercial airports. The country constructed massive travel megaprojects, expanding this number to 58 airports. Istanbul Airport was built to replace Atatürk Airport, successfully becoming a premier transit and aviation hub.
While this might seem to be a huge achievement, Indonesia built 25 new airports and upgraded 38 existing ones from 2015 to 2023 under president Joko Widodo’s administration.
And Indias airport network grew from around 74 airports in 2014 to 164 in 2025, according to its Ministry of Civil Aviation.
China’s mainland had 121 civil airports in 2000. In 2025, it had increased its number of airports to 270 certified civil transport airports. These are 149 more civil transport airports in 2025 than in 2000.
Megaprojects
The government laid thousands of kilometers of divided highways and high-speed rail lines connecting major metropolitan hubs. Signature suspension bridges like the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge and the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge were completed under his direct mandate.
For comparison, India’s national highway network increased by about 55,000 km between 2014 and 2025.
While China’s highways expanded from 11.605 km in 2000 to 199.400 km in 2025.
Even if Turkey had the highest increase in these projects, that still wouldn’t mean Erdoğan is the best president. Otherwise, you would also have to argue that the leaders of China and India are the best presidents simply because their countries have built or expanded large amounts of infrastructure.
Hijab / Headscarf
For decades, hijab wearing women in Turkey faced structural discrimination under strict secularist laws. Erdoğan dismantled the headscarf ban in universities, the civil service, the police, and the military. This means that women can now serve in the civil service, the police, and the military while wearing the hijab.
But what benefit does this actually bring to Muslims? We know that a Muslim cannot serve in the military or police, or hold public office, in a state governed by democracy.
What, then, is the point of removing the headscarf ban? Such reforms do not change the underlying system; they merely create the appearance of progress while leaving the fundamental problem untouched. In other words, it is nothing more than window dressing — an attempt to make the system appear more acceptable without changing its foundations.
Lifting of the coefficient system
In 2011–2012, during Erdoğans regime, the restrictions imposed by the coefficient system on İmam Hatip religious schools were lifted, allowing their numbers to increase. The coefficient system was a rule that disadvantaged graduates of İmam Hatip schools, which are religious vocational high schools that educate students in “Islamic” subjects as well as the standard curriculum.
Students took a university entrance examination, and their scores were calculated using additional points based on their high-school background and the type of university programme they wanted to enter.
Under the system introduced in 1999, a lower coefficient was applied when graduates of vocational schools, including İmam Hatip schools, applied to university programmes outside their designated fields. This made it significantly harder for İmam Hatip graduates to enter many popular university programmes, such as law, medicine, or engineering.
Although İmam Hatip graduates could still apply to universities, the scoring system placed them at a disadvantage compared with graduates of general academic high schools when applying to programmes unrelated to their vocational education.
The rule was effectively abolished, and the same coefficient was applied to applicants regardless of their high-school type or chosen university programme.
We have to ask ourselves the same question once again: But what benefit does this actually bring to Muslims?
The same kufr-based curriculum is still being taught. Atatürk’s picture is still required to be displayed in every classroom. The national anthem is still sung every Monday morning and Friday at noon, and the same lies continue to be taught in schools. Kurdish children are still expected to repeat the same claims of Turkish national identity, including the words “I am a Turk.”
So, what have these reforms actually achieved? Are they anything more than a way of keeping the unsuspecting masses happy with symbolic concessions, while leaving the fundamental problems untouched?
Institutionalization of Religious Institutions
The budget and influence of the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) expanded dramatically. The expansion of the Diyanet’s budget enabled it to expand its religious services, employ more personnel, maintain and support mosques, and increase its presence in public life. Through its sermons, religious education, publications, and nationwide network of mosques, the institution gained greater capacity to shape religious discourse and influence how Islam is presented to the Turkish population.
This expansion also strengthened the Diyanet’s role in education, broadcasting, and social services, extending its influence beyond mosques into schools, hospitals, prisons, and family counselling.
Let us ask the same question once again: What benefit did Muslims actually gain from this expansion? And let us go a step further: Who truly benefited from it?
The beneficiary was not Islam or the Muslim community, but the state itself. By expanding the Diyanet’s budget, personnel, and reach, the Turkish state strengthened its ability to manage religious affairs, shape religious discourse, and exercise influence over the population through state-controlled religious institutions.
If the Diyanet does not call people to Islam in its real sense, including the implementation of Islamic principles in public life and governance, then a larger budget and greater institutional influence cannot be regarded as a victory for Muslims.
Under the patronage of the Diyanet, the definition of being a “good Muslim” in Turkey shifted from an internationalist, universal brotherhood worldview to a strict Neo-Ottoman, Turkish-Islamic Nationalist synthesis. Especially through alliances with ultra-nationalist factions, religious identity became tied directly to state security, military dominance, and loyalty to the ruling party, effectively merging piety with patriotism.
Paradoxically, pushing Diyanets perverted for of Islam into every sphere of public and political life caused a major backlash among the younger generation. Sociological studies in Turkey show a significant rise in Deism, Agnosticism, and secular lifestyles among youth who grew up under Erdoğans rule.
The reopening of Hagia Sophia as a mosque
Hagia Sophia, located in Istanbul, was originally built as a Christian cathedral under Byzantine Emperor Justinian I and inaugurated in 537. It was converted into a mosque in 1453 after Sultan Mehmed II conquered Constantinople. It served as a mosque for nearly five centuries before Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s government converted it into a museum in 1934.
In July 2020, under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey’s Council of State annulled the 1934 decision, and Hagia Sophia was officially returned to mosque status. It reopened for congregational prayer on 24 July 2020, becoming a highly symbolic event for Turkey’s religiously conservative population and Erdoğan’s supporters.
There are two important points:
Firstly, the Council of State wields considerable authority over the Turkish legal and administrative system, with the power to annul government decisions and administrative acts. Its rulings can have far-reaching consequences, overturning decisions made by public authorities and forcing them to comply with the law. In this way, the Council of State serves as a powerful institution capable of directly influencing how government decisions are implemented and whether they remain in force. Ask yourself why the Council of State never prohibited alcohol, interest, and prostitution.
Secondly, if you celebrate a guy who reopened a place as a “mosque”, which was once a church, then turned to a Masjid ad Dirar, and then turned to a museum, what do you say about the report of Turkey’s Directorate General of Foundations? According to their report in 2013, around 150 mosques were “lost” nationwide, including approximately 130 in Istanbul, of which some had been replaced by buildings or apartments.
Some of the things that didn’t change
There are also many things that have not changed since 2003. We will mention some of them. These examples show that certain issues have remained the same despite the passage of more than two decades.
Alcohol
Erdoğan did not ban alcohol. Alcohol remains completely legal to buy and consume for anyone aged 18 and older. It is widely available at licensed restaurants, bars, hotels, supermarkets, and local liquor kiosks.
Instead of making alcohol illegal, the government has raised the Special Consumption Tax on alcoholic beverages. Also, alcohol sales are strictly illegal in any establishment located within 100 meters (about 328 feet) of a school or a mosque.
Sure, this must qualify him to be the best “Muslim” president, right? No. Many countries have laws restricting the sale of alcohol near schools, either by prohibiting shops within a specified distance or by refusing licences for outlets in certain locations. The exact rules vary by country and, in some cases, by state or municipality.
Kenya
Under Section 12(1)(c) of Kenya’s Alcoholic Drinks Control Act, 2010, a new licence for alcohol sales for consumption on the premises requires the premises to be at least 300 metres from a nursery, primary, secondary, or other learning institution for people under 18. The Act also prohibits licences for alcohol consumption on the premises within basic-education institutions.
South Africa
South Africa’s national liquor policy recommends that alcohol-selling premises be located at least 500 metres from schools.
The Philippines
In Manila, an executive order issued in 2019 reinforced a local ordinance prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquor within 200 metres of schools. This is a rule for the City of Manila, not a uniform nationwide distance requirement.
India
India does not have one uniform distance rule for all states. Under the Delhi Excise Rules, 2010, licensed retail liquor outlets generally cannot be located within 100 metres of major educational institutions for licences covered by that rule. Other states have different requirements.
United States
In Georgia, state law restricts certain beer and wine sales within 100 yards (about 91 metres) of school premises. Local authorities may impose greater distances. Rules differ across the country.
Interest
Erdoğan has not banned interest. The conventional banking system continues to operate in Turkey, and citizens can open interest-bearing savings accounts or take out interest-based loans. Turkey’s central bank actively sets a national benchmark interest rate, which sits at 36%.
And for those who claim that he can’t stop interest, because he has to abide by the rules of the IMF or come up with other claims and excuses. First of all, he wasn’t forced to be prime minister or president, he chose to be. Secondly, between 2018 and 2023, he heavily pressured the Turkish Central Bank to slash interest rates despite soaring inflation. Central bank governors who refused to cut rates were repeatedly fired. This policy led to a severe economic crisis and a massive crash in the value of the Turkish Lira.
Following his re-election in 2023, Erdoğan was forced to make an economic U-turn. To save the collapsing economy, he appointed an orthodox economic team that aggressively hiked interest rates.
Death penalty for child rapists
There is no death penalty for child rapists in Turkey. Turkey completely abolished the death penalty in 2004 as part of its reforms to align with the European Union.
Instead, Turkey uses long-term imprisonment to “punish” these crimes under Article 103 of the Turkish Penal Code.
Following horrific, high-profile cases of child abuse and murders in Turkey, public outrage frequently leads to chants of “we want the death penalty” at political rallies.
Erdoğan has repeatedly stated that he would sign a law bringing back the death penalty if the Turkish Parliament ever votes to reinstate it. However, his administration has never formally brought a bill to parliament to restore capital punishment, as doing so would permanently shatter Turkey’s legal agreements with the Council of Europe.
As a side note, I must also point out the blatant hypocrisy of the European Union. Capital punishment continues to be carried out in countries such as the United States (47 executions in 2025), Saudi Arabia (365 executions in 2025), and China (carried out thousands of executions in 2025, but its figures remain classified as a state secret). If the EU truly stands by its principles, it cannot turn a blind eye when the same acts are committed by its allies or countries with which it has important economic and political ties. “Human rights” cannot be a weapon used against political opponents while being conveniently overlooked when powerful allies are involved. If the EU wants to be taken seriously, it must apply the same standards to everyone, regardless of how politically convenient or inconvenient that may be.
Homosexuality
Homosexuality has been completely legal in Turkey since the Ottoman era (1858). Nothing about this changed during the Erdoğan regime.
The Istanbul Pride Parade was the largest alphabet pervert event in a so-called “muslim” country, drawing over 100,000 pigs in 2014 during a time when Erdoğan was president. This event has been banned since 2015.
Prostitution
Prostitution is legal and strictly regulated in Turkey. Legally, Turkey operates on a “regulationist” system dating back to 1930. There are roughly 3,000 officially registered prostitutes working in state-licensed brothels. These prostitutes pay taxes, have social security, and are mandated to undergo medical exams every two weeks. Also, Turkish law strictly dictates that only Turkish citizens can legally register.
Or how a writer once said:
“Are prostitutes paying the imams’ salaries?”
As if this wasn’t bad enough, independent research groups, non-governmental organizations, and reports from the Ankara Chamber of Commerce estimate that the total number of prostitutes in Turkey is actually around 100,000 to 150,000. This means that more than 95% of prostitution in Turkey is illegal and unregistered.
While an independent adult selling sex is not a crime under the Turkish Penal Code (Article 227), operating an unlicensed brothel, acting as a pimp, or encouraging/mediating prostitution carries prison sentences of 2 to 4 years. If the case involves a child, the penalty goes up to 4 to 10 years in prison.
Criticizing Atatürk
This article has no intention of digging deeper into the dog called Atatürk. All we will say here is that he is the founding father of modern Turkey. Turkey has a specific, active penal law designed strictly to protect the memory, legacy, and physical representations of its founding father. It is not legally allowed to criticize or insult Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Turkey.
The legal boundaries regarding Atatürk are governed by several key factors:
Passed in 1951, Law No. 5816 (Law on Crimes Committed Against Atatürk) makes it a distinct criminal offense to insult the founder. Anyone who publicly insults or curses the memory of Atatürk faces a mandatory prison sentence of 1 to 3 years. Anyone who destroys, breaks, defaces, or ruins a statue, bust, monument, or the burial tomb (Anıtkabir) of Atatürk faces a prison sentence of 1 to 5 years.
Erdoğan’s government has aggressively enforced Law No. 5816.
Statistics from the Turkish Ministry of Justice reveal that the number of people standing trial for “crimes against Atatürk” actually increased by over 1,000% during the AKP era. Today, the law sits alongside Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code (which criminalizes insulting the sitting President).
Insulting the turkish flag and the national anthem
In Turkey, publicly insulting or degrading the Turkish flag is punishable by 1 to 3 years in prison under Article 300(1) of the Turkish Penal Code.
The law specifically mentions tearing, burning, or otherwise publicly degrading the flag.
Publicly degrading the Turkish national anthem carries a prison sentence of 6 months to 2 years under Article 300(2).
If a Turkish citizen commits one of these offences in another country, the prescribed penalty is increased by one-third.
Insulting the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
The law does not automatically impose a prison sentence for every negative statement about the Prophet, sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam. Whether a statement qualifies as a criminal offence depends on its content, context, and the applicable legal provisions.
If someone is found guilty of insulting the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) this can potentially lead to six months to one year in prison, depending on the circumstances and the law applied.
Article 216(3) of the Turkish Penal Code: Publicly denigrating religious values held by a section of society is punishable by six months to one year in prison, provided the act is capable of disturbing public peace.
Article 125: Insults involving values regarded as sacred by a person’s religion can also fall under the general insult offence, whose minimum sentence is increased in such circumstances.
To summarize the last points: Homosexuality and prostitution are totally legal in Turkey. Forcing a child into prostitution is “punished” with four years in prison. Insulting the pig named Atatürk can lead to a prison sentence of five years, and insulting a piece of red material with a white crescent moon and star on it, which is worshipped by the Turkish people, can lead to a prison sentence of four years. At the same time, insulting the Messenger of Allah, sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam, does not necessarily qualify as a criminal offense. And if it does qualify, the offender can potentially receive a prison sentence of six months to a maximum of one year.
The Islamic punishment for someone who insults the Messenger of Allah, sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam
Insulting the Messenger of Allah, sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam, is a major crime. And because it is a major crime, Islam prescribes a severe punishment for this ugly offense. Let us see how Islam deals with pigs who open their filthy mouths to insult RasulAllah, sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam, and then compare it with the laughable “punishment” prescribed by the rubbish man-made turkish law for such vile criminals.
Ishaq ibn Rahawayh (d. 853) said: “The Muslims are in agreement that whoever insults Allah or His Messenger ﷺ … is guilty of kufr.” (Al-Sarim al-Maslul)
Muhammad ibn Sahnun (d. 854) said: “The scholars agreed that whoever insults or disparages the Prophet ﷺ is guilty of kufr… and the ruling concerning him among the community is execution.” (Qadi ‘Iyad, Al-Shifa, 2/215)
And Imam Malik ibn Anas (d. 795) said: “Whoever insults the Messenger of Allah ﷺ must be killed, and whoever insults his Companions must be flogged.” (Qadi ‘Iyad, Al-Shifa bi Ta‘rif Huquq al-Mustafa)
Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: I heard my father say concerning someone who insults the Prophet ﷺ: ‘His neck is to be struck.’” (Masa’il ‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad, p. 431)
And Hanbal ibn Ishaq reported: I heard Abu Abdullah [Imam Ahmad] say: ‘Whoever insults or disparages the Prophet ﷺ, whether Muslim or non-Muslim, is subject to the death penalty.’” (Masa’il ‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad, p. 95)
How can anyone with even half a brain cell seriously claim that Erdoğan is a Muslim, let alone a good Muslim or the best “Muslim” president, when these kinds of laws and crimes exist in the country he has ruled for 23 years? You can turn a museum into a mosque in a country that already has 89,302 mosques, but you cannot change the “punishment” for someone who insults RasulAllah, sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam, whom you claim to love?
Short answer to those who claim Erdoğan is doing tadaruj
Tadaruj in English means gradual progression, gradualism, or proceeding step by step. There is a group of special idiots who claim that Erdoğan is “gradually implementing Islamic law” as he can’t implement all Islamic laws overnight. They are even bold enough to claim that gradually implementing Islamic law is Sunnah and hence the correct way. As evidence, they use the example that alcohol was not prohibited all at once; rather, its prohibition came in stages.
Let me tell you: Islam is already complete and perfect; you cannot apply tadaruj today to gradually complete or introduce what has already been perfected. The deen has been completed, and its teachings are not awaiting further stages of revelation.
Allah says:
“This day I have perfected for you your deen, and completed My favor upon you, and have approved for you Islam as religion.” (Al-Ma’idah 5/3)
Secondly: More than 20 years have passed – in fact, exactly 23 years. How much longer do you intend to wait before implementing basic things such as the prohibition of alcohol, fuhush, and riba (interest and usury)? Or does Erdoğan need his period of tadaruj to be extended indefinitely?
Relationship to the USA
Not only domestic politics but also foreign policy, especially relations with the fiercest enemies of Islam, must be examined. The question is whether these policies and alliances contradict the very principles the leadership claims to uphold.
The bilateral trade between Turkey and the United States in 2002, before Erdoğan, was relatively small, hovering around $6.4 billion. Turkey was heavily reliant on U.S. financial aid and International Monetary Fund structural packages.
While U.S. soldiers were busy killing their brothers in Somalia, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and other countries, trade between Erdoğan-led Turkey and the United States increased dramatically.
As in 2026, the total bilateral trade reached $38.6 billion. The U.S. has climbed to become Turkey’s second-largest export market and fourth-largest source of imports. Both countries have formally established a joint trade roadmap targeting $100 billion in total annual trade, focusing heavily on digital technology, automobiles, and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Relationship to the occupying terror regime
For the first two decades of Erdoğan’s rule, even when political rhetoric turned highly hostile, bilateral trade actually grew. However, the escalation of the Gaza war led to an unprecedented total cutoff.
Before Erdoğan, in 2002, the total trade volume between Turkey and the terror regime was $1.4 billion. During the peak Erdoğan era in 2022, the total trade volume increased to $9.3 billion. While Turkish exports to the occupying terror regime increased from $861 million to $7.0 billion, the stolen goods sold by the terror regime to Turkey increased from $544 million to $2.3 billion.
Before Erdoğan, Turkey was the number-one vacation spot for the citizens of the terror regime, with over 300,000 tourists flying to Antalya and Istanbul annually. By 2022, that number peaked at 700,000.
Last word
No, Erdoğan is not the best muslim president. He is not even the best president. And he is not a Muslim at all. No leader deserves to be placed above scrutiny simply because he speaks in the name of Islam, uses Islamic symbols, or presents himself as a defender of Muslims.
Those who blindly praise Erdoğan as the greatest Muslim president need to ask themselves what exactly they are basing this claim on. Is it enough to turn a museum into a mosque, use Islamic rhetoric, and present hiself as a defender of Muslims while fundamental questions about laws, policies, and international alliances draw a different picture?
Calling someone the greatest Muslim president requires far more than admiring his public image or celebrating a handful of symbolic gestures. Blindly glorifying a political leader while ignoring his policies, alliances, and actions is not a sign of Islamic understanding; it is the abandonment of critical thought in favour of political idolisation. Anyone making such a claim must be willing to examine his entire record, including the decisions that contradict the very Islamic principles he claims to represent. Islam is not measured by -political- speeches, religious symbolism, or carefully cultivated appearances, but by adherence to its principles in words and deeds.