TIME Magazine: TIME 100: Recep Tayyip Erdogan


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Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Leaders & Revolutionaries
	George W. Bush Hu Jintao Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Ali Sistani Toshihiko Fukui Abu al-Zarqawi Kofi Annan Condoleezza Rice Recep Tayyip Erdogan John Abizaid Kim Jong Il Bill Gates Pope John Paul II Atal Bihari Vajpayee John Kerry Luisa Diogo Vladmir Putin Wu Yi Osama bin Laden The Clintons
	Builders & Titans Artists & Entertainers Scientists & Thinkers Heroes & Icons Introduction Essay FROM THE ARCHIVE: Leaders & Revolutionaries from 1900-1999

Turkey's Builder of Bridges

By ANDREW PURVIS

CHUNG SUNG-JUN/GETTY IMAGES

FROM THE TIME ARCHIVE

	Turkey's Mystery Man How Islamic is Istanbul's new power broker? [11/18/2002]

Turkey's prime minister is that rarest of blends in the Islamic world: a deeply religious man with a talent for the rough and tumble of democratic politics. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, says John Esposito of Georgetown University, is a "bridge builder."

Before he came to power in 2003, Erdogan's opponents warned that his devout Islamic beliefs would spell trouble. But as Prime Minister, Erdogan has kept religion off the agenda. He banned alcohol in city-run cafés while mayor of Istanbul, and yet as Prime Minister has done nothing to limit drinking. During his election campaign, he spoke of the injustice of laws banning the Muslim head scarf in public buildings, but has left those laws intact.

And Erdogan has vigorously pursued ties with the West, campaigning to get his country admitted to the European Union and for a deal to reunite Cyprus. When terrorists struck Istanbul in November, he said the culprits would account for their acts in "both worlds." Western leaders have been scouring the Muslim world for moderate politicians who see their future in democracy and pluralism. Erdogan may be the best find yet.

April 13, 1998 Nov. 22, 1954 Aug. 8, 1960

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