President Erdogan, LGBT and the Sanctity of the Family

• . As elections in Turkey on 14^th May draw closer, President Recap Tayyip Erdogan, references LGBTQ+ people in his campaign.
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  . President Erdogan believes strongly in the ‘sanctity of the family’ and states that his political party will “never be pro-LGBT because family is sacred to us”

Turkiye is set to have its elections on 14^th May; with the successor being pivotal in deciding the fate of Turkiye for the next 5 years. This comes at a pivotal juncture when clashes of ideologies are being heightened in this historically rich nation.

Turkiye is not just situated between the East and the West geographically it is also grappling between adopting liberal, western, secular values and holding onto a robust Islamic identity which adheres to the teachings of the Quran and sunnah.

President Erdogan has been in power since 2014 and has gathered much popularity over the last 10 years by Muslims in both Turkey and around the world.

The 69 year old is currently on campaigns around the country – a notable part of his campaign  has been highlighting the LGBT issue and claims that other political parties are pro-LGBT which he is firmly against.

In Izmir last month he said, “In this nation, the foundations of the family are stable. LGBT will not emerge in this country”. In 2020, he also mentioned that queer people have tried to “poison young people”.

It is clear to see where President Erdogan stands on the issue, and it seems as though there are many in Turkey who support this stance, notably, in September 2022, an anti-LGBT march took place in Istanbul which saw thousands turn out to join the demonstration.

Whilst there have many calls and requests for Erdogan to tone down his approach or change his stance on the matter, he remains firm with his statements and seems to be sticking firm to his Islamic principles on the issue.

In a day and age, where the influence of a liberal society is getting stronger day by day, the LGBTQ narrative has been evidently impose on the masses and on people who adhere to the traditional teachings of Abrahamic faiths.

We saw in the FIFA World Cup 2020 how Qatar also held onto its Islamic principles regarding the LGBTQ agenda.

But why is it of vital importance for our leaders to resist this colossal agenda being infiltrated into muslim nations? As Muslims, we follow the Quraan which is divine revelation from God revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the teachings of Islam shown to us through our beloved Prophet and Messenger.

We are taught that the teachings of LGBT conflict with our principles and teachings of Islam. We have been shown a way of life with clear guidelines which shows us what true success is. The principles of Islam, the lessons we have learnt from the Quraan and Hadith are timeless principles that have served humanity for over 1400 years and stood the test of time.

True success is in obedience to God, and is not defined by how liberal we can be, how many of our desires we fulfil or based on our money, fame or material belongings.