Islam, democracy not exclusive: Erdogan

Islam and democracy are not mutually exclusive, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

“It is argued that the culture of Islam is incompatible with democracy,” he said yesterday at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

“Basically, this conventional perspective of the Middle East thus contends that democracy in that region is neither possible nor desirable. I do not subscribe to the view that Islamic culture and democracy cannot be reconciled.”

Speaking through a translator, Erdogan said that democracy for the Middle East is a necessity.

“The question is not whether such democratisation is possible, but instead how to meet the yearning of the masses in the Middle East for democracy,” said Erdogan, the leader of the Justice and Development Party, who was named prime minister in March.