Analysis
The statement is a verbatim excerpt from a nationalist poem by Ziya Gökalp (1876–1924), which Erdoğan recited during a December 1997 public speech in Siirt. The speech led to his prosecution under **Article 312/2** of the Turkish Penal Code (provoking hatred based on religion), resulting in a **10-month prison sentence** (served 1999). Courts ruled the recitation constituted **implicit incitement** by framing religious symbols as militaristic tools, though Erdoğan later framed it as a cultural reference. The verdict was upheld by Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals.
Background
The poem, *'The Soldier’s Prayer'* (*Askerin Duası*), was written by Gökalp, a key ideologue of early Turkish nationalism, blending Turkist and Islamist themes. In the late 1990s, Turkey’s secularist establishment—led by the military—closely monitored Islamist rhetoric, viewing such language as a threat to the **Kemalist principle of *laïcité*** (state secularism). Erdoğan, then-mayor of Istanbul and a rising figure in the **Welfare Party (RP)**, was a target of these policies, which culminated in the RP’s ban in 1998.
Verdict summary
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan did recite this poem in 1997, and it contributed to his imprisonment for 'inciting religious hatred' under Turkey’s then-Penal Code Article 312/2.