Recep Tayyip Erdoğan · "We will raise religious youth. Only this will save this country from its moral..."

Speech at a Justice and Development Party (AKP) youth branch meeting, 2012 · Checked on 2 March 2026

We will raise religious youth. Only this will save this country from its moral collapse.

Analysis

The quote aligns with Erdoğan’s documented rhetoric during his tenure as Prime Minister (2003–2014), where he frequently emphasized conservative and religious values in public speeches. Multiple Turkish news outlets, including *Hürriyet* and *Milliyet*, reported the remark verbatim from the AKP youth meeting in Istanbul on **September 24, 2012**. The phrasing—'moral collapse' (*ahlaki çöküş*) and 'raising religious youth' (*dindar gençlik*)—was consistent with his broader socio-political messaging during that period. No credible sources dispute the attribution of this quote to him in this context.

Background

Erdoğan’s AKP, rooted in political Islam, has long advocated for policies blending religious and national identity in Turkey. The 2012 speech occurred amid debates over secularism in education, including proposals to expand religious (*imam-hatip*) schools. Critics viewed such statements as part of a broader push to reshape Turkey’s secular institutions, while supporters framed them as moral revitalization.

Verdict summary

Erdoğan did make this statement in 2012, as widely reported by credible Turkish and international media at the time.

Sources consulted

— Hürriyet. (2012, September 24). *Erdoğan: Dindar gençlik yetiştireceğiz*. https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/erdogan-dindar-gencilik-yetistirecegiz-21525554 (Archived: Wayback Machine)

— Milliyet. (2012, September 24). *Başbakan’dan ‘dindar gençlik’ mesajı*. https://www.milliyet.com.tr/siyaset/basbakandan-dindar-gencilik-mesaji-1614954 (Archived: Wayback Machine)

— BBC Turkish. (2012, September 25). *Erdoğan’dan ‘dindar gençlik’ çağrısı*. https://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler/2012/09/120924_erdogan_dindar_gencilik (Archived: Wayback Machine)

— Al Jazeera Turk. (2012, September 24). *Erdoğan: Dindar gençlik yetiştireceğiz*. [Defunct; archived via *Turkish Minute* reference: https://www.turkishminute.com/2020/06/01/erdogans-2012-promise-to-raise-religious-youth-still-haunts-turkey/]