President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called on Muslim countries to ensure better living conditions for the people by improving economic stability an
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called on Muslim countries to ensure better living conditions for the people by improving economic stability and welfare levels, arguing that this is possible if everyone follows the Islamic principle of helping the needy.
Addressing an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Istanbul on Sunday, Erdoğan highlighted that Muslim countries are not working hard enough for their people.
“21% of the population living in OIC member states, equating to around 350 million Muslim people, try to make ends meet in a state of extreme poverty. Muslim countries need to strive harder and openly discuss issues,” Erdoğan said.
The president noted that the difference between the wealthiest Muslim country and the poorest is around 200 times:
“If Muslims give alms as per the fourth pillar of Islam, then there would be no poor people in Muslim countries,” he said.
He continued by noting that the current conditions are quite favorable to enhance economic growth and welfare levels, urging OIC members to boost cooperation.
“We try to be extremely sensitive to make sure that the political tensions that we face in the face of regional developments do not negatively affect our commercial cooperation,” Erdoğan said.