ISTANBUL (AP) – For those who love him, a mix of the religiously conservative and the rising middle class, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been the powerhouse who drove economic success, gave Islam a greater role and boosted regional standing. Now, Uzun Adam, or “Tall man” as he’s nicknamed in Turkish, is also the hero who stared down tanks and fighter jets.
He could not have done it without them.
The rush of thousands heeding Erdogan’s call to the streets against Friday night’s failed coup showed the religious-nationalist bulwark that shores up his rule. In their eyes, he is a man of the people who shaped the identity of modern Turkey, putting it on a par with Europe and establishing its place as a leader among Muslim nations where they feel it belongs.
“He is a hero the entire Islamic world,” said Semiha Pacal, a 50-year-old whose shop is across the street from the building where Erdogan lived for nearly 20 years in central Istanbul’s Kaptanpasa neighborhood. She notes with pride how Turkey’s most powerful politician has always kept in touch with his old neighbors.
Erdogan has made her proud to be Muslim, she said. “He has legalized headscarves. Before that it was banned in universities. Muslim people were relieved,” she said. “Even our cemeteries are cleaner, there are flowers blossoming there. He restored all the historical sites and mosques, made them visible.”