Erdoğan reiterates 'at least 3 children' call: 'We must multiply our generation'

AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the opening of the Hane Islamic Arts Exhibition.

Later, responding to questions from participants, Erdoğan gave messages regarding family and population growth.

EMPHASIS ON "AT LEAST 3 CHILDREN"

Responding to a question from the program's host, Yasemin Karaca, regarding his roles within the family, Erdoğan stated that his identity as a grandfather holds a special meaning for him. Emphasizing the importance of strengthening the family structure, President Erdoğan used the following expressions:

"First of all, I am a grandfather, and thank God I have 9 grandchildren. That is a separate beauty for this humble servant. You know there is a phrase I always say: 'At least 3 children.' This is, of course, a sine qua non of a strong family. We must multiply our generation. This generation must increase. This is not just our desire, but the command of our Lord. It is the constant advice of His beloved Prophet to us. Our Prophet says, 'I will take pride in the multitude of my ummah against other societies.' Therefore, this must be fulfilled. For this reason, when we talk about family, we declared last year as the 'Year of the Family' based on this. And the reason for taking this step as the Year of the Family is that, especially as a community whose people are Muslim, we want to increase this generation in our country without hesitation."

"THE ATTITUDE AGAINST POPULATION GROWTH SADDENS US"

Upon being reminded of the importance he places on large families, Erdoğan reiterated his insistence on this issue. Expressing his concerns about the future of the young population, Erdoğan voiced his discomfort with the perspective formed in society regarding population growth with the following words:

"I mean, we have seen this, but we still have not achieved a result. Currently, developments are not good. Even when we chat with those closest to us, you see that they, unfortunately, oppose the increase in population. This, of course, saddens us significantly. And even those we consider our closest friends are opposing the increase in population. I hope this meeting of ours at Tophane-i Amire will lead to a new step regarding the increase in population."