13.02.2026 20:53
Bilal Erdoğan, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ilim Yayma Society, who participated in the 'Youth Meeting' hosted by the Meram Municipality in Konya, responded to questions about news regarding his entry into politics by saying, "Let me get the easy question out of the way. I have no political career goals. When some people come up with things, let's say we became famous like this. But it will pass, hopefully, those things will pass."
Bilal Erdoğan, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ilim Yayma Society, attended the 'Youth Meeting' organized at the Tantavi Culture and Art Center hosted by the Meram Municipality.
In the program moderated by journalist Mustafa Tatlısu, students from Selçuk University, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya Technical University, KTO Karatay University, Konya Food and Agriculture University, and Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University directed questions to Erdoğan.
WILL HE ENTER POLITICS? When a university student asked Erdoğan about the news regarding his political career in the public eye, Erdoğan responded, "Let me get the easy question out of the way. I have no political career goal. When some people bring things up, let's say we became famous like this. But it will pass, hopefully, those matters will pass."
"THERE IS NO LEFT WING IN TURKEY" Criticizing the absence of the left wing in the support marches for Palestine, Erdoğan said: "We are experiencing this in the January 1 events, and we are experiencing it in other events as well. It seems that the sensitivity towards Palestine in Turkey is only the sensitivity of a certain group. In fact, some groups that are targeted by certain political polarization do not want to participate there. They say, 'If I go there, they will think I am one of them.' However, they say, 'I am not one of them, I should not go there.' This is one aspect that needs to be broken. The other is that the Palestinian cause seems to be the cause of only religious, believing people. In Western countries, especially the left is at the forefront regarding Palestine. There is no left wing in Turkey. There really isn't, it's very tragicomic. The left around the world supports Palestine. The reason why countries like Spain, which are at the forefront in this regard, have leftist governments. In our country, there was a time when leftists strongly supported the Palestinian cause, but we do not see that sensitivity during these times. Despite the left around the world supporting this cause, the lack of support from the left in our country is also an obstacle to the spread of this sensitivity in Turkey. We need to succeed in showing that the advocacy of Palestine is not an issue of a certain group in Turkey. They should not be seen with us at all, they should not be religious people themselves, let them do it in some way, but why are they not doing it? Let us not be visible, let us not appreciate, let us ignore, but do it. Because this is a matter of humanity."
"IN 5-10 YEARS, OUR PRIMARY SCHOOLS WILL START TO BE EMPTY" Pointing out Turkey's aging population and fertility rates, Bilal Erdoğan stated, "Our population is aging very seriously in Turkey. In 5-10 years, our primary schools will start to be empty. We will say, 'What should we do with this primary school building?' The aging of the population is very bad news for the future. Our fertility rate has dropped from 2.5 to below 1.5 in 20 years. This is very bad news. We will no longer see a population of 90 million. By 2100, Turkey will be a country with a super-aged population of under 50 million," he said.