Young Erdogan

But Erdogan and his party had gone out of their way to be pro-West andmoderate, and the military kept to its barracks.Eventually, Erdogan was allowed toassume the prime ministry, which he deserved, but not before he had been receivedby President Bush in the White House.

Bush rightly decided that, far from being a threat, Erdogan's clean governmentticket could serve as an example of how a Middle Eastern government could beIslamic, democratic, moderate, and pro-Western all at the same time.

Erdogan and his government wanted to allow US troops to use Turkish soil toattack Iraq, and not just because of the huge bribe the United States had offered.
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boot out Erdogan as they did Erbakan.
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"From the very beginning, Turkey never made any mistakes," Erdogan said.Justice Minister Cemel
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But the deterioration in relations also has rebounded on Erdogan's government.
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unpopular in Turkey and costly to Erdogan.Because he is a pragmatist, Erdogan supportedAmerica's request to use Turkish soil as a staging ground.Yet, despite the fact that his party heldtwo-thirds of the Parliament, he failed to win legislators' approval for the request.It was asignificant failure, damaging his new government's relations with the Bush administration,depriving Turkey of billions in loans and grants and provoking questions about Erdogan'scompetence and control of his party.

As he also backpedaled on the ever-divisive Cyprus issue, fumbled with Turkey's wreckedeconomy and confronted Kurdish riots in an earthquake zone it seemed that Erdogan wasextinguishing all too quickly the hopefulness that his fledgling party's emphatic win in the Nov. 3general elections had produced.Influential Turkish columnists abandoned their infatuation withthe young Turk who had vanquished the old guard.One, Cengiz Candar, told me he had"stopped even pronouncing Erdogan's name publicly."(It is pronounced EHR-doe-ahn, by theway).

Such pressure would have taxed the most seasoned politician, and Erdogan, once a popularmayor of Istanbul, was a novice on the national stage.Yet Erdogan was accustomed to provinghimself.A pious man in a country where secularism is worshiped, and once a kid from the wrongside of the tracks, he had always been an outsider.And now, though he was tired, he was, moreprecisely, annoyed.It had been only a month since he assumed the premiership.He clearly felt,not unreasonably, that he deserved the benefit of the doubt.

The stakes were high, as not only his advisers but also opposition leaders told me. TayyipErdogan was an experiment for Turkey with ramifications that went well beyond Turkey.As adevout Muslim with an Islamist past who had nonetheless evolved into a modern, pro-Westerndemocrat, Erdogan had the potential to set a powerful example for the region.If he could easeTurks into a less hostile separation of mosque and state, if he could help Turkey undertakelong-overdue democratic reforms, then perhaps one day he would exemplify a way in whichIslamic faith and democratic principles not only coexisted but also collaborated.

But first he needed to be given a chance to succeed.The transition to statesman after a life ofstruggle with the state was not a simple one.Fingering the Turkish flag on his lapel, Erdogancrossed his legs."Our people made us the governing party," he said defiantly."Those who claimto respect democracy, why don't they respect the vote of the people?"

Erdogan knows that many in the establishment distrust him or look down on him or do both.Heknows they can't quite believe that Erdogan is their prime minister; indeed, many seemembarrassed by his ignorance of foreign languages and by the head scarf that his wife wears asan emblem of her faith.He knows they are suspicious of his claims that he has evolved and thatthey imagine him to have a secret plan to impose religion on the nation."I have faced this all mylife," Erdogan said.

But he is weary of it."Before anything else, I'm a Muslim," Erdogan said.
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Erdogan himself is unofficially on probation.Turkey's "deep
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own, and Turks say that Erdogan retains the Kasimpasa swagger, a way of leading with his rightshoulder.Although the district was infamous for its gangs and pickpockets, Erdogan remembersthe neighborhood as an idyll, with fruit trees and fields, where kids could get their hands dirty."Iwas shaped by that mud," he said, "not like the poor kids of today who are surrounded byasphalt."

Near the now-ramshackle mosque where Erdogan studied the Koran as a child, the district
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from the same well, flew kites and shot marbles over the irregular paving stones. (Erdogan,
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best by Erdogan's kissing his shoes.Once, Erdogan's father punished him for using bad languageby hanging him from the ceiling by the arms."After that day, I never swore again," Erdogan said.

When Erdogan was 7, Prime Minister Adnan Menderes -- "God bless his soul," Erdogan said -- When Erdogan was 7, Prime Minister Adnan Menderes -- "God bless his soul," Erdogan said --
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"Some are saddened by things like this, and they give up," Erdogansaid. "In my case, this sadness turned into an attraction for politics."

Part of the Erdogan lore is that in fifth grade he refused to use a newspaper as a prayer rug in areligion class.It was inappropriate, he told his teacher, who took a special interest in him andpersuaded Erdogan's father to send him to a state-run Prayer Leaders and Preachers school,which offered a secular curriculum amplified by religious instruction.Erdogan was particularlygood at reciting nationalist poetry.During poetry contests, Sivritepe recalled, Erdogan would
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Erdogan was also good at soccer, but he kept his playing secret from his father for years, hidinghis soccer shoes in the coal bin.His father considered soccer a diversion from education andfaith.In truth, politics was the real diversion.Erdogan juggled soccer -- playing professionally for11 years -- political activism and school for more than a decade.He graduated with a degree inmanagement at age 27.
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Erdogan was one of Erbakan's disciples.His political climb began when he was appointedchairman of National Salvation's youth group.Young Erdogan would practice his fiery rhetoricon abandoned ships, facing into the wind as he rehearsed his salutation: "My sacred brothers
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Erdogan named a son after his leader, and Erbakan made him chairman of the Welfare Party'sIstanbul branch.They built a political machine that provided social services as it secured politicalpower, appealing to the needy and disgruntled as well as to the faithful.But they did not alwaysagree.Erdogan stopped kissing Erbakan's hand because it struck him as retrograde, and hesubtly pushed for greater democracy within the party and for broader outreach.Erdogan wasnot Erbakan's first choice to be the Welfare Party candidate for mayor, but the older manbowed to the will of the party.Erdogan took his campaign into pubs, discotheques and evenbordellos, and computerized the campaign offices.He made women the worker bees of hisorganization and involved secular men too.

In 1994, Erdogan was elected the first Islamist-oriented mayor of Istanbul.His victory stunnedthe country.It meant that the Islamists were succeeding in reaching beyond the mosquecommunities.It also meant that Erdogan was a force to be contended with.Indeed, many foundErdogan a more compelling package than his mentor.Whereas Erbakan was a flashy dresserand and an autocratic figure, Erdogan styled himself as an authentic representative of the masses."In this country, there is a segregation of Black Turks and White Turks," Erdogan once said."Your brother Tayyip belongs to the Black Turks."

At the Hope Barbershop in Kasimpasa that Erdogan used to frequent, Ibrahim Azak, a barber,
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As mayor, Erdogan adopted modern management practices and proved singularly adept atdelivering services, installing new water lines, cleaning up the streets, planting trees and improvingtransportation.He opened up City Hall to the people, gave out his e-mail address, establishedmunicipal hot lines.He was considered ethical and evenhanded. (One building-tradeprofessional, however, told me that the corruption endemic to Istanbul City Hall persisted underErdogan and that donations of equipment and vehicles were still solicited in exchange for buildingpermits.)

Yet from the m