Erbakan: ‘Being a mayor is not a position of trade, but a position of worship’

The General President of the Welfare Party, Fatih Erbakan, said, ‘The position of mayorship, which is a service position to the people, is the greatest place of worship if done in a moral, honest, and just manner. Our mayors will hopefully act with this understanding.’ The General President of the Welfare Party, Fatih Erbakan, visited Sivas as part of the ‘Thank You Visits.’ After a series of programs, he visited the Gemerek district, where they won the mayoralty with 58.91% of the votes in the local elections on March 31. Erbakan visited Mayor Sezai Çelikten in his office, wished him success, and made statements. Erbakan stated that the position of mayorship is not a place of commerce but a place of worship. He said, ‘We are experiencing the happiness of the beginning of an ethical municipal administration era in our Gemerek district. Ethical municipal administration means the dominance of that morality, that understanding, that spirit applied in the National Vision municipal administration in ’89 and ’94, to prevail again in municipalities. It means the dominance of justice, a mayor and municipality empathizing with the people’s troubles, the prevalence of abundance by freeing municipalities from debt and interest and realizing a balanced budget. It means the municipality producing services and being a solution to the people’s problems. Our people saw very well what these services were in the National Vision municipal administration era in ’89 and ’94. Sivas met the National Vision municipal administration in ’89 and witnessed these services closely. In addition, ethical municipal administration means being aware that the mayor’s position is not a place of commerce but a place of worship. That is, ethical municipal administration means a municipal administration without corruption, bribery, theft, favoritism, nepotism, injustice, waste, luxury, or extravagance.’ He also mentioned, ‘Our mayor will rule with justice here for 1800 days.’ Erbakan emphasized that Welfare Party mayors will serve honestly and ethically, stating, ‘In the Hadith, our Prophet says, ‘The ruler who administers justice for one day will receive more reward than 60 years of optional worship.’ Even if a ruler administers optional worship for 60 years, they cannot receive this reward. Now, hopefully, our mayor will rule with justice for 1800 days here, and they will receive a reward greater than the worship of 1800 multiplied by 60 years, meaning greater than the worship of 1800 human lifetimes. Can there be a greater good news than this? Hopefully, they will serve with love for duty honestly and ethically, and achieve this great reward. Therefore, the position of mayorship is actually the greatest place of worship. It is a reward that cannot be achieved by going on Umrah, fasting, praying, reciting the Qur’an, or reading prayer beads. The position of mayorship, which is a service position to the people, is the greatest place of worship if done in a moral, honest, and just manner. Our mayors will hopefully act with this understanding. The commencement of such an understanding and such an era in Gemerek and Sivas makes us happy.’