Turkey's prime minister on Tuesday commemorated the seventh anniversary of the passing of senior statesman Necmettin Erbakan.
Speaking to his party's parliamentary group, Binali Yıldırım hailed Erbakan as "a dignified politician," one who never used "the language of hate" but instead favored "the language of affinities."
"He brought soft words and a smiling face to politics," said Yıldırım.
Yıldırım recalled how at rallies, Erbakan called on people to swear, by the grace of Allah (God), to stand against people who damage Turkish law or fellowship.
Former Prime Minister Erbakan passed away on Feb. 27, 2011.
Erbakan lost his post after less than a year in office due to the 1997 "post-modern" coup, when the Turkish military effectively deposed him as prime minister, leading to the collapse of his coalition government.
Erbakan's government was forced to step down amid concerns expressed by generals about the government's program, after a process began on Feb. 28, 1997, the date of a meeting of the National Security Council.
Erbakan's Welfare Party was later outlawed.
Erbakan was forced to sign into law the army's decisions on issues such as a ban on headscarves in the public sector and the shutting down of Quranic schools.
A new civilian government then took over from Erbakan, in a move that became known as Turkey's post-modern coup.
-'NATIONAL VISION'
Erbakan's "National Vision Movement" ideology brought a new excitement to Turkish politics in the 1990s, as he was widely considered as the "hodja" -- Muslim scholar -- laying down the roots of Turkey's current ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party.
Anchoring his political viewpoint in ethics and spirituality, Erbakan led the way for many statesman and civil servants that followed, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
His success in economic policies led the way for Turkish economic success, as he supported the production of national goods and the country's industrialization.
Erbakan also envisioned an organization of mainly Muslim-populated countries to unite and build a joint market, along with trading and foreign policy views, which came to life with the establishment of D-8 in 1997, with the participation of Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Egypt and Nigeria at the invitation of Turkey.
The D-8 was officially established at an Istanbul summit in June 1997, in another element of Erbakan's enduring legacy.
