Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants Muslim families to avoid birth control and have more children...
During a speech broadcast live Monday, Erdogan said "no Muslim family" should resort to birth control or family planning.
His warning against contraceptives is not for religious reasons, because in Islam birth control is actually permitted in eight of the nine schools of Islamic law...
"We need to increase the number of our descendants,” Erdogan said, according to AFP . “People talk about birth control, about family planning. No Muslim family can understand and accept that! As God and as the great prophet said, we will go this way. And in this respect the first duty belongs to mothers.”
He wants to ensure Turkey's population (which is just under 80 million) continues to grow and says it's a mother's responsibility to help do so
Compared with European countries, Turkey's fertility rate is one of the highest and is still growing. Not sure how many people Erdogan wants in his country...
A minimum of four children is suggested...
People online don't seem too happy with Erdogan right now...
Some are using this as an opportunity to voice their opinion on Turkey joining the EU
And many are using humor to make a point
This isn't the first time Erdogan has voiced his personal opinion publicly about the use of contraceptives. In 2014, he declared the use of birth control as “treason” against the country, as it could risk “drying up” a whole generation.