Since the failed coup of July 2016, the level of intolerance against those not siding with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has intensified. Turkish nationalism, combined with the growing Islamisation of Turkish society, means the tiny Christian minority, and other religious minorities, face mounting pressure, which is increasingly translating into violent incidents. While religious conversion is not prohibited by Turkish law, there are serious implications for Muslims who convert to Christianity, as they often experience intense pressure from family, friends and community to return to Islam.
Pope Francis addresses plight of Christians in Turkish visit
Turkey’s tiny Christian population was grateful for Pope Francis’s Nov. 28-30 visit to their country, during which he called for an end to all forms of violent fundamentalism in the war-torn Middle East. In a Nov. 30 joint statement with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual head of the Eastern Orthodox […]
Turkey plans new global Islamic university
In an aggressive move to position itself as the intellectual center of the Muslim world, Turkey has announced plans to open an Islamic university similar to Egypt’s Al-Azhar, the oldest and most respected center of Islamic learning. Ankara’s announcement comes amid years of legal stonewalling for Turkey’s Christian minorities to […]
Second Turkish trial implicates authorities in planned attack on church leaders
Pastor Emre Karaali of the Izmit Protestant Church on the steps of the Courthouse in Izmit with his lawyer after the 3rd hearing on Oct. 21, 2014World Watch Monitor In a surprise October decision, a Turkish judge has filed a criminal complaint against a police chief and an army […]
Turkish public education system to offer class in Christianity for first time
The Turkish education system’s mandatory religion classes are not fair to students who do not follow the country’s majority Sunni Islam and must amend its policies, according to a recent verdict of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). As Turkey is a signatory of the European Convention on Human […]
Malatya murder trial defendants exploit Turkish government ‘witch-hunt’
Suspects accused of helping to orchestrate the brutal murders of three Christians in southeast Turkey in 2007 are now blaming the crime on the Hizmet movement, an influential Islamic group accused of treason by the ruling Turkish government. Testimony from two former military officers and an Islamic university researcher dominated […]
Turkey closes down Protestant church
Turkish authorities have sealed a Protestant church in Southeast Turkey and ordered its American pastor fined and deported on charges of “working illegally.” Lawyers filed a court appeal Sept. 26 to postpone the deportation, protesting what Turkey’s Association of Protestant Churches called an “absolutely arbitrary” ruling against the Gaziantep congregation […]
Malatya murders fault of Turkish ultranationalists
Defendants at the 95th hearing over the murder of three Christians in Malatya, eastern Turkey told the Malatya High Criminal Court on 18 Aug. that a “parallel structure”, an ultranationalist cabal of retired generals, politicians, journalists and mafia members were responsible for the deaths. Prosecution lawyer Erdal Dogan said the […]
Turkish Assassination Plot Suspects on Trial
Pastor Emre Karaali of the Izmit Protestant Church outside the courthouse after the first trial hearing.The sign behind him says, ‘Justice is the foundation of the state.’ Izmit, Turkey; April 1, 2014 World Watch Monitor Testimonial evidence at a court hearing concerning a plot to assassinate a Turkish Christian […]
Church website blocked as ‘porn’ by Turkish parliament
The home page of the Diyarbakir Church website. It was blocked by the Turkish government inside parliament offices because it was deemed “pornography.www.diyarbakirkilisesi.com/ Aykan Erdemir, a member of Turkey’s parliament, plans to travel to Diyarbakir Church in mid-June. This week, to prepare for his visit, he looked up the […]
Malatya murder trial postponed again
Seven years after three Christians were tortured and killed in southeast Turkey, the Malatya trial’s 93rd hearing has been postponed for another 10 weeks, until June 23. Under judicial changes enacted last month, the murder trial set to resume on April 10 has been transferred to Malatya’s First High Criminal […]