turkey

A few months ago, when Christians were martyred in Eastern Turkey, we noted how important the election in July would be for Turkey and the entire region.

Well, it has been a while since we heard from the Christians in Turkey and the aftermath of the martyrdom incident. It expresses appreciation.

Here is an update from one of the leaders in Turkey about the impact:

Dear Friends,
It’s been a long few weeks since our last email, and longer since the day we heard that our friends in Malatya had been killed. We thank you for praying for Turkey, for the widows of the slain, and for the Church in Turkey. And thank you for sending out the newsletter to others to pray.

A media contact I know in Israel has forwarded to me the following report on the situation in Turkey.

It reflects the ambivilence of many about what is going on there.

Daniel Pipes runs the Middle Eastern Forum and is a politically conservative commentator who also is pro-Israeli.

The artile is helpful because it outlines the roots and changes Atatürk introduced into the country in 1923, a literal encyclopedia of cultural change that is now under pressure, since Atatürk was a Middle Eastern secularist who tried to curb the political influence of Islam at the time while protecting Turkish interests.

There were fresh demonstrations in Izmir (Old Smyrna) last weekend. It involved several hundred thousand people marching in support of Turkey's secular government on the waterfront part of this resort city where Polycarp (2nd Century Chrsitian Martyr) was from.

At one time, Izmir was among the most European of Turkish cities.

There also is an interesting story on Konya, one of the more traditionally Islamic cities in Central Turkey, a city I visited in 2005. It can be found at:

The Presidential candidate from the Islamic party withdrew from the parliamentary election process yesterday, while complaining about the process.

So now it is the elections in June that are key.

It is not clear what impact all this has had on the European Union. The elections in France introduce a new player into the mix as well.

It probably will take some time for the dust to settle, just in time for the vote.

The Turkish Supreme Court has thrown out the paliamentary election of the President.

This means that elections are probably in the offing for the nation.

In fact, the ruling party wants elections in late June to get the issue resolved.

This was a judgment that is seen as protecting the secular status of the govenment there.

It also means that issues there will remain debated for the next several months.

Here is the latest from Turkey on details about the massacre which have been verified as exaggerated. This report comes from some people closest to the events who examined the bodies and want accuracy in the reporting. They want to get the correct story out and give their take on what is taking place. Here is the report with names removed (and the description brother placed in its place), except for the victims.

Another update from my contacts in Turkey.

This one is about the tensions tied to the election of the President, which is really complicated becasue of the Turkish Constitution, which requires a secular Turkey.

Here is the update:

Please pray for our Nation.

The number of participants in a Rally in Istanbul yesterday show the great uproar against events that loom ahead of us this week.

What is happening in Turkey continues to develop.

The tension you see between the military and secularists and the prospective President is significant.

Turkey was founded as a secular Islamic country by Ataturk after WW 1. This involved a huge cultural revolution that moved the country into the modern age and closer to Europe. It has been held onto with constant tension with more religious Muslims for sometime. The current leading candidate belongs to a religious Islamic party. The secularists marched today in Istanbul. They are nervous, so nervous the military (which has staged coups at certain points in modern history to protect this approach to the nation) warned about the outcome, something Europe and the US warned the military about. So the situation there is tense.

Here is the latest from Turkey.

FLASH from COMPASS DIRECT NEWS
News from the Frontlines of Persecution

Summary:
ISTANBUL, April 27 (Compass Direct News) – Police jailed four Christian street evangelists in Istanbul for "missionary activity" this week, even as government officials openly defended the right of all religious groups to carry out evangelistic work in Turkey. Officials released U.S. citizen David Byle this evening, more than 48 hours after he was arrested along with a Korean and two Turkish Christians, his wife said. Christian sources maintained that Turkey plans to deport the Korean believer, though further details remain unknown. The four men were detained Wednesday afternoon (April 25) while sharing their faith with passersby at a park in Istanbul's Taksim district. The arrests occurred in the midst of tense national debate over the legitimacy of Christian missionary activity, sparked by the gruesome killing of three Christian men in southeastern Turkey last week. "Missionaries are more dangerous than terror organizations," Niyazi Guney, Ministry of Justice director general of laws, reportedly commented only a day after the murders.

The original letter that was here has been updated with more accuracy. It can be found with the entry entitled at the start "Clarification" from May 1. I have received more than one email asking about the source of the May 1 clarification. It comes from the same sources that originally gave the first letter who are in touch with those who at the original scene who themselves had access to better information. So the better information about this incident is found there.

There was an event last week that barely ticked the radar screen that is pretty significant.
Three Christians in Eastern Turkey were brutally martyred (literally mutilated with knives) for the faith at a church office that also was a publishing house. One of the murdered was German. Eleven people have been arrested but what makes this significant is that Turkey is trying to get into the European Union and those countries that are hesitant to permit it are nervous about the genuine presence of religious freedom in the country, something the EU requires. Add to this elections approaching there and the situation is worth keeping an eye on. For those who wish to catch up on the story and the dialogue, here is a good summary article: