Turkish reflections on the barbaric murder of Christian missionaries
Turkish woman detained over Christian murders
AFP
Middle East Times, Egypt
April 21 2007
ANKARA -- Police have detained the girlfriend of the alleged leader
of the assailants who brutally killed three Protestants in eastern
Turkey, bringing the number of people in custody to 12, officials
said Saturday.
She is the girlfriend of Emre Gunaydin, 19, who remains in hospital
after jumping from the third-storey office of a Christian publishing
house in Malatya, where two Turks and a German were slain Wednesday,
Governor Halil Ibrahim Dasoz said in televised remarks.
The three victims, who belonged to the tiny Protestant community in
Malatya, were killed by knife-wielding assailants who tied the men
to chairs and tortured them before cutting their throats.
Four suspects were captured at the crime scene when police raided the
publishing house office, alerted by a member of the local Protestant
community who grew suspicious when he found the office door locked.
Gunaydin, who allegedly led the gang, jumped from the window in
an apparent bid to escape arrest and was hospitalized with serious
head injuries.
He had reportedly made several visits beforehand to the publishing
house to gain the confidence of the people working there.
Doctors said Saturday his condition was improving and he might be
fit for questioning next week.
"We attempted to wake him up today, but he woke up a bit aggressively
... We will try again tomorrow [Sunday] or the following day," Sezai
Yilmaz, the head of the hospital treating the man, told Anatolia
news agency.
Officials have not revealed the details of the remaining six suspects,
who were detained Thursday and Friday, saying only that everyone in
custody is aged 19 and 20.
One of them, who was detained in Istanbul, was also brought to Malatya
for questioning, the governor said.
According to media reports, the killers are believed to be members of
a cell of nationalist-Islamist fanatics similar to one in the northern
city of Trabzon blamed for the January murder of Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink.
Before killing the victims, the assailants reportedly tortured them for
three hours as they interrogated them on their missionary activities.
The Zirve publishing house distributed Bibles and published Christian
literature.
Proselytizing is not banned in Muslim, secular Turkey, but is generally
viewed with suspicion.
Prosecutors are looking into whether there was an illegal organization
or a mastermind behind the attack.
The murders were the latest attack on non-Muslim minorities in
Turkey following Dink's killing and the shooting of Italian Roman
Catholic priest Andrea Santoro in Trabzon in February 2006.
They were strongly condemned by the international community. Germany,
which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union which
Turkey is seeking to join, has urged Ankara to take measures to
protect religious freedom.
AFP
Middle East Times, Egypt
April 21 2007
ANKARA -- Police have detained the girlfriend of the alleged leader
of the assailants who brutally killed three Protestants in eastern
Turkey, bringing the number of people in custody to 12, officials
said Saturday.
She is the girlfriend of Emre Gunaydin, 19, who remains in hospital
after jumping from the third-storey office of a Christian publishing
house in Malatya, where two Turks and a German were slain Wednesday,
Governor Halil Ibrahim Dasoz said in televised remarks.
The three victims, who belonged to the tiny Protestant community in
Malatya, were killed by knife-wielding assailants who tied the men
to chairs and tortured them before cutting their throats.
Four suspects were captured at the crime scene when police raided the
publishing house office, alerted by a member of the local Protestant
community who grew suspicious when he found the office door locked.
Gunaydin, who allegedly led the gang, jumped from the window in
an apparent bid to escape arrest and was hospitalized with serious
head injuries.
He had reportedly made several visits beforehand to the publishing
house to gain the confidence of the people working there.
Doctors said Saturday his condition was improving and he might be
fit for questioning next week.
"We attempted to wake him up today, but he woke up a bit aggressively
... We will try again tomorrow [Sunday] or the following day," Sezai
Yilmaz, the head of the hospital treating the man, told Anatolia
news agency.
Officials have not revealed the details of the remaining six suspects,
who were detained Thursday and Friday, saying only that everyone in
custody is aged 19 and 20.
One of them, who was detained in Istanbul, was also brought to Malatya
for questioning, the governor said.
According to media reports, the killers are believed to be members of
a cell of nationalist-Islamist fanatics similar to one in the northern
city of Trabzon blamed for the January murder of Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink.
Before killing the victims, the assailants reportedly tortured them for
three hours as they interrogated them on their missionary activities.
The Zirve publishing house distributed Bibles and published Christian
literature.
Proselytizing is not banned in Muslim, secular Turkey, but is generally
viewed with suspicion.
Prosecutors are looking into whether there was an illegal organization
or a mastermind behind the attack.
The murders were the latest attack on non-Muslim minorities in
Turkey following Dink's killing and the shooting of Italian Roman
Catholic priest Andrea Santoro in Trabzon in February 2006.
They were strongly condemned by the international community. Germany,
which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union which
Turkey is seeking to join, has urged Ankara to take measures to
protect religious freedom.
Is there any cause to fear Christians?
Ilnur Cevik
21 April 2007
If we have a mission to spread the good word of Islam and promote our
beloved religion throughout the world then we should be ready to
allow others to promote their own religion in our country.
It is no secret that Christian groups are active in Turkey and some
are trying hard to aggressively promote their religion. There are
Christian missionaries active in the heart of Anatolia. This is very
normal as they are active throughout the but it is nothing to be
feared. It is clear that Christianity is hardly making any headway in
the world today. While Islam is spreading and going strong Christians
are deeply concerned that they are on the decline and have to make a
great effort to cut down their losses. Thus missionaries have doubled
their efforts...
But Islam is so strong in Turkey and our people follow the Turkish
version of the Muslim faith which is based on realities, science and
pragmatism. Turks are never herded to mosques. There are no religious
pressures on our people to fulfill their religious duties. Everything
is voluntary in Turkey. Yet, Turks flock to Friday prayers and are
proud of their religious beliefs. So why fear Christianity or the
actions of the missionaries. Our beliefs are too strong for their
propaganda.
Turkey is a country where the population is predominantly Muslim. It
is a secular country but a majority of its citizens are devout
Muslims. Tolerance and goodwill is a part of our traditions. Our
Jewish and Christian citizens are as valuable as our Muslim
brothers in Turkey.
Turks have been tolerant to all religious and ethnic minorities.
This has been our strong point for centuries. Today the same
traditions should live yet we see with sadness that either zealots or
ultranationalist are misguiding our young people and are manipulating
them. The authorities should be alert and should not allow this.
However, let us not forget that Turkey has been facing systematic
provocations and plots as it moves close to the European Union.
There is a concerted effort by people who want to stall us who are
targeting our democracy and our stability. Is it a coincidence that
very ugly killings of a Christian priest, a journalist of Armenian
origin and three people working in a printing house publishing the
Bible have taken place one after another just as we head for the
presidential elections where some power circles are trying to create
the image that Islamists are trying to grab the seat of the head of
state?
Turkey is one of the bastions of early Christianity. Look at the
southeastern Mardin area, look at Midyat and then at various places
in eastern Turkey. Look at Cappadocia and some places like Selcuk
near Ephesus where Mother Mary is believed to be buried. These are
all holy places sacred to the Christian world and should be the bonds
between us and Christian Europe.
Turkey is a part of Europe and should remain so. But recent
developments show that we all need to put an extra effort into it.
Ilnur Cevik
21 April 2007
If we have a mission to spread the good word of Islam and promote our
beloved religion throughout the world then we should be ready to
allow others to promote their own religion in our country.
It is no secret that Christian groups are active in Turkey and some
are trying hard to aggressively promote their religion. There are
Christian missionaries active in the heart of Anatolia. This is very
normal as they are active throughout the but it is nothing to be
feared. It is clear that Christianity is hardly making any headway in
the world today. While Islam is spreading and going strong Christians
are deeply concerned that they are on the decline and have to make a
great effort to cut down their losses. Thus missionaries have doubled
their efforts...
But Islam is so strong in Turkey and our people follow the Turkish
version of the Muslim faith which is based on realities, science and
pragmatism. Turks are never herded to mosques. There are no religious
pressures on our people to fulfill their religious duties. Everything
is voluntary in Turkey. Yet, Turks flock to Friday prayers and are
proud of their religious beliefs. So why fear Christianity or the
actions of the missionaries. Our beliefs are too strong for their
propaganda.
Turkey is a country where the population is predominantly Muslim. It
is a secular country but a majority of its citizens are devout
Muslims. Tolerance and goodwill is a part of our traditions. Our
Jewish and Christian citizens are as valuable as our Muslim
brothers in Turkey.
Turks have been tolerant to all religious and ethnic minorities.
This has been our strong point for centuries. Today the same
traditions should live yet we see with sadness that either zealots or
ultranationalist are misguiding our young people and are manipulating
them. The authorities should be alert and should not allow this.
However, let us not forget that Turkey has been facing systematic
provocations and plots as it moves close to the European Union.
There is a concerted effort by people who want to stall us who are
targeting our democracy and our stability. Is it a coincidence that
very ugly killings of a Christian priest, a journalist of Armenian
origin and three people working in a printing house publishing the
Bible have taken place one after another just as we head for the
presidential elections where some power circles are trying to create
the image that Islamists are trying to grab the seat of the head of
state?
Turkey is one of the bastions of early Christianity. Look at the
southeastern Mardin area, look at Midyat and then at various places
in eastern Turkey. Look at Cappadocia and some places like Selcuk
near Ephesus where Mother Mary is believed to be buried. These are
all holy places sacred to the Christian world and should be the bonds
between us and Christian Europe.
Turkey is a part of Europe and should remain so. But recent
developments show that we all need to put an extra effort into it.
Turkish Daily News, Turkey
April 21 2007
Tear down these walls of fear and bigotry
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Whenever, I see a church or synagogue, behind high walls or behind
buildings that have no historical or architectural value, I dream of
demolishing everything that surrounds it just so that they can stand
there proudly
Barcýn Yinanc
After having worked in Ankara for 15 years as a diplomatic reporter,
I decided to move to Istanbul three years ago. One of the things that
struck me in this city was the "timid" existence of the churches
and synagogues. It took me some time to realize that they existed,
even the ones next door, in my own neighborhood. Some are behind high
walls. Ugly buildings surround others; you can hardly see them. Without
doubt, one of the reasons for this situation is unplanned urbanization,
in this rapidly growing city. Some of the most beautiful architectural
legacies of the Ottoman rule, namely the fountains suffer the same
faith. But as far as the non-Muslim sacred places go, I have always
felt as if they were trying to hide themselves.
Whenever, I see a church or synagogue, behind high walls or behind
buildings that have no historical or architectural value, I dream of
demolishing everything that surrounds it just so that they can stand
there proudly. Then this city could really become another Jerusalem
in the region. Unfortunately, I realize that as the Turkish society,
we have not yet matured enough. How can we tell them to stop
hiding, without guaranteeing that they will not be targets of
hostile attacks?
A country of contradiction:
Turkey is a country of contradiction. Some believe that the biggest
threat Turkey is facing today is Islamic fundamentalism. Recently,
Turkish President Sezer voiced his concerns, stating a few days ago
that the threat Islamic fundamentalism poses to the country's secular
establishment has reached its highest level. It is no secret that
some among the security authorities share this view.
Isn't it odd that, these same circles also see Christian
missionaries as a big threat? The National Security Council as well
as the Interior Ministry devotes a considerable amount of time to the
activities of missionaries in Turkey. Their archives are full of reports
on the dangerous increase in the activities of Christian minorities and
the measures that need to be taken to curb these activities. It usually
falls on the shoulders of the Foreign Ministry to answer criticism
on the international stage about the harassment to the missionaries
in Turkey, triggered by those reports.
How can a country be under the threat of both Islamic
fundamentalism and Christian missionaries at the same time?
How can one imagine that Christianity can easily take root in a
society that is believed to be sliding toward Muslim
fundamentalism?
The hegemony of fear:
Actually the answer to these questions is a simple one: fear. There is
a group within the state mechanism that sees non-Muslims as a
threat; be it the minorities that have lived on this land for
centuriesor those who recently arrived to propagate their religion.
This fear is based on what some Turks call the "Sevres syndrome."
A post World War I pact between the victorious Allied powers and
the Ottomans, the Sevres Treaty, abolished the Ottoman Empire
and provided for an independent Armenia, for an autonomous
Kurdish region, and for a Greek presence in eastern Thrace.
The cooperation of non-Muslim minorities with the Allied powers,
as well as certain activities by Christian minorities in the dying
days of the Ottoman Empire, laid the necessary ground for the
Sevres Treaty. Hence the fear of "foreign powers trying to divide
Turkish land with the help of non-Muslim minorities keeps
haunting Turks even today.
An American diplomat once told me he kept a map of the Sevres Treaty
in his house to show the sensitivity of Turks to his non-Turkish guests.
I can understand the Sevres paranoia by the older generation. I feel
but sad and frightened when I see younger generations fed by this
same paranoia. What Turkey needs is to get rid of this fear of the
past and gain a little bit of self-confidence.
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