Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Some Turks change religion to seek tickets West

Here's a Muslim propaganda piece on the recent hijacking:

"Turkey's few Muslim converts to Christianity, of which the hijacker Tuesday of a Turkish airliner claimed to be one, are a motley, marginal group that includes people on personal spiritual quests, as well as those in search of more material benefits."

"Whether he actually belongs to any of Turkey's Christian churches, however, has come under doubt with the appearance of several articles in the Turkish press Wednesday saying he has a criminal record for fraud, in addition to two spells in the stockade for desertion."

"The evangelical churches, which are not recognised by the strictly secular laws of Turkey, are mainly in the three biggest cities -- Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.

"The fact that we are open to everyone means that we get some strange followers," said Ihsan Ozbek, the evangelical pastor for Ankara. "Some come looking for women, others for money, yet others for visas to the west."
Middle East Online

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