Erdogan loves Jesus!

"Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan repeated on Wednesday his criticism of comments made by Pope Benedict about Islam that sparked Muslim protests and said even a politician would not have spoken in such a way."

"We love Jesus and Moses as much as our own Prophet. Nobody should try to meddle with our religion. The Pope made this mistake," Erdogan said. Muslims also revere Jesus Christ and Moses as prophets sent by God."
Turkish PM repeats criticism of Pope's Islam remarks�|�International News�|�Reuters.com

Turkish Penal Code: It's illegal to stop someone from sharing their faith!

I had heard this before, but a friend showed me what the law actually says:

"Article 125 - What is the penalty for preventing religious freedom?
To force someone to reveal or change their religious, political, social or philosophical thoughts or opinions, or to prevent from revealing or propagating these, or to hinder public religious worship and religious events, will be punished by up to three years in prison (Article 115).

Article 126 - Is it a crime to denigrate religious values?
Our law sees as illegal the denigration of the religious values of a segment of the population. In order for it to be punishable, however, it will depend on whether it was done in public and in a way that serves to break the public peace. Therefore, even if it is done in public, as long as it does not serve to break the public peace, it will not be considered a crime (Article 126).

Article 127 - Is missionary activity a crime?
No. Just the opposite: forbidding the propagation of religious thoughts and opinions is a crime (Article 115)."

Do You Keep the Feast?

Today marks the beginning of the Muslim's holy month of Ramadan, when they eat more from sun down to sun up than they do in any normal day. Because they "fast" from sun up until sun down, they often use this as an excuse to be miserable and grumpy to everyone they encounter during the day. Pray for them to find a religion that is based on true faith in the one and only God and not on works that seem empty and meaningless.

Christian Values: New EU Membership Criteria for Turkey?

Many Turks are upset, feeling that what the EU really wants from them is 'Christian Values'. This poses the question, what is it that makes Muslim values so different from Christian ones?

"Turks say that the latest criteria for Turkey’s EU membership is the ‘Christian values’.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister of Turkey, Turkish opposition leaders, and some Turkish religious authorities continue to demand that the pope make a more sincere public apology for the words he spoke in a Sept. 12 discourse at the University of Regensburg, during his visit to Germany. Turkish media continue to argue that the Pope has undermined the harmony between civilasations. However Abdullah Gul, Turkish Foreign Minister, said the Pope’s visit to Turkey will be a great opportunity to restore the misunderstands."

"Dr. Nilgun Gulcan from USAK, however, says that Stoiber’s only condition is Christinity:

“Turkey is not a Germany, or a France, and it will never be like these countries. Turkey is different. If the current members want to establish Europe on the base of Christian values, Turkey can never be a European. If Europe means Christian discrimination, it means that the EU has to live with more than 100 million non Europeans (Muslims) inside”
German politician Stoiber argued that Turkey has different cultural and spiritual background and these differences make it non-European: “Turkey is not Europe nor does it belong to the continent, because the country has such great cultural and spiritual differences with western values."
JTW News - Christian Values: New EU Membership Criteria for Turkey?

TURKS CALL FOR ARREST OF POPE

It always amazes me the impact pride and insecurity have in the Muslim world. That is what the cartoon controversy was about and that is what this is about. Why would God need these people to defend His name. Pray for them to meet the true God who is above any human controversy and the grace that he provides to the humble:

"ANGRY Muslims in Turkey want the Pope arrested when he visits their country in November.

Workers at a leading Islamic body have asked prosecutors to lock up Benedict XVI.

The protesters claim the Pope insulted their religion during a lecture when he quoted a claim made in the 14th century that the prophet Mohammed had brought the world only "evil and inhuman things".

The Pope later stressed that the claim did not reflect his own opinion and said he was "deeply sorry" some Muslims had been offended.

But his words did not satisfy staff at the Turkish Directorate General for Religious Affairs."
The Daily Record - NEWS - TURKS CALL FOR ARREST OF POPE

Pope’s trip at risk as Turkey becomes less secular

"Turkey’s Christians are horrified by the reaction out of proportion to the Pope’s university speech. Increasingly, people are wondering whether this reaction was planned by local mass media to reignite an anti-Christian diatribe that never truly died in the last few months. Turkish Christians appeal to “moderate Muslims to have the courage to speak out and show, first of all, that Muslims have not lost their mind and are still capable to engage others in a rational dialogue without clashing and resorting to violence and threats like months ago over the Muhammad cartoons affair.”
>>> AsiaNews.it <<< Pope’s trip at risk as Turkey becomes less secular

Turkish religious leader calls on Pope to apologise

"Turkey's highest Islamic authority Thursday called on Pope Benedict XVI to apologize for remarks he made during a trip to Germany in which he condemned the Islamic notion of jihad or holy war.

Ali Bardokoglu, president of the state-controlled Religious Affairs Department, told the NTV television station that if the pope's statements "show a hatred in his heart, then we face a dangerous situation."

"Bardakoglu also called for the cancellation of the pope's scheduled visit to Turkey in November.

"I wouldn't expect anything good to come from a visit to the Islamic world by someone who thinks like this about Islam's prophet. First he must save his heart from this hatred," Bardakoglu said."
Expatica - Living in, moving to, or working in Germany, plus News in English

Everybody Living In Turkey Equal Under Laws, Arslan

"Everybody living in this country is equal under the laws irrespective of their language, race, color, gender, political opinion, philosophical belief, religion or sect," said Osman Arslan, chairman of the Turkish Supreme Court of Appeals.

Making a keynote speech in a ceremony held at the Supreme Court HQ in Ankara to mark the beginning of the new judicial year, Arslan indicated, "nobody is a second-class citizen in this country" and noted that preserving the unitary structure of Turkey is for the best interests of everyone living on Turkey's territories."
Everybody Living In Turkey Equal Under Laws, Arslan

Places of Interest in Turkey for Christians

Places of Interest in Turkey for Christians

Modern Turkey's first new church opens in Istanbul

"A new Christian church has opened in Istanbul for the first time in modern Turkey in what its founder hailed on Friday as a sign of increased religious freedom in the European Union candidate country.

Since the foundation of the Turkish Republic in 1923 as a secular state with a predominantly Muslim population, accompanied by a mass exodus of Greek and Armenian Christians, many churches and other non-Muslim religious buildings have closed or been abandoned."

"Barcelona-born Carlos Madrigal, the founder pastor of Istanbul's Evangelical church, sees the end of his seven-year struggle to make the church official as a major step for Turkey.

'As far as the Protestant Church is concerned, it's an achievement ... but in terms of the rights and freedoms of all citizens, a door has been opened for any community,' he told Reuters at the church on the Asian side of Istanbul."

"Before 2003 it was impossible to open a church in Turkey, as Turkish legislation made no mention of the necessary procedures and dealt only with mosques, and worship outside an official venue was forbidden."

"The new church is simple, unadorned except for stained-glass windows, in a house converted for about $130,000 with help from donors in Britain, Spain, the United States and Indonesia.

Now two more Evangelical churches are applying for permission to register, one in Istanbul's Beşiktaş district and another in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır."

"(Proselytizing) is seen badly in society. ... The word missionary means spy," Madrigal said, adding that in 1987 he was arrested, and as policemen beat him they demanded to know which state he worked for.

There has been much progress since then, and Madrigal says the EU has played a large role, but his church still has unmet demands, such as being allowed to have a graveyard.

Madrigal, who says that what he has faced in Turkey has parallels with obstacles to change in Spain under dictator Francisco Franco, also looks forward to greater freedoms in Turkey as EU membership draws nearer.

"urkey is changing its attitude slowly, from the realm of what is forbidden to one of what is permitted."
Modern Turkey's first new church opens in Istanbul - Turkish Daily News Sep 06, 2006

A Christian Shrine in a Muslim Land

"CASUAL readers of Greek mythology are often surprised to learn that if you want to visit what is left of Troy, you have to travel to Turkey. And those familiar with Christianity might also be surprised to learn that millions of people believe that in her final years the Virgin Mary also found her home in Turkey, a couple of hundred miles south of Troy, near the ancient city of Ephesus."

"A startlingly large number of those who visit are Muslims who believe that Mary — or Meryem, as she is known in the Koran — was a holy figure, not the mother of God, but a woman of remarkable virtue. Brother Tarcy Mathias, the Capuchin monk who is the Roman Catholic Church’s overseer of the site, says that the Koran mentions Mary more than 30 times. Brother Mathias is a soft-spoken Indian Catholic, with deep-set eyes and a somewhat melancholy manner. He looks watchful, measured, reminiscent of someone whose words have been used against him.

“In Chapter 3, verse 37,” he tells me, “the Koran says, ‘Mary, God has chosen thee, and purified thee. He has chosen thee above all women.’”
A Christian Shrine in a Muslim Land - New York Times

Modern Turkey's first new church opens in Istanbul

"A new Christian church has opened in Istanbul for the first time in modern Turkey in what its founder hailed today as a sign of increased religious freedom in the EU candidate country.

Since the foundation of the Turkish Republic in 1923 as a secular state with a predominantly Muslim population, accompanied by a mass exodus of Greek and Armenian Christians, many churches and other non-Muslim religious buildings have closed or been abandoned.

Minority rights are one of several sticking points in negotiations with the European Union, and the continuing closure of a Greek Orthodox seminary has become a symbol of the difficulties still to be overcome.

Barcelona-born Carlos Madrigal, the founder pastor of Istanbul's Evangelical church, sees the end of his seven-year struggle to make the church official as a major step for Turkey.

"As far as the Protestant Church is concerned, it's an achievement ... but in terms of the rights and freedoms of all citizens, a door has been opened for any community," he told Reuters at the church on the Asian side of Istanbul.

He described the labyrinthine and expensive process required to get his church legally registered, including two trips to Turkey's top court.

Before 2003 it was impossible to open a church in Turkey, as Turkish legislation made no mention of the necessary procedures and dealt only with mosques, and worship outside an official venue was forbidden.

European Union-inspired reforms in 2003 changed that, but even so, it took a further three years of bureaucratic procedures before the church could officially open in August.

Officially, Turkey is strictly secular, but a large majority of Turks are Muslim, and Islam is closely tied up with the national identity. The national flag bears the Islamic star and crescent moon, and many feel non-Muslims are not real Turks.

The new church is simple, unadorned except for stained-glass windows, in a house converted for about $130,000 with help from donors in Britain, Spain, the United States and Indonesia.

Now two more Evangelical churches are applying for permission to register, one in Istanbul's Besiktas district and another in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir.

Madrigal, a Catalan from a Catholic family who came to Turkey in 1985, says there are some 5,000 evangelical Christians in Turkey — half of them Turks — and he receives four or five enquiries each week.

But, in a country where missionaries have traditionally been viewed with suspicion, the group does not actively seek new members.

"(Proselytising) is seen badly in society ... The word missionary means spy," Madrigal said, adding that in 1987 he was arrested, and as policemen beat him they demanded to know which state he worked for.

There has been much progress since then, and Madrigal says the EU has played a large role, but his church still has unmet demands, such as being allowed to have a graveyard.

Madrigal, who says that what he has faced in Turkey has parallels with obstacles to change in Spain under dictator Francisco Franco, also looks forward to greater freedoms in Turkey as EU membership draws nearer.

"Turkey is changing its attitude slowly, from the realm of what is forbidden to one of what is permitted."
TheStar.com - Modern Turkey's first new church opens in Istanbul

'Islamist conspiracy' fear in Turkey

"Turkey has long been valued by the West as a secular Muslim ally but now one former military officer tells the BBC that secularism is under threat."

"Symbols of such unity seem a little over-optimistic in today's Turkey, marked as it is by the regular bomb attacks of separatist Kurdish groups.

In the towns and villages of the south-east, where support for the outlawed armed gangs of the PKK runs high, local officials sit with what must be permanently gritted teeth beneath the de-rigueur portraits of Ataturk.

But there is another perhaps more significant reason why the Father of the Turks deeply divides his 70 million "children".

And it is about more than ethnic difference. It has to do with religion."

""He was truly an enemy of Allah to the core," writes one Islamist thinker.

Ataturk made Turks look West, not East, for their cultural and political inspiration.

As well as giving women the vote and introducing the Latin alphabet for the written Turkish language for the first time, he formed the secular state with a divide between religion and government enshrined clearly in law.

His ban on women wearing headscarves in public institutions endures as one of the issues that most incites bitterness, even violence, in Turkey today."
BBC NEWS | Programmes | Correspondent | 'Islamist conspiracy' fear in Turkey