Turkey's Christians await pope's visit | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

"Next door to a store selling artificial limbs in a run-down area of Turkey's capital, the Protestant church sits on the ground floor of a dreary apartment block, with barred windows and kitchen chairs for pews.

The 100-strong congregation of the Kurtulus Church, which is linked to the U.S.-based International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, rents the space because authorities have not responded to its request for land and a permit to build a proper chapel."

"The pastor of Kurtulus Church, the Rev. Ihsan Ozbek, sees an opening for dialogue. "We face serious problems. Turkish citizens who converted to Christianity, especially, face serious discrimination and violence," he said.

The windows of his makeshift chapel have twice been smashed by suspected Turkish nationalists, reflecting a widely held conviction that conversion is treason and that Christian clergy are missionaries or spies for Western powers."
Turkey's Christians await pope's visit | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle