Turkey small Protestant community feels 'stronger' after the Andrew Brunson case, a representative has told the Al-Monitor website.
Brunson was released last week after being found guilty of terrorism-related charges – widely regarded as spurious – and sentenced to time served. His case had caused a meltdown in relationships between Turkey and the US.
According to Soner Tufan, a spokesman for the Association of Protestant Churches in Turkey, the community had emerged stronger from the trauma.
He told Al-Monitor: 'People tend to believe the church was weakened by all that happened, but curiously, that's not the case.'
He said that as a result of the Brunson case, 'The people's attachment to their church grew stronger. [The Brunson affair] led them to embrace more strongly their faith. I lead services at the Kurtulus Church in Ankara every Sunday. I've been at this church for 30 years and I can say that the number of people coming to the church increased thrice after what happened to Brunson. The place even began to become jam-packed, with people overflowing out the door.'
He said the case had also brought the different Christian churches closer together in solidarity.
Brunson's former church in Izmir had purchased its own building immediately following his release, having suspended its plans during his imprisonment. Tufan said this had a 'symbolic importance'.
He said religious prejudice remained strong in Turkey and expressed disappointment that Protestants had not received support from outside the Christian community.
Religious and ethnic minorities were always under state surveillance, he said. 'Alevis and Jehovah's Witnesses are the subject of the same scrutiny in this sense. In my view, Protestants are not seen as a big threat at present, but if something happens one day, they might think, "Let's stamp them out."'
He said: 'The real surprise for me will be if the leaders of this country respect and appreciate me for my faith and recognise my rights.'
