EU Requests Turkey Prove Religious Freedom before Entry

Since last December, when the European Union (EU) decided to begin accession talks with Turkey, religious freedom has been one of the urgent issues that Turkey must solve before entering the EU. The basics of religious freedom must be implemented into the national laws and be evidently practiced in real life also.

However, media and government fanned intolerance is spreading throughout the country, especially over the past six months. State officials regard Christian activities as dangerous; Islamist and nationalist groups are attacking Christian communities, verbally abusing them, and in extreme cases - physically beating them as well.

Chairman of the Alliance of Protestant Churches (APC) Ihsan Ozbek said to Compass Direct: "In January there were small incidents of attacks and beatings of Protestants."

He sees the main reason in politics, since these groups regards the EU as the enemy and believe that Turkey will loose its religion and identity after entering the "Christian club."

As Turkish press announced in February, a sermon prepared by the Religious Affairs Directorate was read in all mosques on 11th March. In the speech the Christian missionaries were described as new Crusaders. This came "as a reaction to missionary activities in Turkey and EU demands for religious expression."

On 11th June 2005 Cumhuriyet newspaper published an article revealing the intelligence agencies reports within Turkey concluding that Christian missionary activities had, apart from preaching the gospel, also a second motive - specifically, promoting ethnic divisions amongst the Kurds, Compass Direct reported yesterday.

According to the report, the majority of foreign missionaries come from South Korea, the United States, England, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Sweden and Romania and they were said to represent Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox groups of Christians.

The report with entitled: 'Reactionary Elements and Risks' states that the Turkish and foreign citizens were co-working to form non-governmental organisations (NGOs) where the church members form the "important portion" of the NGOs staff.

Istanbul was identified as Turkey's missionary headquarters, although places of worship were known to be established in Ankara, Izmir, Eskisehir, Antalya, Hatay, Mersin and Kusadasi.

Earlier this year, State Minister Mehmet Aydin accused missionaries of destroying the identity of Turkish people: "The goal of missionary activity is to break up the historical, religious, national and cultural unity of the people of Turkey."

However, in addition, opposite voices can also be heard. Cumhuriyet columnist Oral Calislar noted that it was hard to see how the Christian missionaries' activities may be considered as a political threat in a country where the non-Muslim population is less than two out of every thousand.

"Think of Germany," Calislar wrote on 9th January. "Almost three million Muslims from Turkey have settled there, setting up hundreds of mosques and propagating their faith. Most of their imams are sent and paid by the Turkish state."

So in Turkey, Calislar declared, "Just as Muslims consider it a right to propagate their faith, so Christians, Jews and atheists have the same right."

On 1st June the new reformed legislation came into force. According to the new laws, it is legal to express and promote one's religious beliefs and meet for worship accordingly.

As articles 115 and 215 of new penal code states, it is outlawed to "prevent or obstruct anyone from expressing or changing their religious, political, social or philosophical views or from meeting for religious worship."