Sunday, April 19, 2015

Churches in Turkey on the Verge of Extinction

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Churches in Turkey on the Verge of Extinction

by Uzay Bulut  •  April 19, 2015 at 5:00 am
One of the common features of the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey seems to be their intolerance of churches.
"Turkey is not converting churches into mosques because there is a need for more mosques... The message conveyed ... is that Turkey is an Islamic state and no other religion is tolerated." — Constantine Tzanos, author.
The physical devastation of the Christian Armenians was followed by a cultural devastation. Countless Christian churches and schools have been destroyed or turned into mosques, storehouses or stables, among other things.
"Christians are certainly seen as second-class citizens. A real citizen is a Muslim, and those who aren't Muslim are seen as suspicious." — Walter Flick, Scholar, International Society for Human Rights.
Sadly, Turkey, a NATO member since 1952 and supposedly a candidate for membership in the European Union, has largely succeeded in destroying the entire Christian cultural heritage of Asia Minor.
While Eastern Orthodox Christians recently celebrated their Easter holy week, a historical Church in Istanbul -- the once magnificent Christian city of Constantinople -- is witnessing yet another abuse at the hands of its current authorities.
"The historic Istanbul cathedral and museum, Hagia Sophia, witnessed its first Quran recitation under its roof after 85 years Saturday," reported the state-run Anatolian News Agency of Turkey. "The Religious Affairs Directorate launched the exhibition "Love of Prophet," as part of commemorations of the birth of Islamic Prophet Muhammad."
Even though Christians are a tiny minority in Turkey today, Christianity has a long history in Asia Minor, the birthplace of many Christian Apostles and Saints, including Paul of Tarsus, Timothy, Nicholas of Myra, and Polycarp of Smyrna.

Christians Pay Islam's Price for Freedom
Muslim Persecution of Christians, January 2015

by Raymond Ibrahim  •  April 19, 2015 at 4:00 am
A pastor eventually helped the 12 year old to a "medical clinic, where she was treated for two weeks, while her father began organizing area Muslims to kill her."
"The intention was to torch all the churches with us inside them" and thus "burn is alive." — A nun in Niger.
Before we put on a show of unity with the Muslims, let's have them begin by respecting our civilization and our culture." — Giuseppe Berlin, Councillor, Cinisello Balsamo, Italy.
The New Year began with Muslim gunmen killing a dozen people at the offices of the satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, in Paris on January 7, 2015. The attack was motivated by the publication of unflattering caricatures of Islam's prophet, Muhammad.
Less known is that all throughout the Islamic world, the magazine's caricatures of Muhammad were blamed on Christianity by Muslims, who seemed not to realize that the magazine habitually pokes fun at Christ, Moses, and all other religious figures. In the Palestinian territories, for example, protesters held up a sign with images of the Muslim killers behind the Charlie Hebdo massacre; the caption below said "Expect more from the champions of Islam, O you slaves of the Cross" (bold in original Arabic).
Accordingly, Muslims around the Islamic world attacked Christian minorities by way of "collective punishment."

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