- Activists warn Islamic beheading of church bishop only the beginning

[Pastor Dale Morgan]

Faith Under Fire......

Europe's 'Muslim leader' swells with hatred for Christians - Activists warn Islamic beheading of church bishop only the beginning

Posted: May 28, 2011
12:15 am Eastern

Michael Carl


The director of a Christian human rights organization believes the recent killing of a church bishop in Turkey clearly points to one thing: the nation positioning itself to be "the leader of Europe's Muslims" actively oppresses its Christian minority.

Christian Solidarity International-USA CEO John Eibner says both the government and the primarily Islamic culture are driving the persecution.

"The Christians in Turkey are small in number, but they continue to face pressure from the government, but also prejudice in society," Eibner observed. "So there's social discrimination and official discrimination.

"From time to time, acts of horrific violence such as the beheading of Bishop Padovese and the ritual killing of missionaries and church workers … intimidate the Christian community," he said.

Almost one year ago to the day, Bishop Luigi Padovesi, was found with his throat slit at his home in the Mediterranean port city of Iskenderun. His driver, a Muslim man named Murat Altun, later confessed to the crime.

Most Christians don't have a clue what it means to be the confessing church – you'll know after reading "Malatya," the story of Turkey's 1st modern Christian martyrs.

Though the crime was originally reported as a stabbing by a man suffering from extreme depression, witnesses later came forward and described the killing as an attempted beheading resembling Islamic ritual slaughter, the murderer shouting victory and praising Allah.

At a Mass for the slain prelate, Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi said the murder of Bishop Padovese is a reminder of the dangers facing Christians in Turkey and elsewhere in Europe.

Eibner said that the Turkish government rarely offers an explanation for the violent acts, and justice is often long in coming.

Eibner's comments on the persecution of Christians can be heard in the interview below:

International Christian Union President Joseph Hakim says that Turkey's intense persecution is deeply embedded in its radical religious climate.

"Turkey itself is a huge radical country, and the Turks themselves are extremely radical throughout history," Hakim declared. "For a time the United States considered Turkey an ally and considered it a moderate element in the Middle East, but the reality is that it is not.

"The United States has many countries [in the Middle East] it considers allies, but they are the real enemies of the United States," he said. "If we take Turkey and Saudi Arabia, they're both the most hateful regimes to Christians and society."

Hakim believes that the United States is making a serious error in judgment believing that Turkey is a moderate element in the Middle East.

"On paper, they've offered Christians certain rights," he conceded, "[but] after they terrorized them and made sure that there were few left, then they give you what you want because they know your culture can't survive in that society."

Hakim added that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's regime actively promotes Christian persecution.

"Turkey is trying to position itself to become a power in Islam and Turkey has taken it upon itself to lead the European Muslims. They want to control as much as they can, so they can become the real leaders of European Muslims," Hakim asserted.

Hakim's comments can be heard in the interview below:

Hakim's statement that Turkey is becoming a more hostile environment for Christians and more militantly Islamic reflects the analysis of former PLO-operative-turned-Christian Walid Shoebat. We reported last year that Shoebat is warning the U.S. that Turkey is quickly becoming the leading Islamic threat around the world.

Turkey doesn't numerically account for as many attacks against Christians as some of the other predominantly Muslim countries, as documented by International Christian Concern, but human rights activists say the violence has been brutal.

We reported recently on the film "Malatya," a documentary on the murder of the three Christian workers in that southeast Turkish city.

Eibner writes in the Spring 2011 edition of Middle East Quarterly that government persecution comes in the form of official restrictions.

"There are the many restrictions on church activity, what they can and cannot do, where they can worship," Eibner explained. "There are many churches that are closed by the government and are not allowed to be used for worship purposes."

Eibner said there are also a tragic number of acts of anti-Christian violence, and the exact cause is difficult to pinpoint.

"The source of the violence isn't always clear and never will be clear," he stated. "That's very worrying, that there's a pattern of violence and the government is either unable or unwilling to get to the bottom of it."

Eibner said while there are many causes for the Turkish anti-Christian violence, two major categories always seem to surface.

"There are many sources of 'Christophobia' in Turkey ranging from right-wing ultra-Turkish nationalists who hate Christians especially because they are from minority communities; they're Syrians or they're Greeks," Eibner said. "Or, there are Islamic fundamentalists who are extremists and wish to see pressure on the Christian community out of religious reasons."

Eibner said it's difficult to argue whether the Turkish nationalists or the jihadis have the greatest hatred for Turkish Christians, in part, because of how embedded the persecutors are in the Turkish government.

"It's really difficult to say, because when it comes to violence, the perpetrators usually are not found," Eibner observed. "Even if there are convictions of somebody for pulling the trigger or slitting the throat, the question is always to who is behind this.

"There seems to be a pattern of violence, of organized violence against Christians. For example, the arrested murderer of Bishop Padovese, the man who ritually beheaded him, was known to have a connection with the security forces," he said.

"But whom he represented within the security forces is not clear. Whether it was the mainstream part of the government, or whether it was right-wing forces – this is is a very opaque situation – we cannot see clearly into what the Turks call 'the deep state,'" said Eibner.

Analysts say that "deep state" refers to the small, inner circle of power that actually runs a country. The inner circle is usually comprised of the leaders of a country's military, security apparatus and financial sector.

A recent story by Radio Free Europe says Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin controls Russia via the "deep state" because he controls Russia's military and security services.

Eibner goes on to elaborate on how the two-word phrase relates to Turkey's political structure.

"The people call it the 'deep state,' in other words, the real state where power is going on. There is a power struggle within Turkey and you see it in public politics and what you see in the press and so on, at the deeper level," Eibner said.

The ICU's Joseph Hakim believes that regardless of how many claims Turkey makes about political reform and religious tolerance, the number of anti-Christian violent acts in Turkey will increase.