September 2018 Persecution Magazine

WWW.PERSECUTION.ORG 

September 2018 

PERSECU ION 

TURKEY 

An Ancient Christian 

Community on the 

Verge of Extinction 

PERSECU ION.org 

INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN 

Photo: Interior of the Hagia 

Sophia in Istanbul. A Greek 

Orthodox church for a 

thousand years, converted to a 

mosque under the Ottomans, 

now a museum.

In This Issue 

FEATURES 

14 | Once the Birthplace of the Church, 

Now an Enemy 

A historic overview of Turkey’s relationship with 

the Church and its persecution of Christians. 

16 | President Erdoğan’s Rise Signals 

Trouble for Christians 

Erdoğan has transformed Turkey more than any 

other leader, with dire implications for Christians. 

18 | The Systematic Eradication of 

Christian Civilization in Turkey 

A Turkish Muslim journalist decries her country’s 

long history of mistreating Christians. 

20 | Turkey’s Young Christians Feel the 

Spiritual Darkness in Their Land 

Turkish believers wrestle with the entrenched cultural 

belief that real Turks are and must be Muslim. 

22 | Fear Will Not Define Us 

A Turkish pastor and his church navigate threats 

and tragedy at the hands of their government 

and fellow countrymen. 

26 | Creating the Christian Other 

Turkey’s leaders have used uncontested 

and consistent anti-Christian hate speech to 

erase 2,000 years of Christian history, turning 

Christians into a marginalized community. 

28 | ICC’s Communal Farms Underway 

Two of the 10 communal farms ICC is creating 

for survivors of Fulani militant attacks are up 

and running. 

Regular Features 

3 Letter from the President 

A few words from ICC’s president, Jeff 

King, on the millennia-old Christian 

tradition in Turkey and the threats it 

faces today. 

4 World News 

A snapshot of the persecution that 

impacts our brothers and sisters daily, in 

every corner of the world. 

8 Your Dollars at Work 

Learn how your gifts are providing 

comfort, relief, Bibles, education and 

vocational training to the persecuted. 

12 West Watch 

Faith under siege in the West. 

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26 

16 

22 

28 

2 PERSECU ION.org 

SEPTEMBER 2018 

INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONCERN

“The (Muslim call to prayer) is no longer 

heard. The cross has been erected on (the 

mosque pulpit). The kafir (derogatory term for 

non-Muslims) has flown his flag on mosques, on 

everywhere. Come, my brother, join our hands 

altogether. Let’s explode the bombs and silence 

the [church] bells everywhere.” 

Jeff King, President 

International Christian Concern 

—Naci Agbal, President Erdoğan’s Minister 

of Finance, quoting a poem about the 

extermination of over one million Syrian and 

Turkish Christians in the 20th century. 

While on a trip to Turkey in 2002, I was blown away by 

the impression that I was taking a walk through the New 

Testament! Churches founded around 300 A.D., carved out of 

the side of a mountain were still accessible to the public (search 

YouTube for “The Centuries-Old Cave Churches of Turkey”). 

In fact, most of the churches featured in the book of Acts were 

founded in Turkey, and I visited their remains. 

I find Derinkuyu to be a fitting metaphor for modern Turkey. 

A massive underground city that housed up to 20,000 people, 

Derinkuyu can still be visited today. Christians hid here 

to defend themselves from the early Muslim jihadists, and 

centuries later, Mongolian invaders. The remnant of the Church 

in Turkey is living in a hostile environment, driven into hiding 

from the Muslim caliphate’s violent attacks once again. 

As many of today’s Turks have discovered, the story of modern 

Turkey unfortunately revolves around President Erdoğan. In 

less than two decades, he has changed the course of the nation. 

Turkey has gone from being one of the few existing Muslim 

democracies to Erdoğan’s personal fiefdom. He has removed 

all opposition and sits as dictator for life. 

Erdoğan is a complex and wily character, as well as a true 

Islamist at heart. As a young man, he was the head of the youth 

branch of an Islamist political party. In 1976, he assumed a 

position of leadership at a local youth branch of the Islamist 

National Salvation Party (MSP). Erdoğan became the district 

chair of the Islamist Welfare Party in 1984, and the next year, 

chair of the party’s Istanbul city branch. 

In 1999, he was jailed for four months (out of a 10-month sentence, 

served in luxurious accommodations) and banned from politics for 

life for stirring up religious hatred after quoting the following poem: 

“The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the 

minarets our bayonets, and the believers our soldiers.” 



Erdoğan co-founded the Islamist-rooted Justice and 

Development Party (AKP) in August 2001, and he became 

prime minister of Turkey in 2003. 

Erdoğan has consolidated power and removed all threats 

to his rule since he assumed the role of prime minister. He 

has gradually and deliberately steered the country toward 

fundamentalism, and his Islamist core has become more 

evident as his control has increased. 

Ominously, in 2016, his finance minister quoted another poem 

that lifted up the killing of over one million Syrian and Turkish 

Christians in the early 1900s: 

“The (Muslim call to prayer) is no longer heard. The 

cross has been erected on (the mosque pulpit). The kafir 

(derogatory term for non-Muslims) has flown his flag on 

mosques, on everywhere. Come, my brother, join our hands 

altogether. Let’s explode the bombs and silence the [church] 

bells everywhere.” 

Unfortunately, there is no modern-day refuge like 

Derinkuyu for Christians to weather the storm of Erdoğan 

and Turkey’s slog toward Islamic radicalism. The Turkish 

Church is facing incredible pressure. 

Even so, I urge you not to despair. The march of the Gospel 

is unstoppable. It does not advance by sword or bullet, but by 

the unstoppable attractiveness of Jesus. We will continue to 

lift Him up in Turkey and elsewhere on the front lines of the 

spiritual battle. 

Please join us as we bandage and build the persecuted Church. 

As always, your donations will be used efficiently, effectively, 

and ethically. 

Jeff King 

3

Over 230 Killed in Suspected Fulani 

Militant Attack 

1 | NIGERIA A series of recent attacks on villages near Jos, 

Nigeria left more than 230 Christians dead. The attacks 

took place in the villages of Xland, Gindin Akwati, Ruku, 

Nghar, Kura Falls, Kakuruk, Rakok, Kok, and Razat. All 

of these villages are in the districts of Gashish and Ropp 

in the Barkin Ladi Local Government Area. 

It is believed that Fulani militants were responsible 

for the attacks, which were directed toward the 

predominantly Berom villagers. Some reports claim 

that the string of attacks was a brutal act of retaliation 

after Berom farmers killed five Fulani herdsmen. The 

militants carried out the attacks ruthlessly, attacking 

men, women, and children alike with machetes and guns. 

1 

4 6 

2 3 5 

The youngest known 

victim was a threemonth-old 

baby boy. 

Authorities initially 

reported that 86 individuals 

were killed in 

the attacks. However, 

an ICC representative 

who assisted with the 

body recovery efforts 

confirmed that the 

death tolls were much 

higher than what 

police first reported. 

One resident reported 

that at least 70 were 

killed in the village of 

Nghar alone, and that 

the village had been 

reduced to rubble. 

In response to the 

tragedy, President 

Muhammadu Buhari 

released a statement 

reading, “The grievous 

loss of lives and 

property arising from 

the killings in Plateau 

is painful and regrettable. 

My deepest condolences 

to the affected 

communities. We 

will not rest until all 

murderers and criminal 

elements and their 

sponsors are incapacitated 

and brought to 

justice.” However, 

others have criticized 

Buhari for his apparent 

indifference after 

he reportedly told a 

post-attack gathering 

of leaders that “the 

Fulani are known to 

be peaceful and carry 

stick, but are not 

known to have guns.” 

News 

“Sadly, the 

unwarranted arrest 

of Christians is a 

widespread problem 

in Eritrea.” 

Pastor in Eritrea Released After 

Decade in Prison 

2 | ERITREA After spending more than a decade in 

Eritrea’s notorious prison system, Pastor Oqbamichel 

Haiminot has been released. Pastor Oqbamichel was 

the first senior pastor to be arrested and held following 

the crackdown on religion in Eritrea in 2002. Though 

he was only held for a brief period of time after his 

initial arrest in 2003, he was frequently harassed and 

rearrested by authorities over the next several years. In 

2007, he was arrested and sent to jail for more than 10 

years, in spite of the fact that no charges were ever filed 

against him. 

Sadly, the unwarranted arrest of Christians is a 

widespread problem in Eritrea. Last year, over 200 

Christians were arrested without any charges. This 

reality is worsened by the horrendous conditions that 

Eritrean prisoners experience. Many prisoners are held 

either in shipping containers in the desert or underground 

jail cells. The prison cells are cramped, dirty, 

subject to extreme temperature changes, and prisoners 

are only allowed outside once or twice a day to use the 

restroom. Reports indicate that Pastor Oqbamichel is in 

need of medical assistance due to health problems that 

arose from his treatment in prison. 




Vietnam Releases, Expels Christian Human Rights Lawyer to Germany 

3 | VIETNAM On June 7, Christian human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai and a fellow member of the Brotherhood for Democracy, Le Thu Ha, 

were released from a Vietnamese prison. The men were also expelled from Vietnam and flew to Germany shortly after their release. Dai began 

his human rights work in 2000, when he defended a believer after authorities violated her right to freely worship. He has since been targeted for 

arrest on several occasions by the Vietnamese authorities. 

Five Christian NGO-Workers Kidnapped and 

Raped in India 

4 | INDIA In mid-June, five Christian charity workers were kidnapped 

at gunpoint and gang-raped in India. At the time of the kidnapping, 

the women were leading a skit to raise awareness about human trafficking 

in the region. At the time of writing, police are investigating 

the incident as they await the results of the victims’ medical tests. 

Unfortunately, attacks of this nature have been ongoing in India in 

recent years as persecution continues to rise. 

Authorities Arrest Missionary, Bar Two Others 

from Leaving the Phillippines 

5 | PHILIPPINES In May, authorities in the Philippines arrested a 

Christian missionary, originally from Zimbabwe. They also barred two 

other missionaries, originally from the United States, from leaving the 

Philippines. The missionaries were also informed that they were placed 

on a government “watch list.” This has led to international outrage and 

a campaign calling for their release though prayer, a petition, and the 

use of the hashtag #LetThemLeave on social media. 

Hindu Leader in Nepal Fakes Assassination Attempt 

To Incite Violence Against Christians 

6 | NEPAL On April 8, a Hindu nationalist leader known as Acharya Shree Niwas 

instructed one of his followers to shoot him in the arm. Christians throughout 

Nepal claim that he did so in order to falsely blame local Christians for an 

assassination attempt and evoke communal violence. The shooting took place 

shortly before Niwas was set to speak at a major religious gathering. 

Following his stay in the hospital, Niwas was arrested and charged with staging 

the shooting and attempting to incite communal violence. Madhav Chaudhary, 

Niwas’s bodyguard who was responsible for shooting him, was also arrested and 

confessed his responsibility for the crime. While the authorities provided minimal 

comment since the investigation is ongoing, the chief district officer noted that 

Niwas will likely be tried for possession of firearms regardless of his intentions. 



5

1 

6 

5 

2 4 

3 

News 

“The authorities accused 

the church members of 

participating in illegal 

activities and demanded 

that they cease such 

activities.” 

Christians Prepare for Reconciliation 

Session Following Mob Attack 

1 | EGYPT On July 7, a mob of radical Muslims formed 

in Egypt’s Minbal village and attacked several Christian 

homes. Leading up to the attack, Islamic extremists 

accused a local Coptic Christian, Abdo Adel Bebawy, of 

insulting Islam on social media. He was arrested the following 

day, July 6, and a mob attacked the wider Christian 

community the day after that, July 7. 

In response to the attack, a local Christian woman 

reported, “The mob stoned the houses of all the Christians 

[in Minbal]. The Christians were afraid and all locked 

themselves in their houses and closed the wooden shutters 

of the windows.” 

Another villager noted, “There is now negotiation (a 

reconciliation session) with Abdo Adel Bebawy and his 

family. They (Muslims) want to displace them out of 

the village.” Such reconciliation sessions have become a 

common practice in Egypt. These out-of-court settlements 

pressure Christians into giving up their legal rights, while 

their assailants often avoid punishment for their crimes. 

Believers who participate in these sessions often relinquish 

their rights in hopes of placating their attackers and 

avoiding further violence. 

A Coptic lawyer shared with ICC, “Sectarian strife and 

the assault on the Copts are being dealt with illegally 

because security is pressing for stability. The government 

does not want the press to speak about it or publish 

stories about it.” 

Iranian 

Authorities 

Arrest Christian 

Convert 

2 | IRAN Iranian 

authorities recently 

continued their campaign 

of persecution 

by arresting a 

Christian convert 

and father of three 

named Mohammadali 

Yassaghi. Yassaghi 

converted from Islam 

to Christianity over 

20 years ago and was 

accused of “spreading 

propaganda against 

the establishment.” 

His arrest follows the 

upholding of lengthy 

prison sentences of 

four other believers 

who were arrested 

on similar charges, 

including “acting 

against national security” 

by “promoting 

Zionist Christianity.” 

Although the Iranian 

constitution recognizes 

Christians’ religious 

rights on the books, 

this is not the case 

in reality. Christian 

leaders, particularly 

Christian converts, are 

often targeted by the 

authorities for nothing 

more than practicing 

their faith. 

Church in Henan Province Raided 

by Local Authorities 

3 | CHINA On May 22, a group of officials from 

several different government agencies raided 

Gusui Church in China’s Henan province. The 

authorities accused the church members of participating 

in illegal activities and demanded that 

they cease such activities. The officials also 

entered the church’s conference room without a 

warrant, took photos of the property, and took 

notes regarding several church members’ ID 

cards. Worse still, several congregants, including 

the speaker on the day of the raid, were arrested. 

In early June, one of the church leaders completed 

an application to review the ban on the 

church’s meeting place. The application also 

requested an investigation into the officials’ 

illegal actions during the raid. In spite of the 

government’s actions, the church maintains that 

its congregants are law-abiding citizens who 

have not done anything to warrant the raid. They 

believe that they are being specifically targeted 

in violation of the Chinese constitution which 

allows for religious freedom. 

Since the government enacted a set of stricter 

religious regulations in February, Christians living 

in Henan province have felt the repercussions. 

However, despite the growing religious 

crackdown, the Church continues to flourish 

throughout China. 




Two More Christians Die in Pakistan’s Unsafe 

Sewer System 

4 | PAKISTAN Two Christian men, Saqib Masih and Mushtaq Masih, 

recently died while attempting to unblock a sewer in Pakistan without 

adequate safety gear. As a result of widespread discriminatory hiring 

policies, Christians in Pakistan are often forced to accept notoriously 

dirty and unsafe jobs in the sanitation industry. Although Christians 

make up less than 2% of Pakistan’s total population, they comprise 

over 80% of the nation’s sewer workers. Unsafe working conditions 

and abuse run rampant in these positions, which has led to several 

deaths in 2018. 

Students and Church in Russia Punished for 

Worship Videos 

5 | RUSSIA Two students have been fined and ordered for deportation 

from Russia for appearing in or sharing videos of church worship 

services. Authorities also issued the church, Jesus Embassy Church, 

several fines for a variety of charges, including “conducting 

missionary activity.” Since the implementation of so-called antimissionary 

laws in the summer of 2016, Christians in Russia have 

faced increasing restrictions on their right to share their faith as well 

as practice their own faith without being under the government’s 

watchful eye. 

Iraqi Christians Fearful that New Tax Signals Upcoming 

Persecution 

6 | IRAQ On January 23, the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) issued 

an order that business owners in Ankawa would be charged a fee when 

renewing their license. However, the order was not applied until a few 

months later in June. Ankawa is a predominantly Christian neighborhood 

in the Iraqi city of Erbil. 

Ankawa Today confirmed the discriminatory nature of the tax by noting 

that the tax is exclusively being imposed in Ankawa, excluding other 

Kurdish towns. They also noted that the tax is being implemented in another 

predominantly Christian town in northern Iraq called Semel. Many local 

Christians worry that this tax is a warning sign of looming persecution, as 

the “jizya” tax was used against religious minorities during the reign of ISIS. 

Authorities must take the necessary steps to ensure that Christians receive 

equal treatment in order to avoid instilling a culture of discrimination. 



7

Your Dollars a 

ICC Funds 

Schooling for 

Martyrs’ Kids 

Suffering Wives & Children 

Fulani militants invaded a Christian village 

in Ancha in Miango District of 

Plateau State, Nigeria in the early hours 

of September 8, 2017. Twenty people 

were killed in a gruesome manner and 

five suffered various injuries. Nineteen 

of the murdered victims were members 

of Salama Baptist Church and one was a 

member of a local Methodist church. One 

family was completely wiped out with no 

succeeding generations left. The entire 

church, including the pastor, was traumatized 

and needed spiritual, emotional, and 

physical encouragement. 

In order to alleviate some of the burden on 

the shoulders of this community, ICC provided 

funds for eight of the children whose 

parents were killed to continue their education. 

Rev. Andrew Okebe, Zonal Chairman at 

the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), 

said, “This assistance will encourage them 

and build their faith. They don’t know what 

will happen next, but this is raising a hope 

that better things are coming.” 

Rev. Nanchwat Laven, the minister of 

Salama Baptist Church in Ancha Village, 

said, “When this attack happened, only God 

knows why. We were quite distressed. We 

are thankful for all those who showed concern, 

including [ICC’s representative] who 

visited us three times. He really comforted 

me. We are grateful to ICC. May God bless 

you as you continue preaching the Gospel 

of Christ. The people of Ancha join me in 

giving thanks.” 

Your generous donations enabled eight 

children to continue to attend classes, even in 

the midst of tragedy. Yet, as they rebuild, we 

ask that you continue to pray for this village. 

The community is situated in the rural part of 

Miango District, where there is no access to 

social amenities, including healthcare. Pray 

that God would continue to provide for this 

community in the face of hardship. 




t Work 

Mobile Medical 

Clinic in Iraq 


In May, ICC teamed up with local partners 

to open a mobile clinic for people requiring 

medical attention in Iraq’s Jambour village. 

The clinic provided medicine and other medical 

care to more than 67 patients, including 

those with chronic diseases. Beneficiaries of 

the project included IDPs (internally displaced 

persons) from the Nineveh Plains. 

Manhal Toma, a participant in the clinic, 

said, “We really appreciate your visit to 

Jambour village, in this rural area. We thank 

God that you have been trying to reach us 

for providing this assistance. This village has 

been forgotten and we still need [a lot of] aid, 

including food and water and we are about 43 

families living here.” Your donations aided the 

purchase of a variety of medicines for chronic 

diseases and cold season illnesses, including 

antibiotics, several types of children’s 

medicine, anti-inflammatory drugs, pain relief 

medicine, tonics, and medical supplies. 



All Saints 

Schooling Aid 


On September 22, 2013, the Christian 

community of Peshawar, Pakistan 

was devastated when two suicide bombers 

attacked All Saints Church. The bombers 

struck as members of the church were leaving, 

following the Sunday morning service. When 

the dust settled, approximately 100 Christians 

were killed and many more were injured. 

Since the attack, ICC has provided educational 

assistance to children affected by the bombing. 

Between April and June, ICC provided 

financial support for 30 students, including 

two new students, covering the cost of tuition, 

uniforms, supplies, and more. A beneficiary of 

the program shared, “ICC should receive all of the 

appreciation, encouragement, and word of thanks 

by the beneficiaries and school’s management. 

We extend best wishes for the entire ICC team 

and their supporters. The students were happy and 

have promised to concentrate on their studies and 

produce good results.” 

A Home and 

Church for 

Pastor David 

Underground Pastors 

P 

astor David’s church has faced intense 

opposition from local Hindu radicals, 

forcing the 60-person congregation to vacate 

multiple rented locations in India. 

Eventually, the only option left for Pastor 

David’s family and the church was to build a 

simple shelter to house both of them. 

ICC provided bricks, sand, cement, doors, 

and plumbing supplies to renovate the shelter 

into a more suitable structure. Also provided 

were materials to construct a bathroom with 

a toilet and wall reinforcements to shelter 

Pastor David’s family and his church from 

harsh weather. 

Pastor David said, “I was so discouraged 

and tired, and thought I will give up and leave 

this place. I believe God has opened the way 

through ICC at the right time, that way the 

ongoing ministry shouldn’t suffer.” 

9

Your Dollars a 

ICC Secures a Harassed Church in Sri Lanka 

Underground Pastors 

About 22 million inhabitants live in Sri 

Lanka, but Protestant Christians make 

up less than 1% of the total population. 

This poses a problem for many Christians, 

as intolerance of religious minorities has 

become increasingly common in the last 

30 years, triggered by a rise of Buddhist 

nationalism. Pastors and churches regularly 

face discrimination, economic disadvantage, 

violent attacks, arson, social ostracism, church 

demolitions, death threats, church closures, 

and prevention of burying their deceased 

family members simply because of their faith. 

In October 2017, Buddhist monks and 

villagers forcibly entered a Christian’s home 

in Sri Lanka’s Bakamuna village. The monks 

and villagers burst into the home, threatening 

the church members who were gathered for 

a prayer meeting. The conflict escalated over 

the next few weeks, until approximately 

50 hostile Buddhist monks surrounded the 

pastor’s home as the group of Christians 

worshipped inside. They carried broken 

glass bottles and hurled insults at the group 

of believers, demanding that the Christians 

leave the village. Then, in November, 1,000 

Buddhists staged a similar demonstration 

against a church in Bakamuna. 

In May, ICC joined hands with local partners 

to assist churches in Sri Lanka like the Bakamuna 

church, especially those suffering from violent 

persecution or displacement. ICC provided 

practical assistance through emergency relief for 

pastors working in hostile areas to continue their 

ministry, and for the reconstruction or relocation 

of destroyed churches. 

The Bakamuna pastor reached out for help 

to build secure doors to keep the churchgoers 

from being harassed or attacked during 

worship. He says that he can now “breathe in 

peace” thanks to the assistance made possible 

by your generous offerings. 




t Work 

Aid for Islamist Attack 

Victim To Open Small Business 


In April, ICC traveled to Nyeri, Kenya to 

implement an entrepreneurship training 

for the victims of an attack in Mandera. The 

massacre took place in July 2015, when 

members of the Islamic extremist group 

al-Shabaab attacked and raided the town of 

Mandera, specifically targeting non-Muslim 

quarry workers. 

Years later, many of the survivors are struggling 

to provide for their families. ICC teamed up with 

local partners to implement the training, called 

“Gaining Ideas on Starting Small Businesses,” 

which assisted eight potential business owners. 

Topics included market research, readiness 

assessment, legal requirements, loans and 

insurance, costs and pricing, record keeping, 

business ethics, accounting, and attracting and 

retaining customers. 

Patrik Macharia, one of the survivors of 

the attack and beneficiaries of the training, 

still bears bullet scars on his leg from the 

attack. ICC will be helping him create a 

sustainable source of income by developing 

a motorbike transportation business. Patrik 

just received training at a driving school that 

will be necessary for his business. Thank 

you for making this effort possible with 

your continued support for the persecuted. 



Food for 

Refugees 

Hand of Hope 

This year, with the help of local partners, 

ICC provided coupons and food packages 

for more than 400 Syrian refugee families in 

Lebanon. As a result of their displacement, 

most Syrian refugees do not have monthly 

salaries or ready access to employment, so 

these vouchers help mitigate their daily needs. 

Through this ministry, many people now 

trust in God’s love and have connected with 

local churches. One sister in Christ, Amina, 

turned from her extremist Islamic upbringing 

to the Church after experiencing Jesus’s love 

through the food ministry. Khawla also turned 

to Christ despite threats from her radical 

Muslim relatives. Your assistance enabled 

us to reach out to the hungry and point back 

to the unchanging nature of God’s love at 

a time when displacement and instability 

often encroach on the lives of these families. 

Continue to pray for peace and salvation for 

displaced Syrian refugees. 

11

West Watch 

Christian Printer in Poland Convicted of Refusing To Make 

LGBTQ Banner 

Christian owner of a printing company 

A in Poland is facing a criminal conviction 

after declining an order to produce a banner 

promoting LGBTQ events. Poland’s Supreme 

Court upheld a lower court’s decision against 

the printer from the city of Lodz, which ruled 

that the owner did not have the legal right 

to refuse services. The case is yet another 

blow to religious freedom in the West as 

Christian beliefs are sidelined and the gap for 

diversity grows smaller in favor of anti-faith 

organizations in the West. 

There have been several similar cases 

in the United States, among a variety of 

businesses, which have resulted in both 

positive and negative rulings. It is becoming 

clear in the West that religious convictions 

are continuously being suppressed, as 

diversity of opinion and conviction are 

not respected by segments of civil society. 

The hostility against faith-based values is 

increasing as more and more Christian and 

faith-based individuals and organizations 

face discrimination for their beliefs. 

Canada’s Supreme Court 

Attacks Religious 

Freedom 

The Canadian Supreme Court ruled in 

June that any student graduating from 

Trinity Western University’s law school may 

be barred from practicing law. The court 

came to a decision that the university’s 

requirement for all faculty, staff, and students 

to live according to Christian beliefs 

on marriage was a satisfactory reason to 

deny licensing to the law school. 

The decision is a severe blow to religious 

freedom in the West as it sets a clear 

precedent for future cases, not only in 

Canada, but also in the United States and 

other Western countries. As a private, faithbased 

institution, Trinity Western University 

should be afforded the religious liberty to 

live according to its biblical convictions. 

US Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Christian Baker 

Jack Phillips, a Christian baker from 

Colorado drew national attention in 2012 

after declining a request to bake a wedding 

cake for a same-sex couple on account of 

his beliefs. The couple sued Phillips for 

discrimination and the Colorado Supreme 

Court ruled in favor of the couple. 

However, the ruling was recently 

overturned by the United States Supreme 

Court in a 7-2 verdict. Religious freedom 

endured in America, but the court ruling was 

quickly villainized by major media outlets 

and LGBTQ activists as discriminatory. 

The First Amendment guarantees religious 

freedom for all Americans to conduct 

their business and life as they see fit. 

Mr. Phillips’ case is a win for religious 

freedom and continues to give hope to all 

those who live according to their religious 

convictions. 

Report Indicates Rising Persecution in Europe 

R 

ecently in the European Union Parliament, 

members made the case that religious 

freedom in Europe is under attack. The members 

cited a recent report by the Observatory 

on Intolerance and Discrimination against 

Christians in Europe, which pointed out clear 

evidence that Christian persecution is sweeping 

across Europe. The organization reported 

more than 2,200 cases of intolerance or discrimination 

against Christians in Europe since 

2006. Their 2018 report cited over 500 cases 

from 2016 and 2017 alone. 

These cases varied from a nurse in Sweden 

being forced to look for work elsewhere 

because of her refusal to participate in abortion 

procedures, to student groups in Germany 

being denied access to university facilities 

simply because of their religious identity. 

While it is encouraging that these cases are 

attracting attention, the trend in Europe is 

not moving in a positive direction regarding 

religious freedom. Anti-religious, particularly 

anti-Christian, sentiments continue to thrive 

across the spectrum of civil society in Europe. 




Nikki Haley Emphasizes 

Religious Freedom on Trip 

to India 

U 

S 

Envoy to the United Nations Nikki 

Haley traveled to India on June 26 for 

a two-day trip aimed at strengthening the 

United States’ partnership with the South 

Asian democracy. After visiting various 

religious sites, Haley called freedom of 

religion “as important as freedom of rights 

and freedom of people.” Although Haley 

made no specific mention of Christian 

US Hosts Ministerial To 

Advance Religious Freedom 

S 

ecretary 

of State Mike Pompeo and 

the US State Department hosted 

the first ever Ministerial to Advance 

Religious Freedom on July 24-26. The 

event brought together delegates from 

more than 90 “like-minded” countries as 

well as many guests from civil society to 

discuss the status of religious freedom in 

the world today and how to improve religious 

freedom worldwide. 

Although the main event hosted at the 

State Department was by invitation only, 

Ambassador-at-Large for International 

Religious Freedom Sam Brownback 

encouraged non-governmental organizations 

(NGOs) and religious groups to 

host their own side events to expand 

the discussion beyond the invitation list. 

These side events took place throughout 

the nation’s capital during the week of 

the Ministerial and broadened the range 

of topics discussed during the event. 

The Ministerial represents the first event 

of its kind and is a sign that the Trump 

Administration plans on taking the issue 

of international religious freedom seriously 

moving forward. 



persecution in the area, this comment is 

a hopeful step in the direction of more 

US action regarding religious persecution 

worldwide. 

Haley’s comments in junction with the 

recent Ministerial serve as hopeful signs 

for the persecuted that the United States 

will continue to fight for religious freedom 

internationally. In order to preserve international 

religious freedom, representatives of 

the United States and other Western countries 

must continue to speak out in favor of 

religious freedom and hold other nations 

accountable when they violate such rights. 

British Prime Minister 

Appoints Special Envoy on 

Religious Freedom 

On July 4, British Prime Minister 

Theresa May appointed Lord Tariq 

Ahmad of Wimbledon as the Prime 

Minister’s first ever Special Envoy on 

Freedom of Religion or Belief. This new 

envoy, mirroring American Ambassadorat-Large 

for Religious Freedom Sam 

Brownback, will “promote the UK’s firm 

stance on religious tolerance abroad,” 

according to the press release from 

Downing Street. The appointment serves 

as a sign of May’s commitment to fighting 

religious prejudice, especially with her 

recent announcement of the commitment 

of £1 million to places of worship affected 

by hate crimes. 

Lord Ahmad currently serves as a member 

of the House of Lords and the Minister 

of State for the Commonwealth and the 

UN at the Foreign and Commonwealth 

Office. Ahmad expressed his enthusiasm 

to support religious freedom as stated 

in the Universal Declaration of Human 

Rights by using the “UK government’s 

global network to reach across religious 

divides.” 

Cross Removed from 

Michigan Hillside Following 

Complaint 

In Jackson, Michigan, the Grass Lake 

Ministerial Association has displayed a 

cross on state property with the proper 

permits for years. The cross has been the 

source of conflict on multiple occasions for 

those who don’t wish to see the structure 

on state grounds. Recently, following a 

complaint from a local resident, the cross 

was taken down. As the cross has been a 

local landmark since 1950, many residents 

are upset with the decision and have chosen 

to initiate a petition to save the cross. One 

local resident told the media, “Rather than 

let one voice tear it down, thousands are 

speaking up.” 

Eventually, after meeting with state officials, 

the Grass Lake Ministerial Association 

decided that the best course of action would 

be to relocate the cross. 

Sweden Moves To Ban 

Religious Schools 

Sweden’s Social Democrats have resolved 

to ban religious schools in Sweden in 

an effort to supposedly combat segregation. 

The leader of the movement is Sweden’s 

Minister for Public Administration, Ardalan 

Shekarabi, who claims that the Swedish 

education system should be grounded on 

the values of the Swedish constitution. Mr. 

Shekarabi grew up in a gender-segregated 

and Islam-influenced Iranian school. He said 

that he will “never accept that the oppression 

that I and many with me have fled from 

will find its way into the Swedish education 

system.” Mr. Shekarabi’s assertion that Iran’s 

oppressive Islamic government is somehow 

comparable to the Swedish school system 

is a direct attack on religious freedom in 

Sweden where several private schools celebrate 

their faith-based values. 

Christian values have long been 

the founding principles of many free 

democratic societies and are well enshrined 

in the constitutions of Western democratic 

nations. Sweden’s move to ban faithbased 

education will cause further societal 

divisions when freedom of religion is denied 

to families that wish to give their children a 

faith-based education. 

13

Once the 

Birthplace of 

the Church, 

Now an Enemy 

An historical overview of Turkey’s relationship with the Church 

and its ongoing persecution of Christianity 

By Meg McEwen 

Over the last millennia, 

extremist Islamic 

influence has eroded 

Turkey’s relationship 

with its Christian 

population, leading to 

increased acts of terrorism, 

discrimination, and 

hatred towards Christianity. 

Once a shining reminder of the early Christian 

church, modern-day Turkey has become a convoluted 

mixture of ethnoreligious persecution. 

The Turkish government perpetuates the anti- 

Christian narrative by stirring up ethnic and 

religious hatred towards Christianity through 

hate speech. Persecution of Christians in Turkey 

will last as long as its own charged rhetoric 

allows. Turkey’s admission of large numbers of 

refugees in the past decade further complicates 

the situation, bringing new Christian communities 

into the fold of persecution. 

The Erosion Begins 

Turkey is a product of different 

civilizations and centuries of warfare and 

conquest. Many pivotal moments in church 

history occurred on Turkish soil, including 

the first seven Ecumenical Councils and 

the Council of Nicea. It is even known as 

the birthplace of the early church. Notable 

followers of Christ, such as Paul of Tarsus, 

Timothy, Nicholas of Myra, and Polycarp 

of Smyrna, hailed from Turkey. The city of 

Constantinople, now Istanbul, became the 

capital of the Byzantine Empire and the 

headquarters of the Eastern Orthodox Church. 

This all quickly changed with the aggressive 

expansion of Islam. In the 7th century, 

Seljuk Turks captured half of Christian land, 

including the city of Jerusalem. At the turn of 

the millennia, Christians rose up to defend the 

Byzantine Christians from Seljuk Turks and 

recover the Holy Land in a 200-year conflict 

known as the Crusades. Both sides committed 

human rights abuses against each other, a 

reality that challenges interfaith dialogue and 

attempts at reconciliation tho this day. 

Turks’ bitter view of the Crusades presents 

a significant hurdle for evangelization, and for 

some Turkish Muslims, justifies the persecution 

of Christians. 

The Turks possession of Constantinople in 

1453 marked the beginning of an attempt to 

completely eliminate Christianity in Turkey. 

In a symbolic act, they forcefully converted 

a thousand-year old church and architectural 

wonder, Hagia Sophia, into a mosque. When 

the Ottoman Empire officially dissolved in 

1923, the modern “secular” state of Turkey 

was born. 




Far Left: Turkish citizens wave the nation’s 

flag, which bears the Islamic star and 

crescent during a gathering in support of 

President Recep Erdoğan. 

Lower Left: Many Christians are suffering 

in Turkey and are pushed to convert to Islam. 

Left: The streets of Istanbul may appear to 

be a modern metropolis but there are deep 

Islamic currents in the culture. 

20th Century Genocides 

In the 20th century, Christianity dipped 

from roughly 25% of the population to 2%, 

a direct result of government-supervised ethnoreligious 

cleansing. Most of the victims 

belonged to the Eastern Church. The Turkish 

government participated in an intensive, highly 

systematic killing spree, attempting to 

eliminate the Armenian people 

Leading up to this event, Armenians were 

treated as second-class citizens, abused by 

Muslims under the Ottoman Empire’s dhimmi 

system. Multiple international attempts were 

made to establish basic human rights for the 

Armenian people, but the government never 

enforced its agreements. 

The Armenian genocide left approximately 

one million corpses strewn across the parched 

path to the Syrian desert, a death march 

that remains largely controversial within the 

international community. Both the United 

States and Israel have failed to recognize the 

Armenian genocide, though many credible 

documents and eye-witness reports have surfaced 

regarding the tragedy. 

The Assyrian and Greek genocides also 

contributed to the plummeting number of 

Christians over the course of the early 1900s. 

Modern-Day Turkey 

Authorities consistently level hate-speech at 

Christians, keeping the spirit of enmity alive. 

Christians are not allowed to train their clergymen, 

and authorities rarely give them permission 

to establish a place of worship unless 

it is in a historical building. Christians are 

ostracized from society for choosing to opt out 

of compulsory religious classes. Churches find 

it nearly impossible to obtain legal standing as 



religious congregations. Religious affiliation 

has been removed from ID cards but is still 

visible in back end systems, leading to government 

discrimination. 

Christians live in uncertainty under the surveillance 

of President Erdoğan, who recently 

used an imprisoned American pastor, Andrew 

Brunson, for leverage in hostage diplomacy 

with the United States. The president plans to 

reinforce the Muslim religion by pulling down 

public schools and replacing them with religious 

schools. Fifteen years ago, there were 

only 450 religious schools in Turkey. There 

are 4,500 today. The president expressed his 

desire to raise a “pious generation,” which 

will almost certainly translate into a “violent 

generation” in the aftermath. 

Levels of Persecution 

A large influx of refugees from neighboring, 

war-torn countries placed new communities of 

Christians under government pressure, with 

levels of persecution varying by ethnicity. 

Christian Turks face a high degree of persecution 

because the Turkish population is 

predominantly Muslim. There are 70 million 

people and 6,000 Turkish Christians, making 

it difficult for the Christians to practice their 

faith. In the culture’s understanding, Turkish 

and Islamic blood run in the same veins. 

The Turks consider Syrian and Iraqi refugees 

to be brothers, a remnant of the glorious 

former Ottoman empire. Christians in these 

communities are hated, marked as traitors to 

their heritage. 

Iranian Christian refugees land on the 

other side of the persecution spectrum; they 

are largely left alone, free to worship God. 

Even though Iranian Christians enjoy relative 

religious freedom, they fear that they 

will eventually face government pressure. 

The Turkish government is already actively 

relocating them to nationalistic cities with 

large Islamic communities, like the other 

refugee communities. 

Armenian, Assyrian, and Kurdish Christians 

endure a more intense form of persecution 

because they are nationally hated in Turkey 

for their religion and ethnicity. The Turks 

already persecute Armenian and Assyrians 

on an ethnic front, so the few Christians who 

survive within these communities truly endure 

the brunt of this persecution. 

In Southeast Turkey, a war is being waged 

between Turks and Kurds. Turks believe that 

Kurds are terrorists and thus seek to isolate 

the community to “protect” national security. 

Because they successfully established similar 

regions in in Iraq and Syria, they are labeled 

as unstable terrorists by the Turkish government 

(and the international community). 

The Turks frequently isolate and despise 

Kurdish communities in an attempt to repress 

a mounting rebellion. Christian missionaries 

have been imprisoned or deported while 

trying to minister and evangelize the Kurds. 

For this reason, the Kurds are an increasingly 

unreached ethnic group. 

ICC’s Involvement in 

Turkey 

Due to the extremely sensitive position 

of Christians in Turkey, we must be vague 

in describing our work there. But the brittle 

spiritual ground in Turkey has not stopped the 

Lord from paving a way for ICC to minister to 

persecuted Christians. 

ICC is building a nursery for MBBs 

(Muslim background believers) who leave 

their young toddlers at home alone while they 

work the only jobs open to them – those that 

require long hours and heavy labor. 

With the help of ICC, an illegal church is 

moving to a new location to safely accommodate 

its growing numbers. 

ICC also provides legal assistance to pastors 

who have been singled out by authorities 

because of their ministry work and advocates 

with the United States government to 

effect policies that may ease the pressure on 

Christians in Turkey. 

15

Turkish President Recep Erdoğan. 

DANGER 

AHEAD: 




President Erdoğan’s Rise Signals 

Trouble for Christians 

By Claire Evans 

People who work closely 

with President Recep 

Erdoğan describe him 

as a stern patriarch 

who alternates between 

faithful piety and 

fiery oratory. Before 

Erdoğan, religion in 

Turkey remained primarily 

in the private 

sphere, and piety was hardly a defining 

feature of its secular government. But with 

Erdoğan’s climb up the political ladder, 

Islamism has come front and center. Erdoğan 

has transformed Turkey into an Islamic 

authoritarian state at war with Christianity. 

Erdoğan’s devotion to Islam is not surprising. 

He grew up in the Black Sea 

Region, known for its Islamic conservatism. 

Ironically, the Black Sea was once the heart 

of Christianity in ancient Turkey, but today, 

its Christians number only in the dozens. The 

fact that Erdoğan’s home community, and 

possibly even his own ancestors, used to be 

predominantly Christian makes his brand of 

Islamic nationalism all the more tragic. 

Islamist Worldview 

What does surprise is how quickly 

Erdoğan’s worldview and message gained 

traction among his countrymen. He rose from 

mayor of Istanbul in 1994, to the nation’s 

Prime Minister in 2003, to President in 2014. 

Many point to Erdoğan’s four-month 

imprisonment in 1998 as a 

defining moment. Charged 

with “inciting hatred” after 

reading a religious nationalist 

poem at a rally, he 

entered prison openly 

devoted to Islamism, but 

left claiming he would wall 

off his religion from his 

politics. Shortly after his 

release, he was quoted by 

the New York Times as 

saying, “Before anything 

else, I’m a Muslim. As a 

Muslim, I try to comply 

with the requirements of 

my religion… But I try now 



“Those who think 

that we have 

erased from our 

hearts the lands 

from which we 

withdrew in tears 

a hundred years 

ago are wrong...” 

– PRESIDENT RECEP 

ERDOĞAN 

very much to keep this away from my political 

life, to keep it private.” 

Because Erdoğan’s prison experience was 

one of luxury and comfort, some doubted 

its transformative effects. In fact, his jail 

sentence served to boost his profile, and his 

public charisma grew. In 2001 he helped 

found the Justice and Development Party 

(AKP), and two short years later he was 

elected Prime Minister. 

Defender of Christianity? 

A decade and a half later, Erdoğan 

remains in power (now as President), 

and Turkey looks radically different. For 

the first 10 years of his leadership, the 

country’s slide towards Islamism was 

hard to perceive. Erdoğan even seemed 

to defend Christianity at times. In 2007, 

when young Muslim extremists murdered 

three Christians operating a Bible publishing 

house in Malatya, one of the suspects 

was quoted saying, “Our religion (Islam) 

is being destroyed. Let this be a lesson to 

enemies of our religion.” Erdoğan said of 

the attack: “This is savagery.” 

Though such incidents make Erdoğan’s 

Islamism seem less blatant, his authoritarian 

bent remained clear. The tumultuous 

aftermath of the failed military coup in 

July 2016 led to a massive purge of journalists, 

government officials, teachers, and 

many others, displaying the draconian 

character of Erdoğan’s regime. 

The failed coup also 

testified to how drastically 

Turkey had changed, 

as much of the populace 

rallied to put down the 

coup. With the coup’s 

failure, Erdoğan purged 

his opponents, both real 

and perceived, emerging 

more powerful than ever. 

He brandished the strident 

style of his younger 

days as he took steps to 

solidify his grip on power. 

Islamism reemerged as 

a defining feature of his 

politics and rhetoric. 

Revival of Ottoman 

Tradition 

In other words, Erdoğan declared himself 

openly at war with Atatürk, the founder of 

Turkey’s secular state. Erdoğan is a passionate 

historian and a great admirer of Abdülhamid 

II, known as the “bloody sultan” of the 

Ottoman Empire. Where Atatürk had cast off 

the Islamic authority of the Ottoman Empire, 

Erdoğan seeks to resurrect it, picking up 

where Abdülhamid II, the empire’s last effective 

sultan, left off. 

Said Erdoğan this past February, “Those 

who think that we have erased from our 

hearts the lands from which we withdrew in 

tears a hundred years ago are wrong… We 

are struggling so that a foreign flag will not 

be waved anywhere where adhan [Islamic 

call to prayer in mosques] is recited. The 

things we have done so far [pale in comparison 

to the] even greater attempts and attacks 

[we are planning for] the coming days, 

inshallah [Allah willing].” 

It is this open declaration of war that 

deeply troubles Turkey’s Christians. They 

know that their president’s view of history 

matters greatly when it comes to their future. 

They know that the way Turks in general view 

Christians is a product of how they interpret 

the close of Ottoman history. Explains one 

believer, “During the independent war we 

fought against lots of countries and some 

bishops blessed the Turks enemies. That’s 

why people started to hate Christianity and 

Christians. Also, some of the enemies’ flags 

had crosses, like Greece. And because of that 

people started to see Christians as an enemy.” 

Erdoğan has tapped into the deepest cultural 

fears of Turks and promised to resurrect 

600 years of Ottoman history with 

himself as chief proponent. Indeed, he has 

positioned himself well. One year after the 

coup, he enacted constitutional changes that 

greatly reduced the role of parliament and 

consolidated power within his “executive 

presidency.” These changes came into full 

effect in June 2018, after Erdoğan “won” a 

hotly disputed early election. 

As his rhetoric increasingly demonstrates, 

Erdoğan views all opposition to his 

new authoritarianism as a “clash between 

cross and crescent.” 

More than any other leader besides Atatürk, 

Erdoğan has thoroughly transformed Turkey. 

The question is, what role do Christians have 

in Turkey’s future? Are they the enemies, 

as Erdoğan’s rhetoric suggests? Or are they 

second-class, dhimmi citizens, just as they 

were under Ottoman rule? 

17

The Systematic 

Eradication of Christian 

Civilization in Turkey 

By Uzay Bulut 

I 

was born in a country where 

Christianity is a deeply rooted, 

but deeply marginalized religion. 

Turkey, which today encompasses 

Asia Minor (or Anatolia), contains 

more biblical sites than any other 

region in the Middle East except 

Israel. Many Christian Apostles and 

Saints, such as Paul of Tarsus, Peter, 

John, Timothy, Nicholas of Myra, 

and Polycarp of Smyrna, among others, either 

ministered or lived in Turkey. 

The Seven Churches of Asia, the major 

churches of early Christianity, are in Anatolia. 

The first seven ecumenical councils were 

also held there. The first was convened in 

A.D. 325 by the emperor Constantine in 

Nicaea (Iznik). 

Today, however, only 0.2 percent of 

Turkey’s population of nearly 80 million 

are Christian. 

Centuries of Islamic Control 

The Islamization of the region began when 

Turkic tribes from Central Asia invaded the 

Armenian highland of the Greek Byzantine 

Empire in 1071 and started occupying 

Christian cities. Those Muslim tribes first 

established the Seljuk Empire in Anatolia and 

then ruled the Ottoman Empire (1299–1923). 

For centuries, Christians became dhimmis— 

third-class, tolerated citizens forced to pay 

a tax in exchange for “protection” under 

Islamic Sharia law. 

Then from 1914 to 1923, the Ottoman government 

and Turkish nationalist forces committed 

genocide against Armenian, Greek 

and Assyrian Christians. Approximately 3 

million Christians perished. Many Greek 

Christian survivors were forcibly expelled 

from Turkey in 1923. But successive Turkish 

governments have aggressively denied that 

the genocide ever occurred and have continued 

persecuting Christians. 

From 1941-1942, the Turkish military 

attempted to force Christians and Jews— 

“Christians 

remain 

exposed 

to severe 

oppression 

in Turkey. “ 

including the elderly and mentally ill— 

to work under horrendous conditions in 

labor battalions. In 1942, a Wealth Tax 

was imposed to eliminate Christians 

and Jews from the economy. A savage 

anti-Greek pogrom in 1955 also targeted 

Armenians and Jews in Istanbul. In 

1964, thousands of Greeks were forcefully 

expelled from Turkey. These policies 

all contributed to the annihilation of 

Christians in the country. 

Present-Day Discrimination 

Christians remain exposed to severe 

oppression in Turkey. Greek-speaking 

Orthodox Christians, for example, cannot 

freely obtain education in the Theological 

School of Halki, the main theological 

school of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of 

Constantinople. The school was shut down 

by the Turkish government in 1971 and 

has not been reopened. Since that time, the 

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, 

the spiritual center of Orthodox Christianity, 

has been unable to train clergy and potential 

successors for the patriarch. 

The remaining Christian Assyrians are also 

struggling with many challenges. For example, 

they lack the official right to public education 

in their own institutions. In Istanbul, 

they are attempting to open a private elementary 

school although the government refuses 

to grant financial support. Meanwhile, both 

the government and some Muslim Kurdish 

locals in southeast Turkey continue to illegally 

seize their properties. 

Protestants are among the most oppressed 

Christians in Turkey. The government does 

not recognize the Protestant community as 

a “legal entity.” Hence, Protestants hold 

no right to freely establish and maintain 

churches. The Protestant community also 

faces discrimination in the training of religious 

leaders. Since current law prohibits 

the opening of religious training schools, 

the Protestant community relies on support 

from foreign church leaders. Sadly, several 

foreign religious workers and church members 

have been deported, denied entry into 

Turkey, refused residence permits, or denied 

entry visas. 

Violence Not Limited to 

the Past 

Several incidents in recent memory reinforce 

the very real threat of physical violence 

against Christians. In 2006, Father Andrea 

Santoro, an Italian Catholic priest, was murdered 

in his church in the city of Trabzon by 

a Muslim shouting “Allahu akbar” (Allah 

is the greatest). A year later, three Christian 

employees of the Zirve Bible Publishing 

House in Malatya were tortured and murdered 

by five Muslim assailants. Two of the 

victims were converts. 

In Anatolia, where Christianity was once 

the majority religion and thrived for centuries, 

Turkey’s state forces target and demonize 

Christian missionaries. And it appears 

that police, military and intelligence organizations 

are involved in the murders of 

Christians in the country. Turkey’s National 

Security Council has even argued that missionary 

activities should be regarded as a 

“national threat.” 




Top: Turkey views Christianity as a clash 

between cross and crescent. 

Center: An Armenian holds the bones of 

his ancestors who were killed during Turkey’s 

genocide of ethnic-religious minorities. Flickr 

Creative Commons photo by user Ashnag. 

Bottom: Islam has aggressively eradicated 

Turkey’s ancient Christian roots. 



Who Can Count the Cultural 

Loss? 

The destruction of churches and their 

use for sacrilegious purposes such as stables 

are among the physical outcomes of 

Christian annihilation and Islamic intolerance 

in Turkey. But even more alarming 

is the destruction of the immense knowledge 

and great cultural legacies of millions 

of Christians—including that of Christian 

saints, philosophers and other scholars. 

Throughout its long history in Turkey, 

Christian teachings served as an inspiration 

for philosophy, literature, ethics, philanthropy, 

architecture, music and theatre, among other 

fields. Anatolian Christians—both in ancient 

times as well as under the rule of Byzantines 

and even as dhimmis under the Ottoman 

occupation—made countless contributions to 

human progress in the fields of science, technology, 

medicine, art, law and politics. 

Today, however, the Turkish state does not 

even recognize the “Ecumenical” status of the 

Patriarch and Patriarchate, the spiritual center 

of the Eastern Orthodox Church. 

Meanwhile, the destruction of Christianity 

is accompanied by the rise of political Islam in 

Turkey. For example, 54 percent of the participants 

in a 2017 survey conducted by the progovernment 

MAK counseling company said 

“yes” to Turkey having “a religious leadership 

similar to the caliphate.” 

Sadly, Turkish governments have carried 

out their oppressive and destructive actions 

against Christians either with the active participation 

or the silent approval of the clear 

majority of the Muslim Turkish people. 

Never once in their history have Turkish 

people attempted to protest the government as 

Christian and other non-Muslim citizens of the 

country were and still are exposed to horrific 

injustices such as murders, pogroms, rapes, 

and various social pressures. 

Annihilating Christian peoples and cultures 

in Turkey has harmed not only Christians but 

humanity at large. Sadly, the West still looks 

away as Turkey’s rich Christian heritage is on 

the verge of disappearing forever. 

19

TURKEY’S YOUNG 

CHRISTIANS FEEL 

THE WEIGHT OF THE 

SPIRITUAL DARKNESS 

IN THEIR LAND 

Top Right: Schoolchildren gather to 

pay their respects to Atatürk and learn the 

meaning of their Turkish identity. 

Bottom Right: Children are taught from a 

young age that to be Turkish is to be Muslim. 

Below: Homage is paid to Atatürk, 

Turkey’s founder and inventor of the concept 

of Turkishness. 

Turkish believers wrestle with the 

entrenched cultural belief that real Turks 

are and must be Muslim. 

By Claire Evans 

One cool evening 

in Ankara, I 

joined four Turks 

for tea. All were 

university-aged 

converts, two of 

whom still keep 

their conversion 

secret. They gather 

almost every 

night and challenge one another to grow in 

their faith despite the many hardships they 

face. This night, in hushed but urgent tones, 

they were eager to unburden themselves 

about the crisis of identity they face as 

Turkish Christians. 

“Ankara is a dark place, a conservative 

place,” explained one woman. “It is spiritually 

depressing.” Tears welled in the eyes of 

another. She was unable to speak for several 

minutes. She looked toward her brother who 

nodded in assent about the spiritual darkness 

surrounding them. 

Ankara is the capitol of Turkey and its 

second largest city, a hub of rich history and 

culture. The palatial Presidential Complex 

and other government ministries are scattered 

among its neighborhoods. The mausoleum 

of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder 

of modern day Turkey, is toured by millions 

every year. When I visited, I was struck 

by the reverence on the faces of so many 

who had journeyed there. I wondered aloud 

why the man who invented the concept of 

Turkishness would be so admired almost 100 

years later. 

What is “Turkishness?” 

“Most people show respect to Atatürk. I 

also like him and show respect to his ideas,” 

explained one of the Christians gathered at 

the café. He described his parents as terrorists, 

and said he was afraid to tell them of his 

conversion because they are Islamic nationalists. 

He added, “The most important one of 

Atatürk’s six principles is secularism, I think. 

Through the secularist system that he brought, 

we can have a choice to change to another 

religion from Islam. So I think Atatürk’s influence 

is really important and great for us who 

were Muslims before.” 

His friend has also kept his conversion a 

secret, but for a different reason—his family is 

committed to secular nationalism. He told me, 

“I became a Christian and immediately felt like 

I betrayed my country. I still feel that way.” 

“Turkish people believe that if you aren’t 

Muslim, you’re an enemy. When you ask people’s 

religion here, some people will say ‘I am 

Turk.’ Because people believe that if you’re 

Turk, you have to be Muslim,” he continued. 

Similar comments about Turkishness have 

marked every conversation I’ve had with 

believers in Turkey. Strong ideas about what 

it means to be a Turk have spread from 

their origin in Ankara all across the county’s 

81 provinces. A fierce defensiveness about 

the Turkish national identity has been carefully 

cultivated. It has provided the fodder for 

Turkey’s transformation from a quasi-democratic 

state to a thoroughly authoritarian one. 

Turks to the World: “We 

Will Not Bow” 

In his 2014 post-election speech, President 

Erdoğan proclaimed, “The people gave a 

clear message to Turkey and to the world: 

What did they say? They said, ‘We are here.’ 

They said, ‘The Turkish people are impassable 

… We are the owners of this country. 

The people will not bow and Turkey is 

invincible.’” President Erdoğan won his 

2018 election by further emphasizing that 

authentic Turkishness means a coming war 

between cross and crescent. 

The pressure of being true to the national 

identity is felt by Christian all across the 

country. Churches are so rare in Turkey that 

they are considered a foreign novelty, and are 

often visited by touring Muslims. One pastor 




Turkey’s 

Specific Needs 

in Eastern Turkey shared that, “…they come 

to church and when I start talking, they are 

like, ‘Wow, you speak such good Turkish!’ 

And I say, ‘Well of course, I am a Turk!’” 

Free to Gather, For Now 

Back in Ankara, the four young Turks 

sitting in the café continued to contemplate 

how the idea of Turkishness had impacted 

their lives. It was clear that talking about 

their challenges with each other had greatly 

eased the burden. 

As we left the café, one pointed to a 

public square renamed after those who 



defended Erdoğan during the 2016 coup. 

Since the coup, state surveillance of 

Christians has increased and the idea of 

Turkishness has been further ingrained in 

Turkey’s citizens. 

These four believers are able to safely 

gather, for now. But so many others are 

not. Their families view them as apostates 

to their religion. Their nation views them 

as traitors. They are Turks who love their 

country and their families. But that love 

is constantly questioned by a government 

which perpetuates the myth that Turks can 

only be Muslim. 

Armenians and 

Assyrians Today 

Turkey is an ethnically 

diverse country and 

an environment which 

challenges the invented 

concept of Turkishness. 

The nation encompasses 

two ethnic groups — 

Armenians and Assyrians— 

who are primarily Christian 

and have essentially 

been wiped out through 

genocide. The few who 

remain in Turkey suffer 

repeated hardship. Earlier 

this year an Armenian 

Church in Istanbul was 

vandalized and sprayed 

with graffiti. 

Kurds Under Attack 

Christianity is spreading 

among Kurds located 

primarily in the country’s 

southeast even though 

the Turkish-Kurdish 

conflict continues. The 

recent imprisonment 

of a pastor makes plain 

that Turkey opposes the 

advance of the gospel 

among ethnic minorities. 

To learn more about how you 

can make a difference through 

ICC’s work in Africa, give us 

a call at 800-ICC-5441 or visit 

persecution.org and consider 

donating today. 

21

FEAR WILL NOT 

DEFINE US 

A Turkish pastor and his church navigate 

plots, threats and tragedy at the hands of their 

government and fellow countrymen. 

By Gina Goh 






Fear, a natural instinct, 

has a paralyzing effect 

on Christians who experience 

frequent persecution. 

Once the fear sets 

in, they become consumed 

with what will 

happen to them and 

their loved ones. They 

realize that every new 

day could bring danger to their literal doorstep, 

as much of the persecution stems from 

a deeply rooted hatred for Christianity within 

their own communities. 

Pastor Ahmet Güvener serves as a pastor 

of Diyarbakir Protestant Church in Turkey, a 

trouble spot for Christians. Over the course of 

his ministry, he has survived an assassination 

attempt, received murder threats, and experienced 

the tragedy of his own daughter being 

beaten for her faith. 

Despite his precarious position, Pastor 

Ahmet refuses to let fear define him. In 

an exclusive interview with International 

Christian Concern, Pastor Ahmet unpacked 

his journey of faith amid persecution and the 

price he pays as a Christian in Turkey. 

Don’t Let Fear Enslave Us 

As a vocal Turkish Christian who constantly 

faces persecution from the government, 

Pastor Ahmet should be living in 

fear – but he isn’t. Rather than letting worry 

overwhelm him, he focuses his prayers on 

Turkey, asking God to accomplish His good 

purposes for the country. His conviction is 

that his country would be unable to recognize 

God’s blessings without the crucible of 

hardships, suffering, and persecution. 

Pastor Ahmet’s prayers are not naïve or 

baseless. He is very aware of the dangers of 

living in a hostile country. 

One day, a group of attackers posing as 

seekers approached Pastor Ahmet, claiming 

to want to learn more about the Bible. Two 

of the men frequented his fellowship. He 

agreed to meet and set up an appointment 

with them. Fortunately, the police were 

able to foil the plot and catch the attackers 

in time. 

Pastor Ahmet found comfort in the Lord’s 

sovereignty over the sequence of events 

and His justice in exposing his would-be 

murderers. 

Pastor Ahmet understands the consuming 

nature of fear because Satan has leveraged 

it against him more than once. On one occasion, 

he suspected that his radical Muslim 

neighbor was plotting to kill him. The 

man owned a grocery store next door, and 

he would always make fun of missionar- 

23

ies. One day, the man showed up at Pastor 

Ahmet’s church, cornering him in his office. 

Pastor Ahmet thought for sure that the man 

would kill him, but he just tried to sell him 

a 16-pound, antique Bible. 

Another time, he received a threatening 

phone call in the middle of the night. He 

assumed that the call was linked to a violent 

act committed earlier to a fellow Christian 

worker, and he felt uneasy for days afterward. 

Fear is a normal response to such circumstances, 

but Pastor Ahmet states, “If 

fear makes us slaves, this is sin… You can’t 

sleep at night. You can’t take care of your 

family. You can’t look after the church. You 

know, same with money. Money is not a sin. 

But if we love money too much, then that’s 

sin. You know, fear is not sin itself, it’s not 

sinful itself. You know, fear is actually one 

way to help us be cautious about things. But 

if it makes you a slave and alienates you 

from God, that’s sin. That’s why the Bible 

says do not fear.” 

However, Pastor Ahmet’s attitude toward 

fear is more nuanced when it comes to his 

family. 

Persecution of His Family 

Ahmet’s long suffering as a Christian in 

Turkey has not been without consequence. His 

wife and five daughters have all experienced 

persecution. 

Three male classmates in middle school 

approached Pastor Ahmet’s daughter during 

a school break. At the time, the class was 

receiving a false stream of information about 

missionaries, including the idea that Christians 

missionaries in Turkey are trying to accomplish 

the failed objective of the Crusades by seizing 

Turkish land. The boys beat Pastor Ahmet’s 

daughter so badly that that she passed out. 

She was rushed to the hospital. An X-ray 

showed that she did not have brain injury, yet 

she continued to faint once or twice a week 

following the attack. A psychiatrist eventually 

revealed that his daughter’s regular fainting 

was her body’s self-defense mechanism. She 

was protecting herself from further attack by 

passing out when the boys were beating her. It 

took her a year-and-a-half to recover from the 

traumatic experience. 

Pastor Ahmet shared this information with 

tears streaming down his face. Even though 

he is willing to offer himself as a living sacrifice 

to the Lord, watching his family suffer 

with him is hard to bear. Despite the hardship, 

he happily reports that his children still serve 

the Lord. His oldest daughter just married a 

strong believer, and they are both youth leaders. 

His second daughter has a heart to serve 

the Lord. Pastor Ahmet believes that they will 

be blessed for their perseverance. 

Persecution of His Church 

Pastor Ahmet’s congregation has also experienced 

persecution through his ministry, but 

its perseverance has resulted in amazing progress 

for the gospel in Turkey. 

For five years, Pastor Ahmet’s congregation 

prayed and fasted before they raised $3000 to 

build a church in Diyarbakir. They submitted 

their plans for government approval, hoping 

for a miracle. The proposal rode a wave of 

prayers all the way up to the State, where it 

was miraculously approved. Given that there 

is no legal statute for building a church in 

Turkey, winning approval was remarkable. 

The government permits the construction of 

mosques and additions to old churches, but 

there were no laws allowing construction of a 

new church. 

News of the government’s decision soon 

attracted national media attention, and many 

criticized the government. The government 

realized its ‘mistake’ and halted the construction, 

even though the proposal had obtained 

approval at municipal and federal levels. 

Ironically, the State started using the situation 

as propaganda to showcase how they were 

opening the door and making it easy for the 

churches to start in Turkey. 

In the face of national criticism, the government 

backpedaled hard. Pastor Ahmet was 

prosecuted on trumped-up legal charges with 

the threat of a six-year prison sentence. The 

case attracted both local and international 

attention, including that of European human 

rights groups. The trial went on for a year-anda-half 

before Pastor Ahmet was found innocent. 

Some claimed that the ruling resulted 

from European involvement, but Ahmet knew 

that it was from the Lord. 

“You know, fear is 

not sin in itself... 

but if it makes 

you a slave and 

alienates you from 

God, that’s sin. 

That’s why the Bible 

says do not fear.” 

– PASTOR AHMET 

Immediately on the heels of the favorable 

decision, the police brought another court 

case against Pastor Ahmet’s church, accusing 

them of worshipping with instruments. 

The case dragged on for another six months, 

and the negative publicity of closing down 

the Diyarbakir church pushed the parliament 

to enact a law to replace the word ‘mosque’ 

with ‘a place of worship,’ effectively nullifying 

the case against Pastor Ahmet’s church 

as construction of a new church has now 

become legal. 

This blessing enabled Pastor Ahmet’s 

church to establish a seminary to train pastors. 

Since then, the students have traveled to 

all corners of Turkey growing the Church and 

serving the communities. They reach hundreds 

of people each day, including Muslim tourists 

from all over Turkey. 

Resistance from the State 

The Turkish government systematically 

opposes the work of the Christian Church 

in Turkey. Pastor Ahmet told ICC, “… the 

government is uncomfortable with these 




Left: Pastor Ahmet 

Güvener outside and at the 

pulpit of his church. 

developments. They’ll find something to 

accuse us with, like you are working together 

to help terrorist organizations. They don’t 

accuse us of directly doing missionary work 

or evangelism, but in the mentality of lay 

people, it has been implanted that being a 

missionary itself is a crime. You know, if 

you say ‘I’m a missionary’ in Turkey, it’s 

like saying ‘I’m a terrorist.’” 

Pastor Ahmet has seen by personal experience 

that Turkish schools indoctrinate 

children with anti-Christian teachings. “In 

the social studies curriculum for third-year 

middle school students, they ask the question 

of ‘what are the threats to our national 

security?’ And one of the answers is ‘missionaries.’ 

We’ve been working hard for 

years to get that book to change but the 

Ministry of Education and those responsible 

haven’t changed it,” said Pastor Ahmet. 

Because the law requires the government 

to bring a substantial charge in order to close 

down a church, the authorities have started 

accusing Christians of being leaders in the 

FBI or CIA. When Pastor Ahmet became 



the object of such a charge, it was not the 

attempt to link him to foreign intelligence 

organizations that bothered him. Rather, it 

was the fear that the members of his church 

or family would believe the narrative. 

When Pastor Ahmet was taken into custody, 

he thought that his church might disperse. 

Instead, the exact opposite occurred. 

At midnight, brothers and sisters flocked 

to the police station where he was detained 

to support and pray for him. His concern 

for his flock in the midst of persecution 

was met with resiliency and faith from his 

church members. 

Current Work and 

Financial Need 

Pastor Ahmet believes that hard times 

lie ahead for the Church in Turkey, so he 

is taking preventative measures to protect 

the Church by sharing his testimony. 

By explaining the situation and building 

relationships with others in the body in 

Christ, he hopes to garner attention from the 

Western church for the plight of the church 

in Turkey. He is working on his English 

to overcome the language barrier, visiting 

partner churches, and cultivating relationships 

with new churches in Africa, Europe, 

and America. 

When asked what his big needs are for the 

future, Pastor Ahmet singled out financial 

hardship for his family. His time in and out 

of court since 2002 has placed a financial 

burden on his family. Though he proves his 

innocence time and again, the family still 

struggles economically. 

He hopes that church communities in the 

U.S. will connect them to people who care 

about Turkey’s situation and want to support 

evangelism efforts. Working together, 

Pastor Ahmet believes that Christians can 

counter the anti-Christian media campaign 

in Turkey. 

We have a tremendous opportunity to 

support Pastor Ahmet, his family, and his 

efforts to advance the Gospel in Turkey 

with our prayers. Let’s ask the Lord to do 

“immeasurably more than all we ask or 

imagine” (Ephesians 3:20). 

25

Feature Article 

Creating the Christian 

Uncontested and 

consistent anti-Christian 

hate speech has been 

used by Turkey’s leaders 

to erase 2,000 years 

of Christian history, 

turning Christians into a 

marginalized community. 

By Will Stark 

Today, the followers, 

traditions, 

and 

history of 

Christianity 

in Turkey are 

under attack. 

The Turks 

ridicule 

Christians, 

Christmas, the Vatican, and the 

Pope as enemies of the state. 

More than 2,000 years of history 

and tradition have been rejected 

and forgotten as a result of systematic 

government smear. It didn’t 

happen overnight. Although many 

factors contributed to the marginalization 

of Christianity in Turkey, 

including the rise of Turkish 

nationalism and political Islam, 

social manipulation has played an 

intrinsic role in shaping the national 

opinion against Christianity. The 

government constantly smears hate 

speech against Christianity across 

media channels, targeting its followers 

and traditions. 

Christians only make up 0.2% 

of Turkey’s overall population, 

but President Recep Tayyip 

Erdoğan and his ruling Justice and 

Reconciliation Party (Adalet ve 

Kalkınma Partisi or AKP) have 

made conscious efforts to depict 

Christians and other minorities 

as grave threats to the security 

of the nation. Erdoğan stereotypes 

Christians as stooges of the 

Western powers and collaborators 

against his government; according 

to him, they are not “real Turks.” 

Erdoğan frequently levels hate 

speeches against opposition parties 

by identifying them as “crusaders” 

or implying that they are 




Feature Article 

Other 

colluding with the Vatican and 

the West. Erdoğan’s political 

followers and the tightly controlled 

Turkish media parrot this 

message, making it seem even 

more credible to the masses. 

On March 16, 2017, Erdoğan 

criticized the European Court of 

Justice’s ruling on headscarves, 

saying, “They allowed employers 

to prohibit workers who so 

desire from wearing a headscarf 

in the workplace. Where is the 

religious freedom? They started 

a crusader-crescent war. There is 

no excuse for this.” 

The next day, multiple media 

outlets ran lead stories on 

Erdoğan’s remarks with the headline, 

“They launched a crusadercrescent 

battle.” 

On March 27, 2017, Erdoğan 

depicted European leaders’ visit 

to the pope as the “Crusaders’ 

Alliance” and said, “They got 

together at the Vatican. Since 

when is the pope a member of 

the European Union? The crusade 

alliance has shown itself. You are 

not letting Turkey in the union 

since Turkey is a Muslim nation.” 

As these messages of hate saturate 

Turkish society, Christians 

report increased hostility and 

attacks on their places of worship. 

In a report by Turkey’s 

Association of Protestant 

Churches, entitled the 2017 

Human Rights Violations, Turkish 

Christians noted: 

“There was an increase in hate 

speech directed toward Christians 

in some national media outlets, 

in local media and in social 

media. In addition, there was an 

increased coupling together of 

churches and terror organizations 

in news reports. Some churches 

became the direct subject of a 

news report and this raised concern 

in those churches and among 

their members.” 

The 2017 Report also documented 

hate-filled messages on 

billboards, posters, brochures, 



“There was an increase in hate 

speech directed toward Christians 

in some national media outlets...” 

– TURKISH CHRISTIANS 

Top: An anti-Christmas billboard 

posted in 2016. 

Bottom: Santa Claus being 

forcefully converted to Islam by Alperen 

Hearths in December 2016. 

newspaper articles, and television 

programs during the Christmas 

season. This widespread assault 

on the holiday caused serious 

concern for Turkish Christians 

attempting to celebrate one of the 

most important holidays on the 

Christian calendar. 

The “war on Christmas” 

reached extreme levels during 

the 2016 Christmas season, with 

many churches in Turkey reporting 

serious terror threats being 

made against them. On December 

28, 2016, the ultra-nationalist 

group, Alperen Hearths, staged a 

forced conversion of Santa Claus 

to Islam in the western province 

of Aydin. An actor, dressed as 

Santa Claus, was held with a 

gun to his head, during which a 

representative of Alperen Hearths 

said, “Our purpose is for people 

to go back to their roots. We 

are the Muslim Turkish people 

who have been leading Islam for 

thousands of years. We will not 

celebrate Christian traditions and 

disregard our own traditions like 

Hıdrellez, Nevruz, and other religious 

national holidays.” 

For Turkey’s Christians, the 

uncontested and consistent spewing 

of anti-Christian hate speech 

has erased nearly 2,000 years 

of Christian history in Turkey, 

creating a culture of discrimination 

against them and opening 

up Christians to physical assault 

and property damage. As Erdoğan 

continues to leverage hateful 

rhetoric to consolidate power, it 

seems that Turkey will likely only 

become more hostile to Christians 

and the faith they follow. 

27

ICC’S COMMUNAL 

FARMS PROJECT 

UNDERWAY, 

CROPS PLANTED 

AND GROWING 

Two of the 10 communal farms ICC is 

creating for survivors of Fulani militant 

attacks are up and running. 

By Nathan Johnson 

Above: A Christian farmer who is taking part in ICC’s Communal 

Farms Project 

In the spring of this year, 

ICC established the first 

of 10 communal farms 

in Nigeria that will 

eventually feed and provide 

a living for 5000- 

7000 Christian farmers 

driven from their lands 

by Fulani militants. 

The idea sprang in part 

from my experiences during a trip 

to Nigeria in February. I visited a 

village where 75 men had been 

killed by Fulani militant attacks 

in the span of two years. I met 

with a dozen families who were 

left without a breadwinner or any 

way to get out of the poverty and 

destitution brought on by the loss 

of family members. 

As we spoke, they expressed 

their grief over the loss of loved 

ones, confusion over their government’s 

failure to protect them, and 

frustration at the lack of governmental 

help since the tragedy. So 

far in 2018 alone, more than 1500 

people have been killed in similar 

attacks. 

10 Large Farms 

Returning to Washington, DC, 

I spoke with ICC leadership 

about starting a farm to help the 

victims I’d met. 

My desire was met with enthusiasm 

as ICC has a 10-year history 

of helping farmers get back 

to work in Nigeria. So, my desire 

to create one farm turned into 10! 

Our purpose is to relieve 

the suffering of thousands of 

Christians by helping them 

return to the livelihood they 

already know well—farming. 

We officially launched the communal 

farms campaign on April 

26. Thanks to generous ICC 

donors, we received enough 

funding for two farms in just 

weeks, so we started the first 

farm in Benue State, and another 

in Plateau State. 

Over the next few months, we 

worked to prepare the land and 

see these large communal farms 

established. We arranged for the 

plowing of the fields, bought and 

helped spread fertilizer, sprayed 

herbicides, and helped plant the 

seeds alongside the families. 

Progress Report: 

Success! 

In late June, I traveled to 

Nigeria again to see the prog- 

Below: A tractor begins plowing at one of the farms, thanks to generous 

ICC donors! 




Communal 

Farms for Attack 

Survivors 

“I am now 58. I am the youngest son living now because 

my younger brother was killed. I have to care for my 

parents and his family as well as my own. Now with 

ICC’s help, I will be able to do that better.” 

– NIGERIAN FARMER 

One farm serves between 

50 and 75 families, providing 

work, food, and 

income for a year. The 

total cost for one farm is 

$12,500. 

$5 

Seedlings for 1/5 acre 

$20 

One herbicide sprayer 

$30 

Food and farming for one 

person for a year 

$100 

Four 50 kg bags of 

fertilizer 

$1,250 

Clear 100 acres 

$5,000 

Plow and harrow 100 

acres 

$12,500 

Sponsor an entire 

farm (serve up to 750 

Christians) 

Giving Options 

Check: Use the enclosed 

envelope. Write “Nigeria 

Crisis” in the memo line. 

Phone: Call ICC at 

800-422-5441 

Online: Visit persecution. 

org/nigeria-crisis 



Top: Another Christian farmer who is taking part of ICC’s Communal Farms Project 

Above: A team inspects the seedlings on ICC’s first communal farm. These farms are massive! 

ress on the farms. When I met with the 

families again, they were overjoyed. I was 

able to speak with several families who are 

already working on the farms. There was a 

pronounced difference between my first and 

second journeys! 

One older gentleman I spoke with had lost 

his son to an attack. He told me, “Until now, I 

haven’t been able to rest, despite my old age, 

because my son was taken from me. He was 

nearly 35 years old, and has six children surviving 

him.” He continued, “I strongly believe 

with the help of the farm, I will now be able to 

move forward … [Farming] is what I know to 

do and it will provide for me.” 

I spoke with another man whose younger 

brother was killed by the militants. He said, 

“I am now 58. I am the youngest son living 

now because my younger brother was killed. I 

have to care for my parents and his family as 

well as my own. Now with ICC’s help, I will 

be able to do that better.” 

The two farms pictured in this article will 

assist somewhere between 1000 and 1,500 

Christians by providing work, food, and cash 

income. By the time this article is published, 

the first farm will be almost ready for harvest. 

Funding for the next six farms has already 

come in! We can’t thank ICC supporters like 

you enough for responding graciously and 

generously to this critical need. Your financial 

gifts will help hundreds of additional 

families who have suffered senseless violence 

for their faith. 

29

November 4, 2018 

I N T E R N A T I O N A L 

DAY OF PRAYER 

FOR THE PERSECUTED 

I N T E R N A T I O N A L 

DAY OF PRAYER 

FOR THE PERSECUTED 

2018 

11/4/2018 

Register for an IDOP kit 

or Request A Speaker: 

ICC’S IDOP 2018 KIT 

Register today to receive ICC’s International Day of Prayer 

(IDOP) Resource Kit! Our kit includes tools and resources for 

your church and faith community: 

• Resource guide 

• Country prayer cards 

• Bulletin insert 

• Social media visuals 

• Petition 

• Video 

SCHEDULE A SPEAKER 

Interested in having ICC’s president or a persecution expert 

speak at your church? Contact us today through the web 

address below. 

www.persecution.org/idop-2018 

or call 1-800-422-5441 




A roundtable meeting on Nigeria hosted by ICC 

as part of the Ministerial to Advance International 

Religious Freedom. See next month’s edition for 

full coverage of the Ministerial.

You Can Help Today! 



SEND DONATIONS TO: 

ICC 

PO BOX 8056 

SILVER SPRING, MD 20907 

OR ONLINE AT 

WWW.PERSECUTION.ORG 

OR BY PHONE 

800-ICC-5441 

GIVING TO ICC VIA 

YOUR WILL 

Provide now for a future gift to ICC 

by including a bequest provision in 

your will or revocable trust. If you 

would like more information on giving 

to ICC in this way, please give 

us a call at 1-800-ICC-5441. 

The Church of Three Crosses with 

early Christian fresco in the Rose 

Valley in Cappadocia, Central 

Anatolia, Turkey. Turkey was 

home to much of the Early Church 

whereas today Christians face real 

threats. Keep our brothers and 

sisters in prayer. 

MEMBER 

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September 2018 Persecution Magazine

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